The Boston Red Sox Thursday, May 3, 2018

* The Boston Globe

Mookie Betts’ big day was as easy as 1-2-3 in Red Sox’ win

Alex Speier

It could have been different.

On Wednesday, the Royals witnessed the latest historic feat of Mookie Betts’s early career. The Red Sox leadoff hitter went 4 for 4 and launched three solo homers – his fourth career three-homer game, the most ever by a Red Sox — that propelled his team to a 5-4 victory over Kansas City in front of 32,267 sun- splashed patrons at Fenway Park.

Betts is the face of this franchise, cemented atop the Red Sox lineup as a game-changing dynamo by manager Alex Cora, who said that Betts will not move from the leadoff spot this season. The 25-year-old is off to a mind-blowing start — a .365 average, .451 OBP, .823 slugging, with 11 homers (the most through 30 games by a leadoff hitter since 1996) — that may elevate him beyond the star status he’d already achieved.

But Betts just as easily could have been the face of the team against whom he made a dazzling return from three days on the sideline due to a mild hamstring tweak. In the summer of 2010, Betts played on a summer ball team that was run by Royals scouts. He got to know Sean Gibbs — then Kansas City’s area scout, now a cross-checker — quite well through that process, and as draft day neared after Betts’s senior season at Overton High School in Nashville, the teenager had a clear expectation of what might be coming.

“In the draft, we talked to [the Royals]. I thought that was going to be the spot I was going to end up going,” said Betts. “I think the Royals had called and said they were on me [as a possible early-round pick], then I didn’t go. Then I figured I wasn’t going to go at all.”

Betts remained on the board until the fifth round. When did his future come into focus?

“When the Red Sox called and said, ‘We’re looking to take you,’ ” Betts chuckled.

The Red Sox took Betts in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, a franchise-changing selection who, in retrospect, had no business being available with the 172nd pick. Then again, no one — not the Royals, not the Red Sox, not Danny Watkins (the Red Sox scout who pounded the table for the Sox to take Betts), and not even Betts himself — could have envisioned what was to become of an undersized player who showed great hand-eye coordination and athleticism but could never have been forecast as a power hitter.

Red Sox third base coach Carlos Febles was the Single A Greenville manager in 2013, when Betts rocketed from light-hitting obscurity to a place of distinction on all prospect lists. He had the most compelling early view of Betts’s potential in his early professional career, yet he still wasn’t close to forecasting what Betts would become.

“I pictured him as a second baseman, a guy who could hit .290 or .300 with 50 doubles and steal 40 bags. Now, he’s become a five-tool guy in the outfield,” said Febles, who recalled chuckling when Betts audaciously (and, as it turned out, accurately) proclaimed that he’d be in the big leagues within a year. “I never thought he’d be that type of threat, a guy who can hit 30 [homers] like he already has.”

Even now, Betts continues to reset the bar and to raise questions about where the limits of possibility lie for him. On Wednesday, he had a remarkable display that underscored how difficult it is to retire him.

All four of his hits and three homers came against Royals starter Danny Duffy. Betts’s first long ball kicked off the fourth inning, at a time when Duffy (0-4) had mowed through three frames while facing the minimum and the Royals held a 3-0 lead.

Betts launched a 1-and-1 changeup down and on the inner half of the plate 452 feet to left to put the Red Sox on the board in the fourth inning. His blast jolted what had been a somnambulant lineup to life, with J.D. Martinez connecting on a tying two-run homer later in the fourth — the sixth of the season for the as- advertised cleanup hitter, who is now hitting .343/.392/.593 for the year.

One inning later, with the contest tied, 3-3, Betts connected on an 0-and-2 slider that caught the middle of the plate, pulling a ball in a count where hitters might feature a more defensive swing.

Finally, in the seventh, Betts stayed on a 1-and-2 fastball that was in the upper part of the strike zone and near the outer edge of the plate, smashing a 440-foot shot to center field for an insurance run that proved decisive in the Red Sox’ victory.

Down-and-in changeup. Middle-middle slider. Up-and-away fastball. All were hammered by a player whose impossible-to-sustain 30-game performance would project to 59 homers, 59 doubles, 173 runs, and 113 RBIs.

“He’s sitting on everything they threw at him. It’s pretty awesome to watch,” said Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz (1-1), who claimed a victory with six innings of work in which he allowed three runs. “He’s probably at the top of the list of guys people don’t want to face right now.”

He is probably likewise near the top of the list of draft regrets for 29 other teams.

“Hey, it is what it is,” Betts said of the draft. “I’m just happy that my name got called.”

So are the Red Sox, who hit the road armed with a 22-8 record that reflects in no small part on the spectacular start by their young superstar.

Joe Kelly relieved to get back on the mound

Alex Speier

For Joe Kelly, the six days passed with all the rapidity of paint drying. The reliever’s six-game suspension for fighting Tyler Austin of the Yankees, which started last Thursday in Toronto and stretched across the first five games of the homestand against the Rays and Royals, seemed interminable.

Unable to be in the dugout or in the clubhouse, Kelly tried to suppress his restlessness by taking in games from different vantage points at Fenway Park — the owners’ suite, the bleachers, the Monster seats. But as much as he appreciated the different locations, he had a preferred one.

“The mound,” Kelly said. “The mound, for sure.”

And so, with his suspension completed, Kelly was thrilled to return to the mound in the seventh inning of the Wednesday’s 5-4 win over the Royals. The crowd gave the reliever a loud ovation as he entered, and another as he exited after a scoreless inning in which he allowed a hit, struck out two, and touched 99 miles per hour with his fastball while showing a four-pitch mix that included a swing-and-miss slider and a particularly nasty changeup to Whit Merrifield.

“It was awesome,” Kelly said. “Those six days felt like a month. I was getting a little stir crazy. So, happy to be back and be able to come in and try to pick up where I left off as well as I can and try to go from there.”

Kelly threw 12 of 16 pitches for strikes, continuing one of the best runs of command in his career. He hasn’t walked a batter in nine straight appearances dating to April 10, his longest such stretch in any single season, and a run that he was relieved to sustain after experiencing “lots of concern” that his mechanics might be off due to the layoff.

“Once I got out there, I told myself, ‘Don’t even think about it,’ ” said Kelly. “Tested it right out of the get- go. It felt good.”

His return represents a significant development for the Sox, who were a player short during Kelly’s suspension. With Kelly back and throwing well, the bridge to closer Craig Kimbrel received a critical reinforcement.

“The bullpen was taxed and we paid the price,” said manager Alex Cora. “You see his confidence on the mound and he looks great.”

Pomeranz finds form Out of the gate, it looked like more of the same for starter Drew Pomeranz. The lefthander’s fastball sat at 87-89 m.p.h. and his curveball lacked bite in the first two innings, during which he and the Sox fell into a 3-0 hole.

But over the next four innings, Pomeranz looked more like the pitcher who emerged as the team’s second- most reliable starter in 2017, unbalancing the Royals with a fastball that topped out at 92 m.p.h. on his 89th and final pitch and a curveball that featured more of its signature bite.

“We put in a lot of work between this last start and now,” said Pomeranz. “I threw a lot. I watched a lot of video, did a lot of things trying to find some rhythm out there.

“For whatever reason, it wasn’t clicking the first couple of innings. Then all of a sudden, I just kind of got it. I was getting a lot different swings those last few innings.”

In his side work, Pomeranz tried to get greater extension on his pitches, with a release point closer to the plate, giving them more power.

Early on Wednesday, that work didn’t translate, but over his final four innings, it did, helping Pomeranz earn his first win of the season.

The improvement represented a step forward, though the Sox still hope to see more.

“Seems like he made strides but it’s still a work in progress,” said Cora.

Kimbrel rebounds One day after Kimbrel allowed a ninth-inning solo homer for his first blown save of the season in an eventual 13-inning Red Sox loss, the closer exacted a measure of revenge. He struck out all three batters he faced in a perfect ninth to preserve a one-run victory for his 299th career save. He has converted 90.9 percent of his career save opportunities, the highest rate of all time by a closer with at least 250 saves. He now has 43 career appearances of at least one inning in which he struck out every batter he faced, the most in major league history. No one else has more than 34 . . . J.D. Martinez was wearing a wrap on his left thumb in the Red Sox clubhouse after the game . . . Red Sox catchers are hitting a combined .167 with a .417 OPS that ranks as the lowest for any team at any position. Still, with the Red Sox in possession of an AL-best 22-8 record, Cora sees little reason to give Blake Swihart time behind the plate that is currently being given to Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon. “As of now, those two guys are going to catch,” said Cora. “Nothing against [Swihart]. He works, he’s ready, it’s just that the other guys right now, I do feel that they’re that good defensively. There’s a difference.” . . . Prior to the game, the Red Sox placed Eduardo Rodriguez on the family medical leave list. To take his spot on the roster, they called up righthander Marcus Walden. Cora is hopeful that Rodriguez will rejoin the Sox in time to make his scheduled start against the Rangers in Texas Saturday.

Another three-homer game gives Mookie Betts a Red Sox record

Alex Speier and Matt Pepin

Outfielder Mookie Betts hit three home runs Wednesday to become the only Red Sox player with four career three-homer games.

Betts hit all three off Royals starter Danny Duffy, connecting in the fourth, fifth, and seventh innings. Ted Williams was the previous Red Sox record-holder for three-homer games.

It was Betts’s second three-homer game this season, and he became the first player to have four three- homer games through his age-25 season.

Betts also singled in his first at-bat Wednesday.

At 452 feet, the first home run was his longest measured by MLB’s Statcast system.

The numbers on all three, according to Statcast:

First HR: 107.2 m.p.h. exit velocity, 452 feet

Second HR: 97.8 m.p.h, 361 feet

Third HR: 103.7 m.p.h., 440 feet

According to MLB.com, Sammy Sosa and Johnny Mize are tied for the lead in career three-homer games with six. Alex Rodriguez, Joe Carter, Dave Kingman, and Mark McGwire all had five.

Betts leads the Red Sox with 11 home runs this season and has 89 career round-trippers.

Here’s what Joe Kelly did during his six-game suspension

Nicole Yang

Joe Kelly didn’t stray far from baseball during his six-game suspension.

The Red Sox reliever missed about a week of action as punishment for his involvement in the Sox-Yankees brawl in April, but made the most of his time away.

“I haven’t been able to play baseball, but it’s been good,” Kelly said during an interview on a WEEI podcast. “I still come to the field, hang out with my teammates, get my work done — all the way up until game time when I have to go outside.”

Because of the rules outlined in his suspension letter — he can’t sit in team-sponsored areas, like the clubhouse, dugout, or press box — Kelly watched his teammates from a variety of locations.

Kelly said he watched the team’s only away game of his suspension from the top of the left-field stands at the Rogers Center — all while wearing a Heath Hembree jersey that “went down to [his] knees.”

At Fenway, he said he sat in right field, left field, the Pavilion Club, Green Monster, and the Sam Adams roof deck. Kelly, who pitched against the Royals Wednesday afternoon in his first game back, maintained his stance there is not a bad spot in the house.

When podcast host Rob Bradford pushed back, suggesting certain seats offer an obstructed view of the field, Kelly insisted that’s not the case.

“I sat behind the pole,” he said. “It’s fine.”

As for those oddly angled right-field seats that face the bleachers? “You can turn your head,” he said. “There’s plenty of great spots. Just turn your head left or right.”

Kelly said he has had plenty of company while watching the games as well. Some of the guests he said joined him include Red Sox president Sam Kennedy, chairman Tom Werner, principal owner John Henry (who also owns the Globe), and a politician he neglected to name but said goes by the nickname, “Chuckie B.”

He also caught part of a game with Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman and former Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola.

“Julian is very into the mental aspects of the game and so am I,” Kelly said. “I was a psychology major, so it was cool to kind of pick his brain. We talked for, I don’t know, the fifth inning all the way to the end of the game about sports psychology.

“That guy works his butt off,” he continued. “So it was kind of good to pick his brain and learn what makes him tick. That was fun.”

Kelly noted a few differences between watching baseball as a fan versus as a player, calling the week an “enlightening” experience. For one, he said the games go by slower as a fan, so he understands the league’s efforts to speed up the pace of play. For two, he said he would get anxious or worked up over high-pressure situations on the mound — something he said doesn’t happen when he’s in the game.

“It’s weird how quickly I became a fan,” he said. “I felt so far away from the team during the games.”

On his last day of his suspension, Kelly and some of his teammates visited patients at the Boston Children’s Hospital Tuesday.

“We’re just trying to make some kids happy who are going through tough times.”

Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez broke an obscure baseball rule Tuesday

Alex Speier

Major League Baseball Rule 5.06.b.3(E) flies under the radar until the rare occasions upon which it is actually broken.

Such was the case Tuesday when Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez used his facemask to corral a ball that had gotten behind him.

In the 10th inning, Vazquez smothered a 1-and-2 pitch in the dirt with runners on first and second and two outs and Kansas City’s Lucas Duda at the plate. Instead of picking it up with his glove, Vazquez scooped the ball with his catcher’s mask.

Unbeknownst to Vazquez, that action ran afoul of MLB Rule 5.06.b.3(E), which stipulates that a runner may advance a base when “a fielder deliberately touches a pitched ball with his cap, mask or any part of his uniform detached from its proper place on his person. The ball is in play, and the award is made from the position of the runner at the time the ball was touched.” The detached equipment violation put Royals runners on second and third.

“I never heard about that before,” Vazquez said.

While the play had no bearing on the outcome when the Royals stranded both runners, the obscure event — it was the first known instance of such a play in the big leagues since July 12, 2009 — resulted in another error charged to Vazquez.

Some incorrectly referred to it as a “catcher’s balk.” However a catcher’s balk occurs when a catcher leaves the catcher’s box before the pitch is delivered, and it is also rarely called.

* The Boston Herald

Red Sox use four home runs, three by Mookie Betts, to beat Royals, 5-4

Jason Mastrodonato

The first one put the Red Sox on the board. The next one put them ahead. And the third home run by Mookie Betts provided the winning margin.

After being held out of the starting lineup for three straight days due to hamstring tightness, Betts returned to his regular spot in right field for the first pitch yesterday afternoon against Kansas City at Fenway Park. Back atop the batting order, too, he proceeded to go deep three times and lead the Red Sox to a 5-4 win over the Royals.

“You just get to a point where you just kind of swing and there’s not much thinking going on,” Betts said. “When you have those days, it’s fun.”

With the sun shining and the temperature at 86 degrees, the matinee provided ideal conditions for hitting home runs, as the Red Sox hit four with one by J.D. Martinez and the rest by Betts. Martinez launched a two-run shot in the fourth inning to tie the game, 3-3.

The Sox have 38 homers and only three teams entered the day with more — Yanks, Angels and Jays.

Betts has 11, Martinez has six, Mitch Moreland and Rafael Devers have four each, Xander Bogaerts, Hanley Ramirez and Eduardo Nunez have three each, Jackie Bradley Jr. has two and Andrew Benintendi and Brock Holt each have one.

Where did all the power suddenly come from?

According to hitting coach Tim Hyers, who joined manager Alex Cora’s staff after his time as assistant hitting coach for the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the power comes from good health, an aggressive approach and a focus on efficient lower-body movement.

“We’re working on getting behind the ball and make sure we stay in the ground with our legs,” Hyers said.

The Sox entered with a fly-ball rate 8 percent higher than last year, and that’s not by accident.

Despite the lousy weather in April that has home runs across the league down compared to 2017, the Sox currently are on pace for 205 dingers after hitting just 168 last season.

“When you’re behind it, when your hips are underneath you, that creates some leverage from the ground,” Hyers said. “It’s just a focus point. I think it’s a value system. And some things we value, making sure we have a good base to hit from. That allows some guys on this team with electric hands to stay through the ball. That gives you some room for error.”

Drew Pomeranz spotted the Royals a three-run lead after two messy innings, but Betts gave the Sox life in the fourth, when he got a 1-1 changeup over the plate from Danny Duffy and launched it over the Green Monster to start the inning.

Three batters later, Martinez went down to lift another Duffy changeup over the Monster for a two-run shot.

Martinez hit 45 a year ago, but has been a tad behind that pace early in 2018. Asked before the game if Fenway Park was restricting Martinez’s opposite-field power, Cora smiled and said, “Nah, nah, nah. Today is 85 degrees. We’ll see today how the ball carries.”

It carried well again for Betts in the fifth inning, when he fell behind 0-2 but got a belt-high slider and gave the pitch what it deserved, smacking it over the wall again for another solo shot.

In the seventh, Betts completed the hat trick. Duffy was still in the game and tried to stay away from Betts, going high-and-outside with a 1-2 fastball, but Betts reached for it and lined it to deep left-center field for a mammoth shot that landed high behind Fenway’s day-game black tarp.

“That is amazing, that quickness and speed and his strength levels combined,” Hyers said. “He produces some pretty good power output. With his direction, trying to stay behind the ball is a byproduct of him focusing and having values of hitting through the ball, then if he catches it a little out front, that’s what you get.”

Remarkably, all three of Betts homers came when he was either behind or even in the count. He’s been among the best when hitting behind in the count this year, with a .480 average (12-for-25) and five homers. The MLB average behind in the count is .195.

“I think just my at-bats are a little bit different,” Betts said. “I don’t really care about striking out that much. I still want to be able to drive the ball with two strikes, the same way I do if it’s 2-0, so I think I’m just keeping that same, aggressive, drive-the-ball mindset throughout the whole at-bat.”

Ted Williams used to own the Red Sox’ record for most three-homer games, but the 25-year-old Betts is now in front with four, and that’s through five big league seasons.

Betts showing this may be the Year of Mookie

Michael Silverman

We’ve seen greatness from Mookie Betts before.

But this version, the 2018 edition of Mookie Betts, the one who hit three home runs yesterday for the second time this season, this breathtakingly gifted right fielder who has raised the curtain on his new role as a bona fide home run hitter by launching 11 and slugging .823 through his first 26 games, this Mookie Betts, we haven’t met before.

Asked if he was tempted to drop Betts from his leadoff perch into the heart of the batting order, Sox manager Alex Cora could only shake his head and smile. His response was a koan that did double-duty as an ode to the latest, greatest Mookie Betts as well as a reminder that nobody needs to tinker with him.

“The temptation is to move him higher, probably,” said Cora after the 5-4 victory over the Royals in which Betts’ third and mightiest home run in the seventh inning to left-center field nearly jack-knifed the flagpole to provide the winning cushion. “He’ll hit leadoff for us for the rest of the season.”

Exactly how much more damage Betts can create over the next five months is the delightfully suspenseful can-he-do-it mystery tale that could make the summer of 2018 unforgettable.

A special season from a special player who happens to be playing on a 22-8 team that is off to its own pretty nifty start as well.

Betts, 25, now has one more three-homer game — four in all — than any other Red Sox in history. Ted Williams had three. Only 16 players since 1908 have had four three-homer games and the lone active player is the Angels’ Albert Pujols.

And yesterday, Betts passed Boog Powell and Ralph Kiner for the most such games by any player younger than 26.

“I know what I can do and I know I have the ability to drive the ball and I’m kind of showing it. I think it’s more surprising, kind of, to everybody else,” said Betts. “Some of it is surprising to myself, like the last one today, but I know I can drive it, but it’s just a matter of using the whole field and driving it everywhere.”

When Betts could only muster two home runs last week in the Toronto series, the second one was muscled over the right field fence. For a hitter who had almost exclusively shown his pop to his pull, left side, Betts said at the time that he was pleased to see “how to use my strength instead of just going off ability.”

None of his solo shots yesterday went to right field — all were to left or left-center. But his strength- maximizing approach is driving his success.

“Honestly, I’m trying to hit it to center to right-center, it just happens that I keep pulling it,” said Betts. “I’m obviously not going to make any adjustments. If it goes to right-center, it goes. If it goes to left-center, it goes. I’ll just do whatever works.”

Betts’ insights and results speak in large part to him finding a kindred soul in new teammate J.D. Martinez, who is a 24/7-type of hitter when it comes to putting in the time and effort needed to hone and perfect his powerful swing. Betts’ slugging percentage last year dipped to .459 after he slugged .534 the year before. And 2016 was the last year David Ortiz played for the Red Sox. Last year, Betts had no big bopper in the lineup.

That’s changed this year.

“It’s been pretty good. It’s still really early, a lot of things can happen, but I think it’s just kind of coming from the guys around me,” said Betts. “The guys around me can do damage, so I think all of us just kind of make pitchers, I don’t know if it’s afraid, but make them have to concentrate more. Sometimes it works for them. Sometimes it doesn’t.”

Martinez is clearly smitten with how Betts badgers him for hitting tips.

“For me, he’s hungry for information, he wants information and just being able to talk to him is always talking about hitting,” he said. “Every time I’m next to him he’s always in my ear, talking about hitting, talking about hitting, and it just seems like to me I can relate to it a lot because he’s not satisfied and I love that about him, that’s what makes him special.”

Martinez, who has a four-home run game under his belt, enjoyed the show as much as anyone else.

“It’s fun. I told Alex we should give him three days off more often,” said Martinez, referring to the fact that Betts’ start yesterday was his first since he slightly strained his right hamstring on Saturday.

The easiest decision Cora will make every day is putting Betts atop the lineup.

If only he could put Betts’ name higher.

Red Sox notebook: J.D. Martinez tweaks sore thumb but will play through pain

Michael Silverman, Jason Mastrodonato

J.D. Martinez re-aggravated his jammed left thumb in the Red Sox’ 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals yesterday.

Martinez tweaked the thumb on a swing and miss on the first pitch in his fifth-inning at-bat. He initially jammed it during the Yankees series at Fenway early last month when he “kind of dug the thumb in there” and has been dealing with the injury ever since.

If he could afford to take time off to let it heal he would, but he said he’s going to keep playing through it.

“It’s gotten better, it goes away and then it comes back. All it takes is one swing,” said Martinez, whose thumb and left hand were wrapped up after the game. “After you get it a couple of times, it’s just one of those things where you want it to heal and don’t swing and don’t do anything for four days.”

Martinez said since the Anaheim and Oakland series, the training staff and he have been experimenting with pads around the area.

“It helps but you’re going to do it when you’re going to do it,” said Martinez, who singled in the at-bat when he tweaked the thumb and grounded out in his final at-bat.

It isn’t as if the thumb injury has slowed down Martinez much. He is hitting .343, slugging .593 and has six home runs, including one yesterday before jamming the thumb, with 24 RBI.

“It’s just battle wounds, you’ve got to play it through,” Martinez said.

Pomeranz settles in

Drew Pomeranz’ final pitch yesterday was 92 mph, an encouraging sign after the lefty sat at 87-89 mph for the majority of his previous start.

He gave up three runs in the first two innings but settled in after that and saw his velocity tick up toward the end of his six innings of work.

“We put in a lot of work between this last start and now,” Pomeranz said. “I threw a lot. I watched a lot of video, did a lot of things trying to find some rhythm out there. For whatever reason, it wasn’t clicking the first couple of innings. Then all of a sudden, I just kind of got it. I just kept trying to repeat it and before I knew it, we got to the sixth inning.”

The coaching staff had been wondering if Pomeranz was tipping his pitches after his last start on Friday. Those looking closely may have noticed the way he held the ball in his glove longer on off-speed pitches during the wind-up yesterday.

Asked if he was tipping his pitches, Pomeranz said, “I don’t know. It’s hard to say. I could have been, I could have not been, but the ball just wasn’t coming out of my hand, especially the first couple innings. It wasn’t coming out.

“The ball was just coming out of my hand a lot different those last few innings.”

Manager Alex Cora said Pomeranz (6.14 ERA) is still a work in progress.

Kelly brings relief

Joe Kelly returned from his six-game suspension and threw a scoreless seventh inning, striking out two and allowing one hit.

“You can see his confidence on the mound and he looks great,” Cora said.

The Sox had been playing down a reliever for the last six games.

“It wasn’t easy,” Cora said. “At this level, playing with one man down is tough. Obviously, the starting pitching hasn’t been as great as early in the season. We haven’t had too many long outings. The bullpen was taxed and we paid the price.”

Brian Johnson was the last man available in the bullpen Tuesday night, when he gave up a game-losing three-run homer in the 13th inning after pitching two innings the night before.

The Sox added another reliever in Marcus Walden, who was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to take the place of starter Eduardo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was placed on family medical leave, which can last 3-7 days.

Cora said Rodriguez will likely return in time to make his next scheduled start on Saturday against the Texas Rangers.

Swihart odd man out

Even as Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon have combined to be the least productive catching group in the majors, worth a minus-0.7 WAR while hitting .170 with a .424 OPS entering yesterday, Blake Swihart has not been able to crack the lineup.

The catcher turned utility man has made just two starts — both as designated hitter — through the Sox’ first 30 games.

“It’s just that right now, we’re comfortable with the other two; nothing against him,” Cora said. “I know there are going to be days, he won’t want to see me. He works, he’s ready, it’s just that the other guys right now, I do feel that they’re that good defensively. There’s a difference.”

Swihart is 3-for-20 with a double and five strikeouts spread thinly over 12 games.

If he had minor league options, he’d surely be in Triple A developing his well-regarded offensive ability while trying to become more efficient on defense, either as a catcher or as an infielder. But he’s out of options and his existence on the roster is necessary for the Sox not to lose him.

“It’s a tough one,” Cora said. “In a perfect world we keep developing him and getting at-bats.”

Joe Kelly returns to Red Sox, Eduardo Rodriguez placed on family leave

Jason Mastrodonato

The Red Sox’ bullpen is back to full strength.

Joe Kelly returned from his six-game suspension on Wednesday for the Sox’ series finale against the Kansas City Royals.

“It wasn’t easy,” manager Alex Cora said. “At this level, playing with one man down is tough. As you guys saw, we had to use certain guys more than usual – Heath Hembree and Brian Johnson, those two. It’s a tough one because you’re managing the game, where you’re at. You never want to be in that situation. You don’t want to be in that position. But it is what it is.

“Obviously, the starting pitching hasn’t been as great as early in the season. We haven’t had too many long outings. The bullpen was taxed and we paid the price.”

Johnson was the last man available in the bullpen Tuesday night, when he gave up a game-losing three-run homer in the 13th inning after pitching two innings the night before.

Before Wednesday's game, the Sox added another reliever in Marcus Walden, who was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to take the place of Eduardo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was placed on family medical leave, which can last anywhere from three to seven days.

Cora said he was hopeful that Rodriguez will return in time to make his next scheduled start on Saturday against the Texas Rangers.

Why Blake Swihart can't crack the Red Sox lineup

Jason Mastrodonato

Now more than a month into the regular season, it’s become clear that the Red Sox have Blake Swihart on the roster only because they have nowhere else to put him.

The catcher turned utility man has made just two starts -- both at designated hitter -- through the Sox’ first 29 games.

Even as the two regular catchers, Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon, have combined to be the least productive catching group in the majors, worth negative-0.7 WAR while hitting .170 with a .424 OPS, Swihart has not been able to crack the lineup.

“It's just that right now, we're comfortable with the other two; nothing against him,” manager Alex Cora said before Wednesday’s series finale with the Kansas City Royals. “I know there are going to be days, he won't want to see me. He works, he's ready, it's just that the other guys right now, I do feel that they're that good defensively. There's a difference.”

Cora thinks Swihart is capable of catching at the big league level, he just hasn’t tried using him there.

He’s not the first evaluator to consider Swihart’s defensive capabilities far enough beneath that of Vazquez and Swihart that Swihart's bat doesn't make up for the difference.

Former manager John Farrell had the same struggle, trying Swihart as the starting catcher for six games in 2016 before the Sox sent him back to the minors and called up Vazquez.

If Swihart had minor league options, he’d surely be in Triple-A Pawtucket developing his well-regarded offensive ability while trying to become more efficient on defense, either as a catcher or as an infielder. But he’s out of options and his existence on the roster is necessary for the Sox not to lose him. If they designate him for assignment, there’s virtually no chance he’d pass through waivers.

“It’s a tough one,” Cora said. “In a perfect world we keep developing him and getting at-bats. As you know, that’s his strength, the offense. He’s not getting at-bats. But this is the reality of it. He knows he keeps getting prepared. We keep trying to find ways to put him out there and make it as easy as possible. It’s not easy. I’ve been saying it from the get-go.”

Swihart is 3-for-20 with a double and five strikeouts spread thinly over 12 games.

He’s got some experience at left field and first base, and he’s also capable of playing second and third base, which he experimented with a bit in spring training. But because he's still learning those positions, Cora sees Swihart as only an emergency option.

“One thing is to play defense in Fort Myers, another is up here,” Cora said. “Like the other day, he pinch- hits and we get closer and you want to play defense, and although I do feel he can make the play, it’s a tough spot for him to go out there in a one-run game and say, ‘Hey, go play defense for the first time at the big league level.’ It’s not fair. But he prepares. He’s out there taking grounders at second and third, taking fly balls. Just waiting for that chance.”

Swihart is a career .264 hitter with a .697 OPS in 121 major league games. He hit .269 with a .727 OPS in the minors.

* MassLive.com

Drew Pomeranz, Boston Red Sox SP, found his groove in his first win of the season

Kevin Dillon

BOSTON -- It took only nine pitches for things to look bleak for Drew Pomeranz. The Boston Red Sox starter burned through two of his team's allotted six mound visits in the first inning, and started the day with runners on second and third with nobody out.

But somehow, Pomeranz caught a few breaks. Jorge Soler failed to tag up on a sacrifice fly, which led to an inning-ending double play. Then, after allowing two runs in the second inning and a bases-loaded jam in the third inning, Pomeranz got an inning-ending double play to escape with only three runs on the board.

From then on, Pomeranz was terrific. He only allowed two hits over the next three innings, taking control of each at-bat with an improved fastball and better curveball.

"I got out of some big situations there when I wasn't feeling my best," Pomeranz said. "After that, I gave up a couple hits. It was probably pitch selection from that point on. I just felt a lot better. The ball, I was getting a lot different swings those last few innings."

Pomeranz's last pitch of the game was his fastest -- a 92-mph fastball that caught Alcides Escobar looking for a strikeout. Pomeranz finished having allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out three batters through six innings. The final stats are hardly career numbers, but they are a sign of progress for the lefty, who entered Wednesday with a 7.27 ERA.

"I think he found his fastball," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "He started using it, elevating the fastball, there were some bad things after the second inning and third inning and he was able to give us six and three runs. That's good enough for us."

While Cora pointed to the fastball, Pomeranz was particularly happy with the way he threw his curveball for the last four innings. It was not necessarily a matter of more break or more power on the curveball, it was simply a matter of him getting all the way through the pitch in his throwing motion.

"A lot better," Pomeranz said of his curveball. "Part of what I've been working on so much between this week and just trying to find that right feeling out of my hand. It started coming out of my hand a lot better."

Pomeranz's success is good to see, especially considering how good the team was when he was on his game last season. The Red Sox have won 16 of his last 21 starts, and need him to be the All-Star caliber pitcher he can be to have good depth in their starting rotation this season.

Pomeranz started slow last season and finished 17-6 with a 3.32 ERA. His first two starts did not go so well this season, but perhaps Wednesday was a sign he can get back on track.

"I think I'm further along than what I was last year," Pomeranz said. "I hadn't had any success here really, especially at Fenway, so I think I'm starting from a later starting point. I'm hoping that I get into that comfortable position a lot quicker and kind of taking what I had last year into this year."

Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox RF, changed his plate approach, and now leads MLB in home runs

Kevin Dillon

BOSTON -- Mookie Betts got a curtain call. He got a Gatorade bath. After day in which he surpassed Ted Williams for most three home run games by a Red Sox player, Betts was surrounded by reporters in the clubhouse ready to discuss his performance.

One reporter asked Betts about his third home run -- a 440-foot bomb to center field that capped off his amazing day. But instead of thinking about the things he did right in the at-bat, he immediately thought of the things he did wrong.

"I didn't start off very well," Betts said. "I should have been more aggressive, I took that fastball right down the middle. ... I swung at another one in the dirt. I was 0-2 there but I was able to kind of flush it out and be ready for the next one."

Betts is a perfectionist. He does not like to do anything wrong. In Wednesday's game, that was not much of an issue.

But one thing Betts has focused on doing this season has been to not be afraid of striking out. He's tasked himself with staying aggressive with two strikes, and looking to drive the ball instead of simply putting the ball in play.

"I think just my at-bats are a little bit different," Betts said. "I don't care about striking out that much, I still want to be able to drive the ball with two strikes. It's the same idea if it's 2-0. I think I'm just keeping that same aggressive drive-the-ball mindset throughout the whole at-bat."

The results have been impressive. Betts already has four home runs with two strikes on him this season, and has brought his total to 11 -- the most in the majors. Betts now has nine home runs in his last 12 games. He was coming off a minor injury Wednesday too.

With the exception of his last home run before Wednesday, which came off of Danny Barnes on Apr. 25, all of Betts' home runs have been pulled. In many cases, hitters will try to use their power to the entire field, to prevent pitchers from being able to simply pitch away from them to avoid their power.

In Betts' case, he has been able to hit for power on anything in the strike zone.

"The whole pulling thing and going the other way, if you're great at pulling the ball and you're elite, who cares?" Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "I think he's covering the outside of the plate too. That's the most important thing.

"He was a guy that a lot of teams would attack outside and throw him sliders. Now it seems like he's on them. He's able to pull them. There's nothing wrong with that. As long as he keeps putting the bat on the ball."

With Betts showing so much power, one might assume that the Red Sox would consider moving him down in the order -- giving him an opportunity to drive in some more runs instead of hitting solo shots all the time. Cora shot down that idea, however, saying he plans on keeping Betts in the leadoff spot for the rest of the year.

At this rate, why change anything? The Red Sox are happy to get Betts as many at-bats as he can. Just ask Drew Pomeranz.

"I was just trying to shut them down long enough to keep letting Mookie get at-bats," Pomeranz said. 'When he gets hot like that, we are all cheering for more at-bats for him. They keep throwing him pitches, but he was hitting out everything they threw at him. It's pretty awesome to watch."

Mookie Betts hits three home runs, Boston Red Sox power past Kansas City Royals in 5-4 win

Kevin Dillon

BOSTON - As Mookie Betts drilled a long fly ball just foul down the left field line, it seemed almost obvious what was coming next. Betts had already blasted a 452-foot home run in the fourth inning - the longest of his career since Statcast began tracking home runs.

On an 0-2 pitch, Betts hammered another home run - this one a 361-footer - just inside the foul pole in left field. The homer was his second of three home runs game, and the eventual winning run in a 5-3 Boston Red Sox win over the Kansas City Royals Wednesday at Fenway Park.

Betts, who hit his third home run 440 feet to straightaway center field, collected his fourth career three- home run game, and his third multi-home run game of his career. He passed Ted Williams for the most three-home run games in Red Sox history in the afternoon. He finished 4-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs, and now leads the majors with 11 home runs on the season. Betts also received a curtain call from the home crowd.

The win pushes the Red Sox to 22-8 on the season, as they remain in first place in the American League East ahead of a 10-game road trip. Boston went 3-3 on its six-game homestand.

Drew Pomeranz pulled together a decent outing in the win, finishing with three earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out three in six innings pitched. Pomeranz ran into some trouble early on, allowing a run on a Salvador Perez sacrifice fly in the first inning. He could have had more to do had Jorge Soler not forgotten to tag up on a Jackie Bradley Jr. catch in center field, which led to a double play.

The Royals expanded their lead to three in the second inning when Drew Butera hit a long double just out of Betts' reach in right field to drive in Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon. But after a rough first two innings, Pomeranz rolled through the Royals' lineup over the next four innings, putting himself in position to collect a win.

Betts started off the Red Sox' offense in the fourth inning with his monster home run, and J.D. Martinez tied the game just three batters later. After Hanley Ramirez drew a walk, Martinez crushed a 443-foot home run off of a sign over the Green Monster for his sixth homer of the season. Martinez finished 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, and brought his batting average up to .343 on the season. Betts' two solo shots expanded the Red Sox' lead to 5-3 by the end of the seventh.

Danny Duffy started well, facing the minimum amount of batters through three innings. But the second time through the order was less friendly to him, and he picked up his fourth loss of the season. Duffy finished having allowed five runs on 10 hits while striking out six through 6 2/3 innings pitched.

Cheslor Cuthbert knocked a home run off of Matt Barnes just over the wall in right field to bring the Royals back within one in the eighth inning. It was the first run Barnes allowed in the eighth inning all season. He finished having allowed one run on one hit while hitting one batter and striking out two through one inning.

J.D. Martinez homer: Alex Cora hinted Martinez would homer pregame, slugger then goes deep

Christopher Smith

BOSTON -- Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked before today's game if the large right field at Fenway Park has in any way hurt J.D. Martinez's power.

"Nah, nah, nah," Cora replied. "Today's what? 85 degrees? We'll see today. We'll see how the ball carries."

Yes, Cora hinted at a Martinez homer today and the DH delivered. The Red Sox slugger crushed a 443 foot homer to left-center field against Royals starter Danny Duffy on an 85.8 mph changeup.

The ball traveled with a 108.8 exit velocity and 27 launch angle. It had a 85.8 hit probability, per Baseball Savant.

Martinez entered today tied for the major's fourth best exit velocity (95.4 mph).

Martinez is slashing .340/.390/.594/.984 with six homers, seven doubles, one triple and 24 RBIs in 28 games.

Swihart unlikely to catch ahead of Christian Vazquez or Sandy Leon for Red Sox any time soon

Kevin Dillon

BOSTON -- After a night in which Christian Vazquez made two errors in an extra-innings loss to the Kansas City Royals, the Boston Red Sox turned to Sandy Leon behind the plate with Drew Pomeranz on the mound.

Leon will catch his 10th game of the season for the Red Sox Wednesday. Vazquez caught his 22nd of the season Tuesday night. However, their third catcher -- Blake Swihart -- has not put the catcher's gear on yet this season.

In 12 games played this season, Swihart has only seen the field four times. The natural catcher has played twice at first base, twice in left field and been the designated hitter five times. Swihart has spent 93 games behind the plate for the Red Sox in his career, though the last game he started at catcher was Apr. 12, 2016.

Swihart is a man without a true position right now, and Red Sox manager does not plan on changing that any time soon.

"We are comfortable with Sandy and Christian," Cora said. "As of right now, these guys are going to catch."

Vazquez and Leon have not exactly been stellar with a bat in their hands this season. Vazquez is batting a mere .185, while Leon's average is down at .129. While Cora did not totally rule out Swihart's chances of catching this season, Cora explained that Vazquez and Leon are too good defensively to take out of the lineup.

"(Swihart) works, he's ready, it's just that the other guys right now, I do feel that they're that good defensively," Cora said. "That there's a difference. Can he catch at this level? Of course he can. We saw it in spring training. Last year if I remember, there was a spot here in Tampa that they went extra innings and he caught what, nine or 10 innings? And he was great.

"It's not that I feel uncomfortable with Blake, honestly I feel comfortable. But as of now, these two guys are going to catch."

Still, that makes Swihart's job even harder. A player that is known for his ability with the bat only has 20 at-bats through the first month of the season. Pinch-hitting in the middle of a game without having much of a rhythm against big-league pitchers is extremely difficult. Because he is out of options, the Red Sox can't send him down to the minors for more playing time without risking losing him on waivers.

Instead, he has to wait for his chances at pinch-hitting, and even those are few and far between. Tuesday night in extra innings, Vazquez came through with an RBI single. It was a good moment for Vazquez, but if Swihart is not pinch-hitting in that situation, when is he ever going to get in a game?

Swihart has prepared at second and third base as well, taking ground balls and working on catching fly balls in the outfield. He is trying to give himself plenty of defensive versatility. But so far, that has not resulted in more playing time.

"It's one thing to play defense in Fort Myers, another one is up here," Cora said. "It's a tough spot for him to go out there in a one-run game and say, 'Hey kid, go play defense for the first time at the big league level.' It's not fair. But he prepares, he's out there taking grounders at second and third and taking fly balls and just waiting - waiting for that chance."

The chances have not been coming very frequently for Swihart, however, and at some point, one has to wonder if they ever will.

Eduardo Rodriguez placed on family medical leave list, Marcus Walden recalled

Christopher Smith

BOSTON -- Eduardo Rodriguez has been placed on the family medical leave list, which he must be on for at least three days but no more than seven days.

Manager Alex Cora said the Red Sox hope Rodriguez won't miss a start.

The Red Sox recalled right-handed reliever Marcus Walden from Triple-A Pawtucket to take his spot.

Walden has allowed two runs in 2 innings in his lone outing at Pawtucket this year. He has allowed six earned runs in 11 innings (4.91 ERA) for the Red Sox.

Joe Kelly also returns from his suspension today.

Kelly hasn't allowed a run in his past 10 outings (11 1/3 innings), allowing five hits and one walk while striking out 10 during the stretch.

* The Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Red Sox 5, Royals 4: Mookie Betts hits 3 homers

Bill Ballou

BOSTON -- One thing that Alex Cora is clearly better at than John Farrell was last year is giving signs.

Without revealing what exactly it is — touching his ear, patting the “O” on Red Sox, yelling out the name of a foreign country like Estonia — Cora has been giving the Home Run sign a lot more this year than Farrell did in 2017.

The new Sox manager put on the sign four times Wednesday and it resulted in all five runs Boston scored in its 5-4 victory over the Royals. Mookie Betts got the sign three times for a trio of solo home runs. J.D. Martinez got it once and delivered a two-run shot.

Boston has hit 38 home runs in 30 games so far this season and is 22-8. The Sox were 16-14 after 30 games last year and had 22 home runs. This plan that calls for Boston batters to hit four, or even more, homers a game is a good one.

Starting with 2011, the Red Sox are 32-2 when they hit at least four home runs in a game. Boston is 133-20 (.869) from 1994 on with that kind of production.

“That’s the addition of J.D. (Martinez),” was Cora’s response to questions about the Sox’ home run improvement. “There are some guys that are making adjustments and have been more aggressive in the strike zone, more aggressive early in the count. It’s a mix.

“We knew coming into the season that there were certain guys in the clubhouse that were going to take a step more and we’re seeing some progressions, some signs of that where there are other who are working at it, and we feel that they will take that step, too.”

The long ball enabled the Red Sox to come back from an early 3-0 deficit and provide Drew Pomeranz with his first win of the season. How to evaluate Pomeranz’ performance? Let’s say he was about as good as gas-station pizza.

“He was able to go six and allow three runs. That was good enough,” Cora said.

Pomeranz is 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA in three starts.

The Royals got a run in the first but Jorge Soler ran into a rally-killing double play on the bases. Kansas City added two more in the second to make it 3-0, then loaded the bases with one out in the third.

Pomeranz might have been one hit away from having his day implode. Instead, Jon Jay grounded into a double play to end the inning and the Royals scored just one more run through the rest of the day.

His first start didn’t last four innings, his next one went five and this one went six.

“We put in a lot of work between last start and now,” Pomeranz said. “I threw a lot, watched a lot of video, did a lot of things trying to find some rhythm out there and it wasn’t clicking the first couple innings. Then all of a sudden I just kind of got it, and just kept trying to repeat and before you knew it had gotten through six innings.”

Pomeranz had just one up-and-down inning, the fifth. He was relieved by Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Craig Kimbrel in succession. Barnes gave up one of those Fenway Park mini-homers down the right field line to Cheslor Cuthbert in the eighth and Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth.

Royals starter Danny Duffy faced nine batters through three innings, then eight in the fourth inning alone. Betts and Ramirez homered as part of a three-run rally, Betts homered again in the fifth, then made it 5-3 in the seventh.

Cuthbert got the home run sign from manager Ned Yost one inning later, but the Royals ran out of signs, and time, not long after that.

Red Sox Journal: Sox trying to fix Bradley’s approach

Bill Ballou

BOSTON — The Red Sox are trying just about anything to reverse Jackie Bradley Jr.’s offensive regression.

That includes having him face lefties, like Wednesday’s starter for the Royals, Danny Duffy.

Bradley was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on Wednesday and is 4-for-36 (.111) with no extra base hits since April 20 in Oakland. He had three hits and a homer in that game. Bradley’s average is down to .188.

“Jackie needs the lefties to get his swing back,” said left-handed hitting manager Alex Cora, “It could be hard for me to hit righties without seeing a lefty. If you see a lefty, you see the ball, you have to stay back, you have to stay inside the ball to shoot the ball to left field.”

That sort of approach would help Bradley, the manager thinks. His problem is approach more than technique.

“It’s not that his swing is too long for me, it’s more about his sights,” Cora said. “Where he wants to hit the ball — I had that conversation with him. I’d like him to stay in the middle of the field, left-center especially. ... Sometimes he gets caught up in trying to pull. And maybe that’s who he is but I do feel he can do a lot more offensively as far as driving the ball to the wall and left-center.”

Suspension over

Joe Kelly paid his debt to baseball society and was back on the active roster Wednesday. He missed six games on suspension for his part in a fight with Tyler Austin of the Yankees on April 11. Boston had only 24 players available for those six games.

“It wasn’t easy,” Cora said. “At this level, playing with one man down is tough. We had to use certain guys more than usual. ... Our starting pitching hasn’t been as great as early in the season, haven’t had the long outings and the bullpen is taxed. We’ve paid the price.”

Cora wasted no time in taking advantage of Kelly’s return. The reliever worked a shutout seventh to hold the lead for Drew Pomeranz.

Walden called up

Eduardo Rodriguez was granted a stay on the family medical leave list and rookie reliever Marcus Walden was recalled from Pawtucket to replace the lefty on the roster. Medical leave is a minimum of three days and maximum of seven. The Sox are hopeful Rodriguez will be back in time to make his next scheduled start Friday in Texas.

Slight edge

With Wednesday’s victory, the Red Sox took over the lead in the all-time series at 237-236. The teams meet once more in 2018 for a three-game series in Kansas City from July 6-8. Boston leads the Royals here 132-107 and trails in Missouri, 105-129. That breaks down to a 95-115 (.452) record at Kauffman Stadium and 10-14 (.417) at old Municipal Stadium.

Sox hit the road

The Red Sox are off on a potentially treacherous road trip that will last for 10 games and cover three cities. In order, Boston plays four games in Texas, three at Yankee Stadium and three in Toronto.

Texas has been an especially inhospitable environment for the Red Sox through the years. Boston is 42-59 (.416) since Globe Life Park and its various namesakes opened in 1994. That includes a 12-23 (.343) record since 2009.

Pitching matchups for the Rangers series: Thursday, 8:05, David Price (2-3) vs. Mike Minor (2-1: Friday, 8:05, Rick Porcello (4-0) vs. Bartolo Colon (1-0); Saturday, 8:05, Rodriguez (3-0) vs. Cole Hamels (1-4); Sunday, 3:05, Chris Sale (2-1) vs. Doug Fister (1-2).

Diamond dust

J.D. Martinez’s home run was his sixth in a Red Sox uniform. That’s the same number Cora had playing for Boston. ... At 22-8, Boston is off to the third-best start in team history after 30 games. The Red Sox were 24-6 in 1946 and won the American League pennant. They were 23-7 for Grady Little in 2002 and finished 93-69, out of the playoffs. ... The save was the 299th of Craig Kimbrel’s career. He is 299-for-329, 74-for-81 with Boston.

* The Lawrence Eagle Tribune

Five things that stood out about Mookie Betts' offensive explosion

Chris Mason

BOSTON — The first curtain call of the season at Fenway Park went to Mookie Betts. It was well- deserved.

The Red Sox lead-off man erupted for three home runs in the series finale against Kansas City, setting the pace in a 5-4 win. Betts made some history in the process.

Here are five things that stood out about his ridiculous afternoon:

1. Betts takes a record from Teddy Ballgame

Any time you pass "the greatest hitter who ever lived" in a record book, it's a pretty good day at the office.

Doing it at 25 years old is even more impressive.

Wednesday afternoon marked the fourth time Betts has hit least three home runs in a game. Ted Williams only did that three times in his major league career, so sole possession of the Red Sox record now belongs to Betts.

“It’s pretty cool," Betts said, before quickly reminding reporters, "(Williams) hit .400 one year. He did a whole bunch of other things I haven’t done. Just to know my name is amongst his is pretty cool.”

2. Mookie sets a new benchmark

Betts' first home run, a mammoth shot over everything in left-center, was the farthest homer the Sox have hit this season. It traveled an estimated 452 feet, which is also the longest distance Betts has ever hit one.

“I didn’t know," Betts said of his new PR. "I knew when I hit it, I knew I got them pretty good. But I'm not really that worried about the distance.”

Betts final homer went a paltry 440 feet, the second farthest he's ever hit.

3. None came in a hitter's count

All three of Betts' homers came after fell behind in the count. One came at 1-1, and the others were 0-2 and 1-2.

Two-strike aggression is something that's changed for the right fielder this season. Betts isn't just trying to protect the plate, he's is still looking to do damage.

“I think just my at-bats are a little bit different. I don’t really care about striking out that much," said Betts. "I still want to able to drive the ball with two strikes, the same way I do if it’s 2-0, so I think I’m just keeping that same, aggressive, drive-the-ball mindset throughout the whole at-bat.”

4. An array of pitches

All three of Betts' homers came against Royals starter Danny Duffy, but he wasn't just sitting on one pitch.

Betts took Duffy deep on a changeup down in the zone, a hanging slider, and an elevated fastball. The high heater resonated with his manager.

"The last one, a pitch up in the zone, able to get the hands above it and drill it, that was impressive," Alex Cora said. "He’s doing an outstanding job being ready to hit from the get-go and setting the tempo for the team."

5. A new home run leader

Thanks to the white-hot day at the plate, Betts is now the major-league leader in long balls. He's up to 11 homers on the season, but was quick to deflect credit for his fast start.

"I think it’s just kind of coming from the guys around me," Betts said. "The guys around me can do damage, so I think all of us just kind of make pitchers, I don’t know if it’s afraid, but make them have to concentrate more."

* RedSox.com

Sox enjoy Betts of all in rallying for 22nd win

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- In the finale of a six-game homestand, Mookie Betts provided the Fenway faithful with a power show to remember.

In a monster performance, Betts belted three home runs for the second time this season, all but carrying the Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Royals in Wednesday's matinee rubber game.

After smashing solo homers in the fourth and fifth, Betts went deep for a third straight at-bat in the seventh, a majestic shot to left-center. All three homers were against Royals lefty starter Danny Duffy.

Betts leads MLB with 11 home runs.

"I know what I can do and I know I have the ability to drive the ball, and I'm kind of showing it," Betts said. "I think it's more surprising, kind of, to everybody else. Some of it is surprising to myself, like the last one today, but I know I can drive it. It's just a matter of using the whole field and driving it everywhere."

Drew Pomeranz rode the big performance by Betts to his first win in three starts since returning from the disabled list. The lefty showed improved velocity and a better curveball than the last two times out, allowing three runs over six innings, but none after the second.

"It was pretty cool," Pomeranz said. "I'm just trying to shut them down long enough to let Mookie get at- bats. When he gets hot like that, we're all cheering for more at-bats for him. They keep throwing him pitches, but he's sitting on everything they threw at him. It's pretty awesome to watch."

It wasn't so awesome for Duffy and the Royals. The third homer by Betts was an outside fastball on the upper part of the zone that he somehow turned on to put it over the wall in center.

"The third one, that's just him being a great hitter," Duffy said.

Joe Kelly returned from his six-game suspension and pitched a scoreless seventh.

Closer Craig Kimbrel rebounded from his first blown save on Tuesday night to finish off this one, and end the homestand on a strong note for the Red Sox.

"Outstanding," manager Alex Cora said. "You've got [Alex Gordon] and [Mike Moustakas], that's a tough 1-2-3 right there, the guys he was facing. He did an outstanding job with the fastball up in the zone, being able to expand with the slider. The last pitch after a fastball up, he went back at it, and his velocity looked like it was up, so that's a good sign for him."

The homers by Betts were all solo shots. The right fielder, who was out of the lineup the previous three games with tightness in his right hamstring, went 4-for-4.

With the fourth three-homer game of his career, Betts passed Ted Williams for the most in Red Sox history. Betts ripped three homers against the Angels just 15 days ago. He joins Albert Pujols as the only active players to have four three-homer games.

J.D. Martinez also had an important homer -- a two-run shot in the third that tied it at 3.

MOMENT THAT MATTERED When Pomeranz finished his outing with a strikeout looking of Alcides Escobar, it was with a 92.3-mph fastball, the best radar reading he's had on any pitch this season. Given that Pomeranz's diminished velocity was a talking point after his first two starts, it was noteworthy that he was able to dial it up when he needed to in this start. Pomeranz averaged 89.1-mph with his fastball on Wednesday.

"We put in a lot of work between this last start and now. I threw a lot," Pomeranz said. "I watched a lot of video, did a lot of things trying to find some rhythm out there. For whatever reason, it wasn't clicking the first couple of innings. Then all of a sudden, I just kind of got it. I just kept trying to repeat it and before I knew it, we got to the sixth inning."

SOUND SMART Betts became the 17th player since 1909 with as many as four three-homer games. He is the first to have four before his 26th birthday. When Betts homers this season, the Red Sox are 13-0, and they are 31-3 the last 34 games in which he's gone deep.

HE SAID IT "It's pretty cool. He hit .400 one year. He did a whole bunch of other things I haven't done. Just to know my name is amongst his is pretty cool." -- Betts, on passing Williams for the team record of three-homer games

MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY Down by just a run, the Royals thought they had a baserunner with one out in the ninth against Kimbrel when Lucas Duda ran to first after swinging at strike three as the ball went to the backstop. But as the Red Sox correctly pointed out, the pitch hit Duda's foot, meaning it was a dead ball. The replay official agreed as the call was overturned and Duda headed back to the dugout with a strikeout.

UP NEXT Left-hander David Price will try to get the Red Sox off to a good start to a 10-game road trip at 8:05 p.m. ET on Thursday in the opener of a four-game set at Globe Life Park. Mike Minor will start for the Rangers. Price labored in his last start, giving up eight hits, six runs (five earned) and four walks in a loss to the Rays.

Betts makes history with 4th 3-homer game

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- Mookie Betts used his return to the lineup after a brief absence as a day to make history on multiple fronts. It was also a reminder that Betts is back at the top of his game -- and maybe better than ever -- after a slight downturn last year.

Boston's leadoff man mashed three home runs, and his team needed all of them in a 5-4 victory over the Royals in Wednesday's matinee rubber game at Fenway Park.

By turning in the fourth three-homer performance of his career, all off Royals starter Danny Duffy, Betts passed the legendary Ted Williams for the most in team history.

"It's pretty cool," Betts said. "He hit .400 one year. He did a whole bunch of other things I haven't done. Just to know my name is amongst his is pretty cool."

At the moment, Betts stacks up with anyone in the game with his start this season. He and Mike Trout share the MLB home run lead with 11 apiece. Betts is slashing .365/.461/.823.

While Betts is known as more of a playmaker than a slugger -- as evidenced by the fact he leads off -- his power is threatening to be even more of a factor than 2016, when he belted 31 homers and finished second to Trout in the race for the American League MVP Award.

"I know what I can do and I know I have the ability to drive the ball, and I'm kind of showing it," Betts said. "I think it's more surprising, kind of, to everybody else. Some of it is surprising to myself, like the last one today, but I know I can drive it. It's just a matter of using the whole field and driving it everywhere."

Since 2016, Betts has 11 multi-homer games, tied with Manny Machado for second most in MLB over that period. Only Giancarlo Stanton (14) has more.

It was the second time this season Betts has gone the trifecta route, as the leadoff man also did it against the Angels on April 17. Betts had a pair of three-homer games in '16 as well.

The only two players in history to have multiple three-homer games in the same season more than once in a career? Betts and Johnny Mize, who did it in 1938 and '40.

Betts and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols are the only active players with four three-homer games.

Perhaps most impressive is that Betts is the first player in Major League history to produce four three- homer games before his 26th birthday. Ralph Kiner and Boog Powell had done it three times before turning 26.

Due to tightness in his right hamstring, Betts hadn't started since Saturday. But he swiftly made up for lost time -- going 4-for-4.

"It's fun, I told [manager] Alex [Cora] we should give him three days off more often," Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez said. "Because when we got to Anaheim it was the same thing. To be able to do that, when you're feeling it like that like Mookie's been feeling it, it's definitely fun to watch."

The long-ball brigade started in the bottom of the fourth, at which point the Red Sox trailed, 3-0. Betts changed that with a rocket to left-center that went over everything. The drive had a projected distance of 452 feet -- the longest homer Betts has hit since Statcast™ was introduced in 2015.

Betts cut Kansas City's lead to 3-1.

And in the fifth, Betts was at it again, lofting one down the line in left that just stayed fair to give the Red Sox a 4-3 lead. It was No. 10 on the season for the star right fielder.

Betts wasn't done. He again took Duffy deep, this time with a towering shot to center that traveled a projected distance of 440 feet. The first and third homers by Betts were the two longest hit by Red Sox players this season.

After the third homer, Betts came out for a curtain call.

"I guess I've got the best seat in the house," marveled Andrew Benintendi, who was in the on-deck circle for all three home runs.

"Well, that was obviously a great performance," Cora said. "The last one, a pitch up in the zone, he was able to get the hands above it and drill it, that was impressive. He's doing an outstanding job being ready to hit from the get-go and setting the tempo for the team."

With Betts setting the tempo, perhaps it's no surprise the Red Sox have the best record in baseball -- 22-8.

Red Sox place Rodriguez on family leave list

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- Following a 13-inning loss to the Royals on Tuesday night, the Red Sox had a couple of bullpen reinforcements for Wednesday afternoon's game.

Right-hander Joe Kelly, arguably the team's top setup man, returned from his six-day suspension. The team also called up Marcus Walden from Triple-A Pawtucket to fill the roster spot of Eduardo Rodriguez, who was placed on the family medical leave list.

A player must remain on the family medical leave list for a minimum of three days and a maximum of seven days.

Rodriguez would be eligible to return for his next start, which is scheduled for Saturday night against the Rangers in Arlington.

"Hopefully, he can be back with us sooner rather than later," manager Alex Cora said before Wednesday's series finale against the Royals.

Asked if Rodriguez would miss his next start, Cora said, "Hopefully not."

Getting Kelly back is a good thing for the Red Sox, who have played with a 24-man roster the last six games -- some of which have included abbreviated performances by the starting pitcher.

"It wasn't easy," Cora said. "At this level, playing with one man down is tough. As you guys saw, we had to use certain guys more than usual -- [Heath Hembree] and [Brian Johnson], those two. It's a tough one because you're managing the game, where you're at. You never want to be in that situation. You don't want to be in that position. But it is what it is. Obviously, the starting pitching hasn't been as great as early in the season. We haven't had too many long outings. The bullpen was taxed and we paid the price."

This is Walden's third stint with the Red Sox this season. In the first two, he posted a 4.91 ERA in seven outings. Walden spent 11 seasons in the Minor Leagues before making his MLB debut against the Rays at Tropicana Field on April 1.

Cora still 'comfortable' with catching tandem Though the Red Sox haven't gotten much offense out of their catching tandem of Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon, Cora will stick with them for now rather than integrating utilityman Blake Swihart into the catching mix.

"As of now, those two guys are going to catch," Cora said. "We're comfortable with Sandy and Christian. I do feel, although the results are not there, Christian is taking the right steps to be better offensively. Hopefully the single Sandy got the other night will get him going. But in the end, they're doing a good job behind the plate."

Cora respects the tough situation Swihart is in. Swihart was again not in the starting lineup on Wednesday and started just two of Boston's first 30 games -- both as the designated hitter.

"He prepares just like the other two guys. It's just right now, we're comfortable with the other two," Cora said. "Nothing against him. Like I mentioned to you guys two weeks ago, I know there are going to be days he won't want to see me. He works, he's ready, it's just that the other guys right now, I do feel that they're that good defensively. There's a difference. He can catch at this level, of course he can."

Not only is the switch-hitter boxed out behind the plate, but Mitch Moreland and J.D. Martinez are the ones who typically get starts at first base and the outfield when Cora decides to rest someone else. Swihart is out of options so the Red Sox would likely lose him on waivers if they tried to send him to the Minors.

* WEEI.com

Despite power surge, Alex Cora says Mookie Betts will hit lead-off rest of season

Ryan Hannable

Missing a few games due to a sore hamstring, some might have thought it would have taken a few games for Mookie Betts to get back into the swing of things.

That wasn't the case at all, as Betts homered three times in the Red Sox' 5-4 win over the Royals Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park.

It was the second time he's done that this season and fourth of his career, which passes Ted Williams for the most such games in Red Sox history.

Betts leads the Red Sox with 11 home runs, a .451 on-base percentage and a .823 slugging percentage so far this season. With this kind of power, perhaps Alex Cora could be thinking of moving him into the No. 3 or 4 spot in the order, but that isn't the case.

He will stay the lead-off hitter for the rest of the season.

"I think the power is coming because of his approach," Cora said to reporters after the game. "The temptation is to move him higher, probably. He'll hit leadoff for us the rest of the season."

"Well, that was obviously a great performance," he added of the three homer game. "The last one, a pitch up in the zone, able to get the hands above it and drill it, that was impressive. He’s doing an outstanding job being ready to hit from the get-go and setting the tempo for the team."

Whenever Betts homers, it seems to be a good thing for the Red Sox. They have won each of their last 13 such games and are 31-3 in the last 34 such games.

Leading off or not, as long as Betts keeps hitting like he is it means good things are coming for Cora's team.

Red Sox 5, Royals 4: This Mookie guy is pretty good

Rob Bradford

Mookie Betts is better than Ted Williams.

Easy now.

What we're talking about is three-home run games, and in that respect Betts is better than the legend. He notched the fourth three-homer game of his career with three shots over the left field wall during the Red Sox' 5-4 win over the Royals, passing Ted for the most such games in Red Sox history. This time around two of the three homers were the longest of his career. (For a complete recap, click here.)

“I felt great," Betts said after the game. "Just a day game, try to get my body ready. I had to come in and do a couple of other things but I felt great running around and everything.”

But it's moments like this, and like we've already had this season, that makes you wonder what we're watching here in Betts.

Through the first month-plus of games, he is neck-and-neck with Didi Gregorius for the conversation for the best player of this season. With his three homers -- all coming against Kansas City's Danny Duffy -- he becomes the first player to total 11 homers, with his OPS flying past his Yankees counterpart, now sitting at 1.274.

And along the way you have Baltimore manager Buck Showalter calling Betts the best right fielder he has ever seen.

It has become somewhat baffling how good this guy has become at the age of 25 years old.

"Well, that was obviously a great performance," manager Alex Cora said. "The last one, a pitch up in the zone, able to get the hands above it and drill it, that was impressive. He’s doing an outstanding job being ready to hit from the get-go and setting the tempo for the team."

Betts staying at this level might be a reach, but it's also hard to imagine him falling too far off. We do have last season to juxtapose this run against, during which the outfielder seemed somewhat befuddled by the struggles that landed his batting average at .264. (We should remember he was hitting .311 on May 10.)

But there aren't a lot of players you really don't blink an eye at when they completely take over a game. That's what happened in this series finale, and nary an eye was blinked. Just another tip of the chapeau and the expecation that something similar isn't going to be that far off.

Drew Pomeranz had his most encouraging start of the season, giving up three runs over six innings. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the outing -- other than the lefty rebounding giving up three runs in the first two innings -- was his increased velocity. Pomeranz's last pitch registered at 92 mph, with the fastball hovering around 90 mph for much of the day.

Why Blake Swihart isn't cracking the Red Sox catching rotation

Rob Bradford

The Blake Swihart conundrum isn't going away.

The Red Sox catchers have the second-worst combined batting average (.171) and worst OPS (.428) in the major leagues, yet Swihart still won't be cracking the rotation of Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon. Prior to Wednesday afternoon's game, Alex Cora explained why.

"It's just right now, we're comfortable with the other two. Nothing against him," the Red Sox manager said. "Like I mentioned to you guys two weeks ago, I know there are going to be days, he won't want to see me. He works, he's ready, it's just that the other guys right now, I do feel that they're that good defensively. There's a difference. He can catch at this level? Of course he can. We saw it in spring training. Last year, if I remember, there was a spot here in Tampa they went extra innings and he caught nine, 10 innings, something like that. It was great. As you guys know things happen at this level. The other day we thought we were going to make a move infield-wise and somebody got hurt and we had to make adjustments. It’s not that I feel uncomfortable with Blake. Honestly, I feel comfortable. But as of now those two guys are going to catch."

Leon got the start Wednesday with Drew Pomeranz on the mound, carrying a 2.54 catcher's ERA, which is second in the majors after Houston's Brian McCann. Vazquez, meanwhile, is sitting at a respectable 3.68. The problem comes on the offensive end, with Leon hitting .129 and Vazquez coming in at .185.

Swihart? We don't really know how he would translate offensively.

The switch-hitter has accumulated just 20 at-bats, notching three hits (.150), still not playing a single inning at backstop. Swihart did, however, show tremendous potential throughout spring training, notching three homers and seven doubles in Grapefruit League play.

The problem, of course, is that Swihart is out of options, leaving him as the last position player on the 25- man roster and basically relegated to filling in as an outfielder or pinch-runner.

"It’s a tough one," Cora said of Swihart's plight. "In a perfect world we keep developing him and getting at- bats. As you know, that’s his strength, the offense. He’s not getting at-bats. But this is the reality of it. He knows he keeps getting prepared. We keep trying to find ways to put him out there and make it as easy as possible. It’s not easy. I’ve been saying it from the get-go."

* NBC Sports Boston

Betts blasts into Red Sox history with fourth three-homer game

Evan Drellich

BOSTON — In one way, Mookie Betts already stands alone in Red Sox history.

The right fielder's three home runs on Wednesday afternoon against the Royals gave him four career three- homer games, pushing him past Ted Williams for the most in franchise history. Betts went deep in consecutive at-bats at Fenway Park, all solo shots off starter Danny Duffy.

Fans chanted Betts name on a beautiful 80-degree day after the third home run, and he obliged the curtain call. The two longest home runs Betts has hit in his career happened to come Wednesday as well, with Betts as locked in as ever.

Duffy, a southpaw, allowed the first home run on a 1-and-1 changeup in the third inning. Betts crushed that one over everything to left-center, 452 feet -- his longest yet. (His previous longest shot was 433 feet, hit on May 9 last year.)

Betts' second homer came an inning later and went 361 feet, this one more pulled. On 0-and-2, Duffy left a slider right over the middle of the plate and Betts got it.

In the seventh inning, Betts drilled an elevated, outer-half fastball on 1-and-2. That one went 440 feet to center field, his second longest lifetime.

Betts also singled in his first at-bat of the day, making him 4-for-4, all off Duffy. He's been swinging earlier in counts, but took a fastball for strike one on the first pitch of all four at-bats Wednesday.

On the season, Betts has a .365 average, .451 on-base percentage and .823 slugging percentage, with 11 home runs, 11 doubles, 13 walks and 13 strikeouts.

* NESN.com

Red Sox Wrap: Mookie Betts Smacks Three Home Runs In Win Over Royals

Logan Mullen

Wednesday was a special day for Boston Red Sox star Mookie Betts. The 25-year-old right fielder made his return to the lineup in a big way, going deep three times as the Sox beat the Royals 5-4 in a matinee rubber match at Fenway Park. Betts tweaked his hamstring Saturday and had not started a game since, but in his return to the leadoff spot, the 25-year-old was not kind to Royals starter Danny Duffy.

With his three-home run game, Betts set the franchise record for career three-homer games with four, passing Ted Williams. With the win, the Red Sox climb to 22-8, while the Royals fall to 8-22.

Here’s how it all went down:

GAME IN A WORD Unbelievable.

With each passing at-bat for Betts, it became more and more incredible watching him go deep one time after another.

ON THE BUMP — Things got off to a shaky start for starter Drew Pomeranz, but after three bumpy innings he settled in well. He finished his six innings of work having allowed three runs on eight hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts. Pomeranz found himself in trouble early in the first, putting runners on second and third with no outs. After striking out Mike Moustakas for the first out, Salvador Perez flew out to deep center, plating Whit Merrifield from third. However, Jorge Soler never tagged up, and the Red Sox got him at second to end the inning on the sacrifice double play. The problems got worse in the second, as Pomeranz allowed a two-out double to Drew Butera, which scored a pair of runs to make it 3-0. Then in the third, the left-hander loaded the bases with one out before getting Jon Jay to ground into an inning-ending double play. The southpaw did settle in during the following frames, allowing just two hits in his final three innings, which brought him to the end of his day. Pomeranz gave up three runs on eight hits while striking out three and walking three in six innings of work.

— Joe Kelly, who was reinstated earlier in the day from his six-game suspension, came in and pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out two while allowing a hit.

— Matt Barnes pitched the eighth, allowing a solo home run to Cheslor Cuthbert to cut Boston’s lead to 5- 4. Barnes struck out two in his lone inning of relief.

— After surrendering the game-tying home run Tuesday night, Craig Kimbrel came in Wednesday redeemed himself, striking out the side in the ninth to earn the save.

IN THE BATTER’S BOX — The Red Sox’s bats lit up in the fourth inning, with a pair of home runs to erase the Royals’ 3-0 advantage. Mookie Betts led off the frame with a monstrous solo home run, carrying 452 feet. After Hanley Ramirez walked, J.D. Martinez launched a two-run shot to tie the game up.

— Then with the game locked at three in the fifth, Betts went deep again, this time sneaking a ball just inside the left-field foul pole for the go-ahead run. — But that wasn’t enough for Betts. In the seventh inning, the right fielder launched a ball to straightaway center to extend Boston’s advantage to 5-3 with his third dinger of the game. — Betts finished his day 4-for-4, while Martinez also registered a multi-hit game with two knocks. — Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and Eduardo Nunez all had one hit. — Andrew Benintendi, Sandy Leon and Jackie Bradley Jr. all went hitless. TWEET OF THE DAY Same, Papi. UP NEXT The Sox will head down south for a four-game set with the Texas Rangers. First pitch from Globe Life Park in Arlington is set for 8:05 p.m. ET. David Price will get the ball in Game 1 on Thursday and will be opposed by left-hander Mike Minor.

* The Boston Sports Journal

J.D. Martinez helping launch Mookie Betts to new heights

Sean McAdam

When the Red Sox got through with their winter-long dance with free agent J.D. Martinez, Alex Cora predicted that the newest member of the team would generate more talk — in the dugout, in the clubhouse, anywhere players gathered — about hitting.

Martinez is notorious for his preparation and studious nature. He carries notebooks, crammed with information about his own at-bats, opposing pitchers and anything else that might aid him at the plate.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Cora could report that the chatter about hitting has indeed increased thanks to Martinez.

What he couldn’t have predicted, however, was the impact Martinez could have on one Red Sox hitter in particular. Martinez has become a mentor of sort for Mookie Betts, a sounding board with whom he exchanges ideas, suggestions and general observations.

And five weeks into season, the student isn’t just learning his lessons. He’s outperforming his teacher.

For the second time in two weeks Wednesday, Betts had a three-homer game. That gave him nine homers in his last 12 games and 22 extra-base hits in his last 26 games. He now leads the American League in homers and the majors in runs scored.

In short, there seems little that Betts can’t do.

Of course, it’s not as if this growth at the plate has come out of nowhere. Just two years ago, Betts was narrowly beaten out for American League MVP by Mike Trout, who’s acknowledged as the best player in the game. And last season, even in something of an off-year, Betts still managed to lead the Red Sox in virtually every significant offensive category and still finished sixth in the A.L. MVP balloting.

But this season, Betts has ascended. Freed from the conventional approach normally associated with leadoff hitters, Betts has turned more aggressive, hunting hittable pitches earlier in the count. And he’s flipped some sort of switch with his power. After a career-best 31 homers in 2016, he’s currently on a pace to hit nearly double that total.

Martinez watched Betts from some distance the last few seasons and recognized his immense talent and potential. But as a teammate and something of a confidant, he’s witnessed Betts evolving as a hitter.

“When we first started talking in the spring,” said Martinez after the Sox closed out a homestand with a 5-4 win over Kansas City, adding a homer of his own to go with three from Betts, “it seemed like he kind of didn’t know. He was kind of searching for feel. He was more of that ‘feel’ hitter. ‘This feels right…this is what I do.’ And then you kind of get to talking to him and have him expressing his thoughts and for me, he’s hungry for information. He wants information. He’s always talking about hitting. Every time I’m next to him, he’s always in my ear, talking about hitting, talking about hitting. It just seems like to me, I can relate to it a lot, because he’s not satisfied. I love that about him. That’s what makes him special.”

Well, that and incredibly fast hands, a quick-twitch ability and improved pitch recognition.

Martinez is self-diagnostic at the plate, able to spot the smallest of changes in his swing and make adjustments before a few poor at-bats snowball into something more concerning. He was in the process of remaking himself as a hitter when he was designed for assignment four years ago, and since then, has been among the most productive and consistent hitters in the game.

He credits much of his career turnaround to his reliance on launch angle, and changing his swing into a slight uppercut, with which he powers pitches. He’s shared that with Betts, and in tandem with the increased aggression Betts has shown, it’s elevated — quite literally — him at the plate.

“He’s kind of gravitated toward me in that direction,” said Martinez. “Seeing little simple things in his swing that can make him so much better. He’s loved it. He eats it up. He studies it after every at-bat. It’s ‘Hey, did you see that? Why do you think I missed that pitch?’ (I tell him) ‘Well, you did this and that.’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, I see it, I see it.’ And I’ll see him in the cage, working on (that particular element). You can tell somebody one thing, but for someone to go out there and be able to translate it on the field that quickly, it’s special.”

After a slow start in the first week, Martinez has provided exactly the kind of production the Sox had hoped. He leads the team in RBI and is second in homers and batting average. He’s had the effect of making the Red Sox lineup, at once, deeper and more feared.

As a bonus, he’s had a huge impact on Betts, providing his teammate with just the right feedback and guidance to make an already very good hitter great.

Red Sox 5, Royals 4 – Mookie makes history

Sean McAdam

HEADLINESBetts makes history with 3-homer game: For the second time this season and fourth time in his career, Mookie Betts enjoyed a three-homer game, establishing a franchise record by passing Ted Williams. To put that accomplishment into perspective: there are only 18 players since 1908 who have four three-homer games and only one other active player that has done it: Albert Pujols. “When you have these kind of days it’s fun,” said Betts, who has been having them a lot lately. He has nine homers in his last 12 games and has made himself just the second Red Sox player since 1908 to have three multi-homer games in the first 30 games of a season. The other was Manny Ramirez in 2001; only two others have done it since 1908: Carlos Delgado (2001) and Willie Stargell (1971). That’s pretty heady company to be keeping, but then, Betts is at an elite level right now.

Pomeranz takes some baby steps: Starter Drew Pomeranz didn’t look much better than in his last start during the first couple of innings Wednesday. He fell behind 3-0 and the Royals were hitting rockets all over the ballpark against him. But then something clicked. “We put in a lot of work between the last start and now,” said Pomeranz. “We watched a lot of video, did a lot of things to find some rhythm out there. For whatever reason, it wasn’t clicking the first couple of innings, then all of sudden, I just kind of got it.” Pomeranz discovered better command of his fastball, and found the work he had been doing to improve his curveball was paying off. “A lot better,” confirmed Pomeranz. “I was just trying to find that right feeling. When I say feel, it’s staying behind it and then (better) extension out front. I can tell when it’s a little off and I’m not getting all the way through it. That’s what gives it that late bite.”

Kimbrel bounces back: After allowing a solo homer to Alex Gordon in the ninth inning Tuesday night, resulting in a blown save, Craig Kimbrel was back on the mound in another save situation, about 18 hours later. This time, the results were much better. He faced three hitters and struck out all three. And wouldn’t you know it: the first batter he faced Wednesday was Gordon, who had hit his first homer of the season off Kimbrel the night before. The save was the 299th of Kimbrel’s career. He’ll soon become the youngest reliever ever to reach the 300 save plateau.

TURNING POINT

In the fifth inning, having homered in his previous at-bat, Mookie Betts connected for his second homer of the afternoon. That one put the Red Sox ahead for good, and also hinted that Betts might have another historic day in his sights.

TWO UP

Joe Kelly: Having served his six-game suspension for his involvement in a brawl with the Yankees last month, Kelly returned and looked sharp, pitching a scoreless seventh and posting two strikeouts.

J.D. Martinez: Martinez had his fifth multi-hit game in his last seven, homering in the fourth and adding a single in the fifth. He now has 14 hits in his last eight games.

ONE DOWN

Jackie Bradley Jr.: The outfielder continues to run cold at the plate, with an 0-for-3 afternoon and two strikeouts, dropping his average to .188.

QUOTE OF NOTE

“I was just trying to shut (the Royals) down long enough to keep letting Mookie get at-bats. When he gets hot like that, we’re all cheering for more at-bats for him.” Drew Pomeranz on his strategy.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

The Sox improved to 8-2-0 in their 10 series played this season. Thirteen of the Red Sox’ 21 wins have been of the come-from-behind variety. They’ve managed to erase multiple-run deficits in each of their last five games. Jackie Bradley Jr. picked up an assist when he doubled up Jorge Soler and 20 assists from CF since 2016. The Sox have won 16 of the last 21 games started by Drew Pomeranz.

UP NEXT

The Sox begin a three-city, 10-game road trip Thursday night in Arlington, Texas against the Rangers, with LHP David Price (2-3, 3.78) vs. LHP Mike Minor (2-1, 4.33).

* The Athletic

Hanley Ramirez has become an unusual locker room force for Red Sox

Chad Jennings

On Wednesday morning, the Red Sox clubhouse was still and quiet. Day games after night games have that effect, especially when the night game was an extra-inning loss. So a few reporters milled about longing for coffee, and a few players sat at their lockers making small talk amongst themselves.

Then Hanley Ramirez walked into the room.

He stopped briefly to tease a NESN reporter, swaggered to his corner locker and plugged his phone into the sound system. He scrolled for a few seconds, cranked up the volume and let Kenny Loggins take it from there.

Been working so hard

I’m punching my card

Eight hours for what?

Oh, tell me what I got

It was the theme song from Footloose, and Ramirez danced some version of the Twist. Booty shaking. Hair flying. He walked 10 feet to his left, grabbed Rafael Devers and kissed his cheek. He let the song play out, then scrolled to another. This time, it was Prince with the full sermon intro to Let’s Go Crazy.

Oh no, let’s go!

“Last night was a tough loss, you know,” Ramirez said. “So, today – let me see how to explain to you – it’s not a day to come to the clubhouse and feel down. It’s a new day. We want to go out there and win the series. So, I just try to motivate everybody and see everybody smiling and get ready for the game to compete on the field.”

The Red Sox did win the series. Their 5-4 nail-biter over Kansas City was their third win in four days, a return to form after losing five of their previous seven. Mookie Betts homered three times. Joe Kelly returned from suspension for a scoreless seventh inning, Drew Pomeranz settled in to get through six, and Craig Kimbrel got his 299th save.

Ramirez went 1-for-3 with a walk and a double. He’s hitting .311, back to the productive middle-of-the- order hitter his shoulders wouldn’t let him be last season. But that’s only part of his impact.

“Honestly, he brings energy every day,” manager Alex Cora said. “The way he acts in the clubhouse, the way he interacts with the players. He has this saying when he comes in every day in the clubhouse. He’s like, ‘Now we have a chance.’ That’s cool because he keeps everybody loose.”

There are familiar elements in his playbook. It’s a little bit Manny Ramirez, a little bit David Ortiz — the quirks, the bravado, the easy smile and booming laugh – but the style is all Hanley, his own brand of leadership that teammates have embraced as one of a kind.

“We call him, in Puerto Rico, a clown,” Christian Vazquez said. “He’s a good clown, you know. My favorite clown.”

Pick any game on the schedule and there will be examples of Hanley being Hanley. In fact, go back exactly one week to last Wednesday in Toronto.

In the second inning, Vazquez fired a snap throw to first base where Ramirez applied a tag a moment too late. The umpire ruled safe, and Ramirez began to celebrate.

He looked up toward the Rogers Centre roof and pumped both arms in the air. Vazquez smiled, clapped his hands and nodded his head. Ramirez and Vazquez were still smiling – laughing, really – as they got themselves into position for the next pitch.

“Because I never throw to first,” Vazquez said. “He was excited because I threw.”

Never mind that it hadn’t worked. In that moment, Ramirez was celebrating the effort, and making sure Vazquez knew it.

Five innings later, starter Eduardo Rodriguez was pulled with two outs in the seventh. It was his longest start of the year, and he wanted to finish that inning, but the Red Sox were leading and Rodriguez would soon have his third win.

As Cora walked onto the field and motioned to the bullpen, Ramirez joined the Red Sox infielders on the mound and wrapped Rodriguez in a hug. When Rodriguez gave up the ball, Ramirez reached toward his beard and physically lifted his chin.

“He knows that I had a good game, and he just comes to me and hugs me,” Rodriguez said. “I was a little mad, but when he does that, eh, it’s just something he does all the time. If it was somebody else, I would probably get mad at it. (Ramirez can do it) because he does it all the time. The way he is, you go, ‘OK.’ But it’s kind of like, in the right moments, because coming out of the game, nobody is going to be happy.”

When the game was over – a come-from-behind win to snap a three-game losing streak – much of the focus was on Betts, who’d hit two home runs. But Ramirez had initiated a team outing to a Bruins first-round playoff game two nights earlier, and in that moment, he wanted to celebrate the Bruins winning Game 7.

“Let’s talk about the Bruins,” Ramirez shouted as Betts was being interviewed. “They won, let’s do it. We don’t care about Mookie. We care about the Bruins right now. They won. Everybody knows Mookie’s good.”

Betts just laughed and kept talking. Ramirez’s style is familiar now, comfortable even, but Betts later admitted it took some getting used to.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Betts said. “But now we just know who he is, and you just kind of embrace it now.”

None of this is calculated, Ramirez insisted. Cranking the music pregame, making teammates laugh in- game, making a spectacle of himself postgame. In small doses, it seems like an act — Ramirez can appear aloof, hostile, even indifferent — but see enough subtle gestures and they start to make sense as something all together different.

Ramirez sees a team in need of a distraction, a teammate in need of a boost, or a clubhouse in need of a clown.

“In that moment, you know,” Ramirez said. “In that moment. In the game and in baseball, it’s hard to predict ahead of time all those little things. When things happen like that, you have to react right away. It’s not me. I think it’s God, you know, telling me what to do with those young guys and keep this team together.”

Ramirez was 21 when he made his big league debut with the Red Sox in 2005. He was traded that winter for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. He became a superstar in Florida, a big market acquisition in Los Angeles, and he came back to Boston in November 2014.

It had been nine years, almost to the day, since he left.

He’s now 34, the oldest player in the room until Dustin Pedroia comes back, and it’s clear Ramirez feels a mentor’s responsibility, especially with Devers, the youngest player on the team. Ramirez has been in those shoes. He sometimes acts like he’s still wearing them.

“I always liked the kid,” Cora said, of his former teammate and current No. 3 hitter. “I don’t want to say it’s Manny-like because you guys know how Manny went about his business, but he’s pretty close. It’s a process, starting in the mornings, and he goes through all this stuff to get ready at 7:05. That’s impressive, and I think people don’t realize that. They just see him out there and playing mean and playing mad. There’s a lot of players in the big leagues that they play that way, they have an attitude on the field and that’s their edge, but he takes pride every day to be ready at 7:05.”

Ramirez can be goofy. He can be intimidating. He can be disruptive. But every scowl is followed by a smile, every joke is eased with a hug, and every boast is satisfied with a trip to the cage or a session in the weight room.

“He’s a great person, you know,” Vazquez said. “Very humble. He likes to help everybody.”

“It’s pretty good to watch him doing like that all the time,” Rodriguez said. “I understand him. I know where he’s coming from.”

“He makes everybody kind of relaxed and what not,” Betts said. “He makes everybody comfortable. When we go play the game, he’s ready and kind of gets you ready. Just makes you relaxed and go have fun.”

With Ramirez, the volume is always turned up.

I’ve got this feeling that time’s just holding me down

I’ll hit the ceiling or else I’ll tear up this town

Now I gotta cut loose, footloose

* The Kansas City Star

The Red Sox couldn’t hit lefty pitchers. But they unraveled Royals ace Danny Duffy

Maria Torres

BOSTON With the sun beating down on an 86-degree Wednesday afternoon in Boston, the Royals all stood with their backs to home plate as they watched a replay of Mookie Betts’ second home run of the game soaring over Fenway Park’s left-field wall.

All, anyway, but Royals left-handed pitcher Danny Duffy, who watched it live, muttering to himself and shaking his head.

As the ball cut through the air at 98 mph, it hugged the third-base line. It had the launch angle for a home run — 31 degrees — but it almost didn’t seem Betts got enough of the pitch to drive it fair into the Green Monster seats.

After 5.1 seconds, it avoided hooking foul of the left-field pole. As Betts rounded the bases, the tie- breaking homer gave the Red Sox a fifth-inning advantage in what became a 5-4 Royals loss in the rubber match of a three-game series.

And the irony of this 22nd loss of the Royals season: Duffy should have been the Red Sox’s kryptonite.

“Like I told Danny after the game, this is a tough club to make mistakes on,” manager Ned Yost said. “Because they're going to make you pay. And Danny didn't make a lot of them. I thought he threw the ball really well. But just the two change-ups that he pulled back into the middle of the zone, they just hit it pretty good.”

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy allowed four home runs in a 5-4 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at Fenway Park in Boston. He remains winless in 2018 but manager Ned Yost is happy with his progress. Maria Torres

Duffy had things going for him. He was up against one of the best teams in baseball but the Red Sox had one flaw in their game. They entered Wednesday with baseball’s worst batting average against left-handed pitchers. They had only clubbed four homers against lefties.

For three innings, Duffy played the part. He held the Red Sox to one hit and faced the minimum while tossing 31 pitches. The Royals offense, meanwhile, built a 3-0 lead despite Jorge Soler losing track of the number of outs in the first inning and the Royals batting 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

But in the fourth, Betts drilled his first home run of the game 452 feet to left field. Hanley Ramirez drew a walk two batters later, and scored when J.D. Martinez launched his own homer over the Green Monster. The Red Sox went 4 for 7 with three runs and two homers in the inning, and wound up adding five more hits against Duffy.

Betts set a Red Sox record while his team improved their worst stat. His 440-foot homer off Duffy in the seventh marked his fourth three-homer game in his career. In his fifth major-league season, he surpassed Ted Williams for most three-homer games in club history.

After Betts made his curtain call, Yost removed Duffy with two outs in the seventh. The ace of the the Royals rotation remained winless for the season. The Royals, still searching for their first series victory of the year, fell to 8-22.

As Yost reflected on this convoluted beginning to his opening day starter’s eighth major-league season, he didn’t hesitate to praise Duffy’s progress. Duffy may have the second-highest ERA (5.63) in the rotation but he’s racked up a team-leading 34 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings spanning seven starts. The chase rate on Duffy’s slider has gradually improved, up 2.6 percent from last season’s 30.7 rate through his first six starts of the season. In the same span, he’d mixed in his curveball 2.6 percent of the time, compared to just 0.9 in 2017.

The signs for a better outcome, Yost believes, are there.

“Today I thought it was the best stuff that he's had,” he said. “He made a couple mistakes.”

Duffy just needs the outs.

“That’s all I’m searching for,” Duffy said. “My stuff has been great. I’ve been busting my (butt) every freaking game. I’m tired of going out there and getting my (butt) kicked with great stuff. I don’t know what else to say. It’s nothing between the ears that’s detrimental. There’s nothing going on physically. I’m just not making pitches to get guys out. I’m sick of it.”

* Associated Press

Betts homers 3 times as Red Sox beat Royals 5-4

BOSTON -- Mookie Betts heard the name Ted Williams, and that was enough for him.

Betts belted three solo homers and J.D. Martinez also went deep, powering the Boston Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

It was the fourth three-homer game for the 25-year-old Betts, snapping a tie with Williams for most three- homer games in franchise history. Betts broke into the majors with the Red Sox in 2014, so he was well aware of the significance of the connection to the Hall of Famer.

"It's pretty cool," Betts said. "He hit .400 in a year and did a whole bunch of things I haven't done. Just to know my name is amongst his is pretty cool."

Betts also hit three homers in a 10-1 victory at the Angels on April 17. He is the first player in major league history with four three-homer games before turning 26, according to STATS.

"We're trying to shut them down just to get Mookie another at-bat," Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz said, smiling. "When he gets going like that, that's pretty cool."

AL East-leading Boston won for the third time in four games after losing 7-6 in 13 innings on Tuesday night.

Cheslor Cuthbert homered for Kansas City, and Drew Butera had a two-run double. The Royals were trying for consecutive wins for just the second time this season.

Danny Duffy (0-4) was tagged for five runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Pomeranz (1-1) worked six innings, giving up all three of his runs in the first two frames. Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth save and 299th of his career a day after his first blown opportunity this season.

Unlike most of the early season games in Fenway Park, there was a summer-like feel with a game-time temperature of 86 degrees under bright-blue skies.

Betts led off the fourth with a drive to center for his ninth homer of the season. Hanley Ramirez walked with one out and Martinez followed with a drive to center, tying it at 3.

"I see Mookie Betts six times a year," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Going on a six-game look, a special player."

Betts connected again in the fifth, sending a drive just inside the left-field foul pole into the Green Monster seats. His third homer of the game also came against Duffy, driving a 1-2 pitch over the wall in center in the seventh.

"I'm searching for outs. I'm tired of going out there and getting my butt kicked," said Duffy, who is winless in his career against the Red Sox.

Kansas City closed to 5-4 on Cuthbert's homer in the eighth, but Boston finished it off from there.

The umpiring crew had four calls overturned -- including two by first-base umpire Fieldin Culbreth.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Royals: 3B Mike Moustakas returned to the starting lineup after just pinch-hitting on Tuesday. He was hit on the right forearm by a pitch in the series opener.

Red Sox: Betts started for the first time since leaving Saturday's game with a tight right hamstring. ... LHP Eduardo Rodriguez was placed on the family medical leave list and RHP Marcus Walden was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. Manager Alex Cora doesn't know if the lefty will miss his turn in the rotation.

GET BACK

The Royals scored a strange run in the first.

With Jorge Soler on second and Whit Merrifield on third and one out, Salvador Perez hit a fly ball near the triangle in center.

Merrifield waved Soler back as he raced home. Soler was doubled up.

Perez was credited with a sacrifice fly because Merrifield crossed before the double play was completed.

ALLOWED BACK

Boston right-hander Joe Kelly returned after serving a six-game suspension for his part in a brawl with the Yankees last month. He pitched one scoreless inning.

UP NEXT

Royals: LHP Eric Skoglund (1-2, 6.23 ERA) starts Thursday afternoon at home against Detroit. He allowed one run in a career-high seven innings in his previous start.

Red Sox: LHP David Price (2-3, 3.78 ERA) starts Thursday night at Texas in the opener of a 10-game trip, tying the club's longest this season. He is 4-5 with a 5.11 ERA in 14 career starts against the Rangers.