BOSTON (AP) – Andrew Benintendi, J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox came out swinging in the World Series opener, seizing every advantage in their quirky ballpark to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on a chilly, windy Tuesday night.
Benintendi delivered four hits, Martinez drove in two early runs and pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez golfed a three-run homer to seal it. The 108-win Red Sox got a solid effort from their bullpen after an expected duel between aces Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw never developed.
Xander Bogaerts grounded into a go-ahead forceout in the fifth and Rafael Devers followed with an RBI single for a 5-3 lead.
After Manny Machado hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh for his third RBI, Nunez homered over the Green Monster off Alex Wood in the bottom half.
Boston’s David Price faces Hyun-Jin Ryun in Game 2 on Wednesday night. This marks just the third World Series in which both starting pitchers in the first two games are lefties, after 1963 and 1973.
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