, salvaging the finale of a three-game interleague series.It was just the Braves' second win in six games, and fourth in their last 14 games at Fenway Park. Boston had won six of seven.Foltynewicz (4-3) gave up one run on three hits, striking out seven and walking three.Sale (5-2) was tagged for six runs in 4 1/3 innings. He hadn't allowed more than three in all 11 of his previous starts this season.Red Sox star Mookie Betts was a late scratch with left side tightness. Betts entered the day leading the majors with a .359 average and was tied with the Angels' Mike Trout with 17 homers.Flowers' homer - a drive over the Green Monster - made it 3-0 in the second. It was his second homer in his third career at-bat against Sale - his former teammate with the White Sox.The Braves chased Sale with three runs in the fifth. Freddie Freeman, the last batter he faced, had a two-run double.TRAINER'S ROOMRed Sox: Manager Alex Cora originally had 2B Dustin Pedroia out of the lineup, but inserted him in the cleanup spot and at second when Betts was scratched. Pedroia made his season debut Saturday after offseason left knee surgery. Pedroia was hitless in three at-bats and is 0 for 7 this year.NICE JUMPBraves second baseman Ozzie Albies made a leaping grab of Xander Bogaerts' hard liner in the sixth, getting it barely at the top of his glove while at full extension.ALUMNI FUNHall of Famer Pedro Martinez gave up a two-run homer to Julio Lugo, that caromed off a billboard above the Monster in a Red Sox alumni game before the contest.''It was a straight fastball. I fell behind on the count and laid it in there, but I didn't expect him to hit it out, but he did,'' Martinez said.It was the club's first alumni game in 25 years.UP NEXTBraves: LHP Max Fried (0-2, 6.00 ERA) is slated to start the opener and RHP Brandon McCarthy (5-2, 4.67) the nightcap of a doubleheader at home against the Mets on Monday.Red Sox: LHP David Price (4-4, 4.08) looks to keep a solid run going against Toronto in the opener of a three-game series Monday. He's 2-0 with a 2.21 ERA in his last three starts.)
Sale, Red Sox aim for sweep of Braves 4h ago• 3 min read BOSTON -- On July 8, 2016, Chris Sale -- then of the Chicago White Sox -- was slapped around by the Atlanta Braves to the tune of eight runs and 10 hits in five innings.On Sunday, Sale, now the ace of the Boston Red Sox, gets a shot at evening the score when he faces Atlanta's Mike Foltynewicz as the Red Sox look for the three-game interleague sweep at Fenway Park.Both have pitched well this season -- Sale just a bit better.Foltynewicz comes in 3-3 with a 2.72 ERA and having surrendered two earned runs or fewer in nine of his 10 starts. He has struck out 62 in 53 innings. He has made two career appearances against Boston, both in relief.Meanwhile, Sale has emerged as a Cy Young contender NOT pitching for the Houston Astros, going 5-1 with a 2.17 ERA and posting 96 strikeouts in 70 2/3 innings. He is 4-0 with a 2.38 ERA in his last six starts and has 45 Ks in his last four.Saturday's 8-5 victory kept the Red Sox in first place in the American League East.Atlanta comes in with four losses in its last five games. The Phillies took two of three from the Braves in Philadelphia to start Atlanta's road trip. The Braves had won 11 of their previous 12 road games before this 1-4 stretch.The Braves have failed to hold leads in each of the first two games in Boston.Boston area native Sean Newcomb, pitching at Fenway for the first time and in front of family and friends, lasted only three innings Saturday, ending an impressive pitching run."Wasn't clicking," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "I don't know, it just wasn't. He's bound to have one of those. ... He just didn't have it." Newcomb estimated a personal crowd of some 200 at the game, saying, "There were a couple of my buddies near the dugout, so I could hear some of the stuff they were saying, but that was it. It was cool to get a chance to have the family and friends come watch." Dustin Pedroia made his 2018 debut for the Red Sox on Saturday after recovering from knee surgery and went 0-for-4 with a walk and run scored. He batted sixth in his first game back and looked quick diving into home plate for his run."To get an opportunity to play baseball here, I never take it for granted," Pedroia said. "So today was up there with any of the moments I've been here."Veteran right-hander Anibal Sanchez, who turned in a strong rehab outing in Triple-A on Friday night (after one rocky start) will likely start for the Braves on Tuesday night at home against the New York Mets.Sanchez was 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three starts out of the gate before suffering a right hamstring injury.On the Boston side, Drew Pomeranz, who struggled again Saturday, will be making his next start Thursday in Houston. Steven Wright, an All-Star starter for Boston in 2016, worked three innings of scoreless relief Saturday, picking up his first victory of the season in his fourth relief outing after his season was delayed by rehab and suspension."It wasn't a great day for him, but we trust this guy," Boston manager Alex Cora said of Pomeranz, a 17-game winner last season, when he also had a rough start. "He was in the same spot last year and all of a sudden he turned it around. We'll go to Houston Thursday and make adjustments in the next few days and see if it works out." Nick Markakis is 5-for-14 and Kurt Suzuki 8-for-25 lifetime against Sale. Eduardo Nunez (2-for-9) and J. D. Martinez (1-for-3) are the only Red Sox players with at least three at-bats against Foltynewicz.
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