Boston Red Sox overcome Atlanta Braves 8-4 to level series – MLB Update
Boston Red Sox continued to impress the critics as they crushed Atlanta Braves 8-4 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts on Sunday, June 23 in the second game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Despite having the momentum on their side, the Braves were unable to come up with the winning formula on Sunday evening. They have now gone to third place on National League East Division standings.
Adrian Gonzalez put up another fine performance as he singled to right centre in the first inning to level score 1-1. Will Middlebrooks and Dustin Pedroia made the most of available opportunities in the first and the second to put the Red Sox in a commanding
4-1 position.
Third baseman Middlebrooks went out of his way to shut his critics as he hit his ninth home run of the season in the third inning, improving his average to .331.
Cody Ross’ double to deep centre in the fifth inning restored Boston’s four run advantage and Daniel Nava singled to right in the seventh to end the game on a strong note for his side.
"A lot of home run hitters hit them in bunches," Valentine said. "You don't want to take him out of the lineup when he's hot."
"I'm just confident. I feel good right now," Middlebrooks said. "I'm in a good groove. It's pretty simple: I'm seeing the ball well."
"We should have gotten more out of the first than we did," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We really had a chance to kind of set the tone for the ballgame and have them play catch-up and hopefully give our young guy a little bit of breathing room."
The Red Sox have shown great improvement in their game play over the last couple of weeks. With eight wins in their last ten games, they have narrowed the gap between themselves and league leaders New York Yankees to just five games.
It will be exciting to see if Bobby Valentine and company can continue their excellent run to replace the Yankees at the top of American League East Division standings table.
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