|
ON THIS DATE (June 16, 2015) ... The Red Sox witnessed a memorable performance by
Brock Holt, who paced the 9-4
victory over the Braves with the
first cycle by a Boston batter since
John Valentin on June 6, 1996.
The
monster performance by Holt helped the Red Sox snap a seven-game losing streak.
After doubling in the first, hitting a single in the fifth and clubbing a homer
to the opposite field in left in the seventh.
Brock Holt knew there was a cycle out there. He didn’t realize it was his. The
Red Sox dugout was on a Mookie Betts watch. He was a home run shy of the cycle,
and his teammates made sure to put a bug in his ear. Meanwhile, Holt’s day was
flying under the radar when he came to the plate in the eighth inning. The last
puzzle piece Holt needed to complete the cycle was also the trickiest: a triple.
But when Braves reliever Sugar Ray Marimon left an 0-and-1 fastball over the
plate, Holt sent a fly screaming toward the garage door in center field that had
trouble written all over it.
The cycle was one thing, but the triple drove in the last of a flurry of runs in
the Sox’ 9-4 win, snapping a seven-game losing streak and putting a trying
stretch behind them as they head on the road for another quick two-game set
against the Braves, this time in Atlanta.
Without
Dustin Pedroia and
Hanley Ramirez (stiff back), the Red Sox needed
others to step up, and they did. Every player in the starting nine recorded at
least one hit, including the four by Holt.
Mookie Betts went 3-for-5, including a double
and a triple.
Pablo Sandoval,
Xander Bogaerts, Napoli and
Alejandro De Aza all chipped in with two hits. |
