Boston Red Sox: Red hot Sox continue to sizzle in Anaheim

These Boston Red Sox are sizzling on this current West Coast trip.

After taking 2-of-3 from the Oakland Athletics, the Red Sox rolled into Anaheim to take on the Shoehi Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels.

Solid pitching, great defense and timely offense was once again on display as Martin Perez led the team to a 5-4 victory Monday night with offensive support from Christian Arroyo and Rafael Devers along with more stellar defense from Kike Hernandez whose glove, and arm saved at least a few runs.

After a run saving catch in the second inning, Hernandez was once again in the defensive spotlight in the sixth inning. With nobody out, Angels catcher Max Stassi rocked a ball into the gap in right-center and decided to challenge the arm of Hernandez by attempting to stretch a single into a double.

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Stassi, did you really try to do that?

Hernandez took the challenge and delivered by firing the ball into second base to get Stassi out.

The talk all weekend has been about the Red Sox league-leading five All-Stars, but it is players like Kike Hernandez who continue to help this team find different ways to win ballgames.

"“Kike, he made two good plays and I think that was a key to win the game,” Perez said following the game, via MLB.com. “The first catch in the second inning. And in the sixth, he got a good throw to second and got the guy out.”"

In leading the league with 28 outfield assists, this Red Sox team is making fans quickly recover from the losses of Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. as Alex Verdugo, Hernandez and Hunter Renfroe have all really held their own this season in the outfield and at the plate.

Boston Red Sox reliever Adam Ottavino steps up to the challenge

The Boston Red Sox bullpen continues to be one of the MVPs this season.

With All-Star closer Matt Barnes unavailable, Adam Ottavino got the call to try to close out the Angels and this wasn’t an ordinary challenge for the Red Sox reliever.

With a 5-4 lead, Ottavino got to face the one hitter he nor the team wanted to see come up in that spot. With a chance to either tie the game or win the game with two runners on base, Shoehi Ohtani stepped to the plate in what turned out to be quite the battle.

After falling behind 3-1, Ottavino turned to his slider which led to a grounder to second baseman Christian Arroyo to end the game and preserve the 5-4 victory for the Boston Red Sox.

In a pressure situation, it was good to see the Ottavino go after Shoetani and not pitch around him. That is the kind of aggressiveness the Red Sox like to see out of their bullen, especially on a night when one of their best was unavailable.

"“I’m not sure what’s he’s looking for but I’m going to just live and die with my best best pittch,” Ottavino said following the game, via MassLive.com. “Plus the shift was in that situation. I felt like it was a good bet and it kind of worked out.”"

Ottavino certainly lived in recording a save, but in pitching himself into a situation in which he had to face Ohtani, the Red Sox reliever was certainly lucky to escape.

Boston Red Sox on deck: Overcoming the challenge of Shoehi Ohtani

The Boston Red Sox look to continue their winning ways on Tuesday night when Nathan Eovaldi goes up against Shoehi Ohtani the pitcher.

The 27-year-old two-way sensation has already hurt the Red Sox with his bat in the previous series at Fenway Park, now he looks to shut them down with his arm.

With a 3-1 record and 3.60 ERA, Ohtani is certainly an opposing force on the mound and on the plate. After shutting him down to end the game Monday night, Red Sox players get to see the pitching version of the Angels star. One player seems to come to mind when players like J.D. Martinez try to describe the phenomenal skills of Ohtani.

"“Babe Ruth? I mean, It’s crazy to have a player with that much talent be able to do both things,” Martinez said via MLB.com. “It’s kind of one of those things where I feel bad for Vladdy [Guerrero] Jr. in a way, because he’s having an unbelievable season this year and he’s kind of getting overshadowed by Ohtani. I mean, it’s just unreal.”"

Next. Boston Red Sox: The hottest hitters at the plate – July edition. dark

Will the Boston Red Sox offense be overshadowed and overpowered by Ohtani? With this team, you have to feel confident that they will find a way to win even if the Angels star is dominant on the mound.

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