BOSTON -- Considering that Steve Pearce had smashed four homers in the first two games of this four-game series against the Yankees, it wouldn't have surprised anyone if Red Sox manager Alex Cora had given him another start on Saturday.
Instead, Cora went back to primary first baseman Mitch Moreland, and that paid immediate dividends.
In the bottom of the first, Moreland smoked a two-run homer into the Red Sox's bullpen in right-center to break a scoreless tie. The drive was scalded with an exit velocity of 107.