Crochet allowed two solo homers in the first inning but then settled in. The lefty led the Red Sox to a 4-2 victory over the Dodgers in front of a sold-out, mixed crowd of 36,687. “The first inning, I‘ve never seen anything like that," Cora said. “Credit to them.”

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow vowed in mid-June after the Rafael Devers trade that he would still bolster the team at the deadline. Now it’s crunch time, and despite a 2-5 record with a tough schedule coming out of the All-Star break, another commanding win Saturday gave Breslow more reason to fortify the club.

Fans were left torn on what to do about the Fenway Park concessions worker strike while attending the highly anticipated Boston Red Sox series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

To counter the legendary Dodgers southpaw, Red Sox manager Alex Cora has stacked his lineup. Rob ‘Southpaw Slayer’ Refsnyder will lead off and serve as designated hitter, with regular leadoff man Jarren Duran batting seventh, instead. Romy Gonzalez, another prodigious lefty killer is batting cleanup and manning second base.