The homer was his ninth of the season, first in 117 at-bats. The last time Pedroia hit a pitch out of a ballpark was on May 14 off Max Scherzer in Detroit — one day before Pedroia hurt his right knee.
“Everybody knew it was coming,’’ Mike Cameron said. “The guy’s always hit. I think he was starting to lose more of his hair when he wasn’t.
“The good thing about it is he always puts the bat on the ball, and that always seems to help when you’re able to put the bat on the ball and find holes. Sometimes he overworks himself. We’ve got to keep him from going out early hitting sometimes. He’s a good hitter, for one, and never, never doubt his confidence in himself.’’
It’s clear that the knee has ceased to bother the second baseman, as the heat has continued to radiate from his bat. After last night’s 2-for-4 game, Pedroia is batting .500 over his last six games, with extra-base hits in each of his last five. Not only that, he added a stolen base in the third inning, a sure sign that his knee is much improved.
The Sox scored early and added on, winning in the same manner they had the night before — right down to the boost from Pedroia. It is the fifth straight series in which the Sox have won the first two games. They will try to break the second half of that streak tonight — for they have lost the third game of each of those series.
With losses by the Yankees and Rays, the Sox narrowed their deficit in the American League East to just three games, the smallest it’s been since April 16.
For that, his teammates can thank Pedroia, who said of his offensive improvement in light of the .167 slump over 19 games that preceded it, “You don’t shake [slumps] off, then you’re not very good. I’ve hit every year of my whole life. I don’t think it’s ever going to stop.’’
Asked where he gets his power, Pedroia joked, “I’m strong. Drink milk.’’
