At 34 years old, Martin Perez isn’t the same pitcher he was in 2020-21 for the Red Sox, let alone three years ago when he made the American League All-Star team in his first season with the Rangers. At his best, Perez had a four-seam fastball that reached 94 miles per hour, fast enough to overwhelm hitters.
When he took the mound Friday night at Fenway Park for the White Sox, Perez’s fastball was barely hitting 88 m.p.h. He was the kind of pitcher the Red Sox could pounce all over. And in a 10-3 win, that’s exactly what they did.
Rafael Devers tagged Perez for a first-pitch, ground-rule double with one out in the first inning, and after Alex Bregman walked, cleanup hitter Trevor Story drilled the first pitch he saw to center field for a three-run homer.
The Red Sox saw a total of 14 pitches in their first six at-bats.
Perez didn’t last long. He left the game after the third inning with shoulder soreness. The Sox dented him for four runs on five hits, including Rob Refsnyder’s RBI double in the third, and two walks.
The Red Sox went on to cruise to their third straight win. They did it using the same swing-away approach used throughout the start to the season.
Entering Friday, the Red Sox had the highest first-pitch swing percentage in baseball (36 percent), and the fourth-highest swing percentage on in-zone first pitches (49.8 percent).
The at-bats in Friday’s four-game series opener were quick. Eleven of the Red Sox’ first 19 at-bats lasted three pitches or less.
Story, one of the most aggressive hitters in the lineup, gladly seized upon the opportunity. He saw 11 pitches over four at-bats and homered twice for just the second time since joining the Red Sox in 2022 after 19 multi-homer games over six seasons with the Rockies.
Story’s second home run was also a three-run shot and came in the seventh inning. He went 3 for 4 with the six RBIs.
Refsnyder also had a 3 for 4 night.
Carlos Narváez went 2 for 4 with his first home run for the Red Sox, a 353-foot blast to left-center in the eighth inning.
Starter Hunter Dobbins went six innings after being called up from Triple A Worcester earlier in the day. The righthander held the White Sox to two runs on three hits with six strikeouts. Making his second start, he picked up his second win of the season.
Former Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi got the White Sox on the board in the fourth with a solo homer. He was 1 for 3 and scored two runs.
The double-digit run total was the third of the season for the Red Sox.
Julian Benbow can be reached at [email protected].
