Salty Hits First Home Run With Red Sox
BOSTON (CBS) – It took almost as long as it took the Red Sox to reach .500, but catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia finally left the yard Sunday night in the Red Sox 7-5 win over the Yankees.
It took the 26-year-old 83 at-bats into his first full season with the Red Sox to hit his first home run in a Boston uniform. It came in the top of the eighth inning as the Red Sox held on to a 6-5 lead.
"It felt good," said Saltalmacchia, now hitting .217 on the season. "It felt good to put some good wood on the ball, but especially that one because it gave us an extra run. It let the bullpen come out and breathe a little bit."
Saltalamacchia Talks Home Run, Yankees Sweep
Podcast
Jonathan Papelbon shut down the Yankees for a 1-2-3 ninth inning to pick up his seventh save of the season.
With the win, the Red Sox hit the .500 mark in the standings for the first time this season at 20-20. While it is a good jumping off point for the Sox, it is no time to sit back and relax.
Read: Finally .500, Red Sox Fans Can Rejoice
"It's a positive, it's definitely a positive," Saltalamacchia said. "We can't focus on trying to get to .500 or trying to get through this week, we have to focus on the next game. I think that's what we tried to do too early. We thought about what we were going to do instead of going out and just playing. That's what we're starting to do, play it game by game. Our goal is to go out tomorrow and try to win."
The Red Sox open a seven game homestand at Fenway Park Monday night with the first of two against the Baltimore Orioles.
