The Boston Red Sox Sunday, May 16, 2021 * The Boston Globe Birthday boy Alex Verdugo homers, Martin Pérez cruises as Red Sox bounce Angels Julian McWilliams Alex Verdugo rounded the bases after his first-inning solo shot Saturday and made sure not to miss anybody. He had friends seated in the first row of the Green Monster seats. He pointed to them as he rounded second base. He had his family, including his mom and dad, in the stands above home plate. He pointed to them, too, when he crossed the dish. The day had multiple layers to it for both Verdugo in the Sox. For starters, the Verdugo homer helped catapult the Red Sox to a convincing 9-0 win over the Angels. The first-place Red Sox, who have won three straight, will go for a series sweep Sunday. Secondly, it snapped an 0-for-14 skid for Verdugo. The game also marked the first time Verdugo’s family got a chance to see him play at Fenway following a 2020 season without any fans. Oh, and Saturday also happened to be the outfielder’s 25th birthday. “The last thing we want to do is lose on my birthday,” Verdugo said after the game. “That’s the biggest thing for me. In that first at-bat, going through a little skid, getting a pitch out over [the plate], and driving it like that in front of my family and friends here was a very special moment for me.” That wouldn’t be Verdugo’s only hit of the game. Verdugo was 2 for 4 on the day with two runs scored. After losing his approach at the plate in that last week, Verdugo was once again locked in. “I wasn’t letting the ball travel,” Verdugo said regarding his recent struggles. “And that’s the biggest thing for me is when I let the fastball travel and get deep on me, I just use my hands and shoot it to left. And then it puts me in a better spot for the curveballs, the change ups or the off speed pitches.” Ironically, both of Verdugo’s hits came to the pull side. His first inning homer came on a fastball Verdugo crushed into the right field stands. Nonetheless, he didn’t roll over on any of the pitches, which is indicative of his approach that caters toward staying inside the baseball. The Red Sox clobbered Dylan Bundy for eight hits and seven runs in four-plus innings of work. In the fourth inning, Bobby Dalbec carried over his success from Friday evening’s contest when his two- out double scored an additional two runs. Franchy Cordero followed Dalbec with a double of his own, extending the Red Sox’ lead to 4-0. Both Dalbec and Cordero recorded two doubles in the game. Xander Bogaerts obliterated a Bundy fastball 446 feet, the second-longest homer of his career. The three- run shot was Bogaerts’s ninth homer of the year and ended Bundy’s afternoon. “He didn’t miss that one,” manager Alex Cora said of Bogaerts. “He’s having a heck of a start.” Martin Pérez entered Saturday without a win in his last nine starts, dating to last season. But Pérez saw that misfortune end Saturday with six innings of three-hit ball. Pérez, who is prone to the walk, did issue four of them, but his overall stuff played when he needed it to. For instance, he fanned Shohei Ohtani twice with his sinker in the third, and then his cutter in the fifth. Ohtani went down swinging on Pérez’s sinker and then jumped out the way of his cutter in the fifth that darted back over the plate for a strike. “When I have those two pitches in the zone, or where I want it, my changeup is good,” said Pérez, who has given up just four earned runs over his last four starts (22⅓ innings, 1.61 ERA).”You can attack the hitters a little bit more. For me, today everything was good.” Rafael Devers’s solo shot in the seventh was his 10th homer of the season, tying him with J.D. Martinez for the most on the club. The Red Sox (25-16) will have Nate Eovaldi on the mound Sunday. Saturday’s win proved yet again how productive this Red Sox team can be when it all comes together. “I think overall, probably the best game of the season for us,” Cora said. Matt Barnes continues dominant start anchoring Red Sox bullpen Julian McWilliams Matt Barnes has been one of the best relievers in all of baseball this season. Friday evening’s save against the Angels marked Barnes’s 12th perfect appearance of at least one inning of work. In his last eight appearances he has retired 23 of 24 hitters, backed by 15 strikeouts in that span. Barnes is 9 for 9 in save opportunities, allowing zero runs while holding opponents to an .034 batting average. Barnes holds a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings and has fanned 33. Veteran reliever Adam Ottavino knows what it feels like to be on this type of tear. “You kind of feel like you have a secret,” Ottavino said prior to his team’s 9-0 win against the Angels Saturday. “Like, I know something that you don’t know and that you’re in big trouble when you face me. Right now, that’s how the hitters are, they’re in big trouble when they face him.” Ottavino has been in Barnes’s ear during this stretch, wanting him to aim even higher. “I told him a week ago that he has to get greedy in this situation,” Ottavino said. “Don’t let the foot off the gas just because it’s going easy right now. Put your foot on their neck and get greedy with it and see how far you can take it. It’s still a long season, but the start is off right now. I mean, you can dream a little bit on it.” Verdugo breaks out of slump Before Alex Verdugo’s solo shot in the bottom of the first inning Saturday off Angels starter Dylan Bundy, the outfielder was in a bit of a rut at the plate. He was hitless in his previous 14 at-bats prior to Saturday. In his six previous games, Verdugo was just 2 for 24 (.083), 12 for 53 overall in the month of May. “It seems like he’s getting beat with fastballs inside, and then changeups, he’s rolling over,” manager Alex Cora said. In the month of May, teams have been throwing hard stuff (sinker, cutter, four-seam fastball) middle-in to Verdugo 3.8 percent of the time. In April, that number was just 1.4 percent. Cora acknowledged that the workload is different for Verdugo, too, who hasn’t played more than 106 games for his career. “This is something that is different for him, 162 games,” Cora said. “He’s never done that. So we got to take care of him.” Verdugo finished Saturday 2 for 4, including a single in the fifth and two runs scored. “It’s a long year,” Verdugo said after the game. “And we all know we go through ups and downs.” Setback for Arroyo Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) took soft toss Friday and didn’t come out of it well. “It didn’t go great,” Cora said. “He’s not going to take batting practice today. He’s still feeling it towards the end of his swing. Kind of like babying his swing through impact.” Arroyo won’t be ready for a rehab game just yet, but the team and Cora also think he’s not that far off with a target date of next week. For now, though, Arroyo will have to go through his progression again. “We have to reset that plan and go from there,” Cora said. “We’ll probably try the same thing, get treatment and go back to tee work and start building again.” Hernández nearing return Kiké Hernández was in the WooSox lineup Saturday against Syracuse batting leadoff as the team’s DH. He will play the outfield Sunday. INF/OF Danny Santana was also in the WooSox lineup and hit a two-run homer in his first-at bat. Santana finished 1 for 4 with a walk, a strikeout and two runs scored. Hernández was 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a run scored … Cora said Tanner Houck (sore flexor muscle) is feeling “normal” , but it will ultimately be the team doctor’s decision in regards to what normal is. “The fact that he’s feeling that way it’s a positive,” Cora said. ... The Red Sox have begun 35 days in sole possession of first place in the American League East. The Red Sox join the White Sox as the only AL team without a four-plus game losing streak this season... The Red Sox placed reliever Garrett Whitlock on the COVID- 19-related injured list Saturday. Whitlock felt some lingering effects from his second dose of the COVID- 19 vaccine. The team recalled Colten Brewer from Triple A Worcester. No doubt Alex Cora has made a big difference this season with the Red Sox Peter Abraham It seems like ancient history now with the Red Sox in first place. But Alex Cora’s return as manager six months ago wasn’t guaranteed. The organization certainly needed some convincing, considering a full state of candidates before deciding to bring back Cora after a seasonlong suspension for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal.