It appears as if savoring the chase to 500 home runs is not the focus of designated hitter David Ortiz.
Big Papi clobbered a long ball for the second straight afternoon, his 497th career blast of his career coming on a two-run shot in the first inning, which propelled the Boston Red Sox to a sweep-clinching 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Prior to being pinch-hit for in the fifth inning, Ortiz plated center fielder Mookie Betts with a sacrifice fly in the midst of a four-run second inning, ending the afternoon with a 1-for-1, three-RBI performance.
Right fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored and third baseman Brock Holt went 2-for-3 for the Red Sox, who charged Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff (L, 1-3) for six runs on eight hits in four innings.
Boston starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (W, 9-5) broke out of his day-game slump with an impressive performance, allowing just one run on eight hits in seven innings while striking out seven batters.
Center fielder Odubel Herrera went 3-for-5 with an RBI and shortstop Freddy Galvis went 2-for-4 with two runs scored for the Phillies, who fell to 53-84 overall and 23-49 on the road.
The Red Sox jumped out to an early six-run advantage, putting Philadelphia away before the Fenway Park faithful could even settle into their seats. Ortiz kicked off the party in the first inning after a two-out single by shortstop Xander Bogaerts, smashing an offering from Eickhoff 430-feet over the right field wall for his 200th home run at The Fens, the highest figure for any active player at any ballpark.
Boston rode the momentum into the second inning, with catcher Ryan Hanigan singling and second baseman Josh Rutledge walking with one out. Bradley Jr. then broke the game open, knocking a two-RBI triple to deep right, giving the Red Sox a 4-0 lead.
Betts then knocked an RBI single to left, scoring Bradley Jr. to provide Boston with a 5-0 advantage. Holt proceeded to single, and Bogaerts walked on the ensuing at-bat to load the bases. Ortiz nearly sent the crowd into a frenzy as he slammed an 0-1 pitch from Eickhoff into deep center on the subsequent at-bat, however, his drive fell short, scoring Betts on a sacrifice fly.
The Phillies touched Rodriguez for a run in the top of the third inning, however, they could not sustain the offense necessary to mount a comeback. Galvis lead off the stanza with a single, and, after Herrera walked, second baseman Cesar Hernandez slapped an RBI single to center, cutting the Philadelphia deficit to 6-1.
Rodriguez' stellar showing was aided by a tremendous grab by Betts in the fourth inning, as the speedy outfielder sprinted to the center field wall to rob Phillies first baseman Darin Ruf of extra-bases with an incredible basket catch for the first out of the stanza.
The rookie left-hander allowed at least one base hit in each of his final six innings of work, however, he was able to escape trouble on multiple occasions, as the Phillies failed to manage another run until the top of the ninth inning.
Facing Boston reliever Robbie Ross Jr., Galvis jump started a rally with a two-out single, scoring from second base on a wall-ball single by Herrera to cut the Red Sox lead to a final of 6-2.