Finally, the games that actually matter.
The Red Sox paid lip service to focusing on the Angels Thursday night, but they knew what loomed, and now it's here.
Red Sox vs. Yankees in the House Inspired by the House that Ruth Built for AL East supremacy.
That series opens Friday with Eduardo Rodriguez opposing CC Sabathia in a battle of left-handers. Before the showdown between American League beasts could begin, however, the Red Sox needed to take care of business against the Angels, and they polished off the sweep on Thursday with a 4-2 victory that wasn't decided until Jackie Bradley ripped a two-run homer into the bullpen in the seventh inning and Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi showed off their wheels in the outfield in support of a shaky Joe Kelly.
The win pushes the Red Sox to 55-27, a game ahead of the Yankees. If the two clubs play the second half at the same rate they played the first, they'll both finish with 108 wins, making their head-to-head matchups of the utmost importance.
"I think if you win, that takes care of everything," Bradley said. "As long as winning is your focus and you get that done, you don't have to worry about any other teams. We'll see. They have a good team as well. We also have a pretty good team. I think we're going to be competing to the very end."
Of course, tie-breakers only come into play if teams are actually tied, and the Red Sox added another W to that column by sweeping the six-game season series from the Angels, the first time they've ever pulled that off against any opponent.
This one was a struggle. The Red Sox received a solid start from left-hander Brian Johnson in place of knuckleballer Steven Wright, but still trailed 1-0 on an Andrelton Simmons solo homer in the fourth.
Third baseman Rafael Devers tied things up with homer in the fifth, and a bases-loaded walk by Brock Holt gave the Red Sox the lead for good in the sixth.
Bradley delivered breathing room by hammering a two-run homer in the seventh to push his average over .200 for the first time since April 29 and his outfield-mates made it stand with two on in the eighth. Betts raced in to snare a sinking liner and then Benintendi raced back to Monster to make a leaping catch. The inning fittingly ended with Bradley securing the final out. He added a leaping catch in the first to his homer in the seventh.
The bottom third of the order stayed hot, with Devers, Christian Vazquez and Bradley combining to go 4-for-12. As a group, they're hitting nearly .380 over the last week with six homers.