Angels at Red Sox
J.D. Martinez, Jackie Bradley Jr. and the Boston Red Sox have held the Los Angeles Angels under their thumb this season. Martinez and Bradley look to continue that dominance on Wednesday as the Red Sox (53-27) bid for a series victory against the Angels (41-39) at Fenway Park.
Martinez and Bradley were two of four Boston players to go deep in Tuesday's 9-1 romp, with the former improving to 11-for-22 with two homers, six RBIs and eight runs scored during his five-game hitting streak. The 30-year-old Martinez is a robust 10-for-17 with two homers against Los Angeles this season, a series in which the Red Sox have outscored (36-4) and out-hit (57-19) the Angels by significant margins. While Boston has won four of five to remain hot on the heels of the New York Yankees heading into their weekend series, Los Angeles has lost four in a row and 11 of 15 to drop to two games over .500. Two-time American League Most Valuable Player Mike Trout is 20-for-44 in his last 13 contests and has reached base safely in 16 of 17 career games at Fenway Park.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS West (Los Angeles), NESN (Boston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels LH Andrew Heaney (4-5, 3.43 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH Rick Porcello (9-3, 3.44)
Heaney desperately is looking for his success at home to extend itself to the road, as he improved to 4-1 with an 0.88 ERA in his last six starts at Angel Stadium on Friday after allowing one run in seven innings of a 2-1 triumph versus Toronto. Conversely, the 27-year-old owns an 0-3 mark with a 5.13 ERA in six road starts this season. Heaney fared well in his lone career appearance against Boston, yielding two runs on five hits in seven innings of a 7-3 victory on July 20, 2015.
Porcello authored a gem in his last trip to the mound, permitting just one hit and three men to reach base over seven scoreless innings in a 9-2 victory at Minnesota on Thursday. The 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner also put forth a sterling effort in his last encounter against the Angels, scattering six hits and striking out as many over six innings in a 9-0 rout on April 18. While Porcello improved to 7-7 in his career against Los Angeles, the 29-year-old hurler has struggled considerably against Ian Kinsler (11-for-22, seven RBIs) and Albert Pujols (10-for-29).
WALK-OFFS
1. Bradley is 7-for-14 with two homers and six RBIs against Los Angeles this season.
2. Kinsler has hit safely in nine of his last 11 games versus Boston.
3. Red Sox 1B Mitch Moreland has eight RBIs and nine runs scored during his eight-game hitting streak.