Martinez' blast lifts Red Sox to victory

JD Martinez' two-run homer to right field proves to be the difference as the Red Sox beat the White Sox, 4-2, on Saturday at Fenway Park.

BOSTON - This certainly didn’t figure to be a series the Red Sox needed to salvage by winning the final two games.

 But that’s exactly where Boston found itself heading into a gorgeous late Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, with the lowly White Sox riding high off an opening shutout the previous night.

 Red Sox odds were a bit more favorable with the return of J.D. Martinez to the lineup, and he made the expected contribution in the bottom of the fifth inning. His two-run homer to right field was the difference, as Boston drew even on the weekend thanks to a 4-2 victory.

 It was the 21st round-tripper of the season for Martinez, who was given the previous night off due to lower back tightness. His powerful right-handed swing appeared in fine working order at the perfect time, as he smashed a hanging changeup the other way into the Boston bullpen.

 It was the sixth straight Red Sox win in a game started by David Price, as the left-hander continues something of a personal redemption tour. Price is 5-0 with a 2.89 earned-run average over his last six outings, the allergy attack and mild carpal-tunnel syndrome that dogged him earlier in the season seemingly a thing of the past. That Price could emerge as a co-ace with Chris Sale, who was a tough-luck loser the previous night despite eight brilliant innings, should give Boston fans reason to look ahead some four months to October with renewed optimism.

 Price persevered through a rocky beginning, with Tim Anderson singling and Jose Abreu doubling around a Jose Rondon walk in the top of the first. Abreu scraped the Green Monster with a towering drive, making it 1-0, and Kevan Smith’s grounder to the right side doubled the early White Sox lead.

 Chicago didn’t have much else to show for its next five innings against Price, as the left-hander settled in nicely. The White Sox were 3-for-16 with two walks and only really threatened again with two outs in the sixth. Matt Davidson drew a free pass and Smith dunked a single into right before Price fired a high fastball past Yoan Moncada, the last of his six strikeouts.

 As he did in his last start at Houston, Price gave the Red Sox bats enough time to find some life. Boston plated a run on a Moncada error in the first before Jackie Bradley Jr. treated the sellout crowd of 36,675 on hand to a rare sight. His first home run against a left-handed pitcher in more than a calendar year came to rest on the tarp covering two sections of the bleachers in center field, squaring the game at 2-2.

 Bradley was only 4 for 42 against southpaws entering the at-bat and hadn’t homered since April 20 at Oakland, touching up right-hander Kendall Graveman in a 7-3 win. Carlos Rodon’s season debut was spoiled, as the hard-throwing former college star at North Carolina State was tagged with the loss despite fanning seven and scattering six hits. Birthday boy Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Craig Kimbrel each worked scoreless frames to finish off the 20th come-from-behind victory for the Red Sox this season.