Tag: eduardo rodriguez

J.D. Martinez crushes 2 homers; Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers each go deep once as Red Sox bounce back with 6-1 win over Rangers

After managing to score just four total runs over their last three games, the Red Sox broke out of their offensive slump in a big way on Friday with a 6-1 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.

All six runs Boston scored came by way of the home run ball, with J.D. Martinez hitting a three-run homer and Xander Bogaerts crushing a solo homer in the first inning, and Martinez and Rafael Devers clubbing a pair of solo shots in the fourth.

Nathan Eovaldi improved to 4-2 for the Sox, while Josh Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez, and Austin Brice closed things out out of the bullpen.

Martinez goes yard twice, Bogaerts and Devers once

Matched up against Japanese right-hander Kohei Arihara, for the Rangers, a leadoff walk drawn by Christian Arroyo in the top half of the first proved to be the catalyst for an explosive inning.

That being the case because Alex Verdugo followed by drawing yet another free pass to put runners at first and second for Martinez.

On the very first pitch he saw from Arihara, the Sox slugger crushed a three-run homer to left-center field to give his side an early 3-0 lead.

Xander Bogaerts followed by mashing his fourth home run of the season — a 405-foot bullet to left field — off Arihara to make it a 4-0 game.

Fast forward to the third, and Martinez struck once more, this time depositing an Arihara splitter a whopping 440 feet to dead center for his second big fly of the night and his major-league leading ninth big fly of the season. 5-0.

Devers tacked on one more run by collecting his seventh homer of the season later inning, and that would prove to be all the scoring the Red Sox would need to secure the victory.

Eovaldi eclipses 1,000 innings plateau

Coming into his start on Friday with 994 2/3 career innings pitched under his belt, Eovaldi would need to go at least 5 1/3 innings deep against the Rangers to reach the 1,000-inning mark.

In his home state of Texas, the veteran right-hander did just that — and more– by providing the Sox with six strong innings of work in which he yielded just one earned run on four hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts on the night.

The lone Rangers run Eovaldi surrendered came in the bottom half of the second, when he plunked Adolis Garcia with a pitch and allowed him to score on a two-out RBI single off the bat of old friend Brock Holt moments later.

Outside of that, the 33-year-old was able to keep things in check, retired nine of the last 12 hitters he faced, and finished with a final pitch count of 91 (59 strikes). His next start should come against the Tigers back at Fenway Park on Thursday.

Arroyo makes impressive throw while on the move

In Eovaldi’s final inning of work, Garcia tapped a sharply-hit groundball towards the middle side of the infield.

Christian Arroyo, who started at second base for Boston on Friday, managed to corral the ball with a slide and, while on his knees, made a quality throw to first base in order to get the runner out.

Next up: Rodriguez vs. Lyles

After wrapping up the month of April at 17-10, the Red Sox will hand the ball to Eduardo Rodriguez to kick off the month of May on Saturday night. The left-hander will be matched up against Rangers right-hander Jordan Lyles.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of J.D. Martinez: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Eduardo Rodríguez punches out 8, improves to 4-0 on season as Red Sox split series with Mariners following 5-3 win

On a day where it looked like it would be difficult for baseball to be played in the Boston area due to rainy conditions, the Red Sox closed out their longest homestand of the season on Sunday with a 5-3 victory over the Mariners at Fenway Park.

Rodriguez fans eight over seven solid frames

Eduardo Rodriguez made his fourth start of the season for Boston in Sunday’s series finale and proved to be effective once again even without his best stuff.

Over seven steady innings of work, the left-hander yielded just three runs — all of which were earned — on six hits and and no walks to go along with a season-high eight strikeouts on the afternoon.

While he ultimately put together yet another strong outing, Rodriguez did not get off to the best starts Sunday by surrendering back-to-back doubles to Mitch Haniger and Ty France out of the gate in the top half of the first. That gave the Mariners an early 1-0 lead.

Rodriguez was able to settle into a groove from there, as he sat down 12 of the next 13 hitters he faced before running into some trouble in the fifth.

There, the bottom-third of the Mariners’ lineup got the best of the southpaw, with Sam Haggerty leading the inning off with a single before back-to-back run-scoring doubles off the bats of Tom Murphy and J.P. Crawford cut Boston’s deficit down to two runs at 5-3.

Again faced with some adversity, Rodriguez did not back down and instead ended his day by retiring the final nine Mariners he faced in order leading into the middle of the seventh.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 98 (71 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler threw 36 changeups, 34 four-seam fastballs, 12 cutters, eight sinkers, and eight sliders. He averaged just 91.1 mph with his heater, but still managed to induce seven swings-and-misses with it anyway.

Ultimately improving to 4-0 while raising his ERA on the year from 3.38 to 3.52, Rodriguez will look for win No. 5 in his next time out, which should come against the Rangers in Arlington on Saturday.

Ottavino gets some help from Gonzalez, Barnes notches save

In relief of Rodriguez, right-hander Adam Ottavino got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen to work the eighth inning of what was a 5-3 game in favor of his side.

The veteran reliever issued a leadoff walk to Haniger to bring the tying run to the plate almost immediately, but then got some help from Marwin Gonzalez when he got Ty France to hit a grounder towards the left side of the infield.

Gonzalez, who started at shortstop on Sunday, fielded France’s softly-hit grounder on a hop with his glove and instead of transferring the ball to his throwing hand, flipped the ball to Christian Arroyo — who was covering second — to start an impactful 6-4-3 twin killing.

Ottavino then punched out Kyle Seager to retire the side, which paved the way for Matt Barnes to come on for the ninth.

After a rocky outing in his last time out on Friday, Barnes needed all of 16 pitches on Sunday to toss a 1-2-3 ninth inning, notch his fourth save of the season, and preserve a 5-3 victory for the Sox.

Walks lead to early scoring for Red Sox

On the other side of things, the Red Sox lineup was matched up against left-hander Nick Margevicius for the Mariners, who came into Sunday averaging 2.3 walks per nine innings through his first four appearances (two starts) of the season.

That being said, Margevicius walked four of the first seven Red Sox he faced in this one and could only record one out before getting the hook because of it.

Enrique Hernandez led things off with a single, moved up to second on a Rafael Devers walk, moved up to third on a J.D. Martinez walk, and scored on a one-out RBI single off the bat of Christian Vazquez.

Hunter Renfroe plated Devers by drawing yet another free pass of the Mariners starter, and Gonzalez drove in Martinez by doing the very same.

Margevicius would then make way for reliever Drew Steckenrider, who plunked the very first hitter he faced — Arroyo — on the left wrist to bring in yet another Red Sox run.

In the second, walks came back to bite the Mariners once more, as Steckenrider put on Hernandez and Devers via ball four before Bogaerts drove in Hernandez on an RBI double to left field.

Bogaerts’ eighth double of the year put Boston up 5-1, which would prove to be enough in an eventual 5-3 win.

Some notes from this victory:

From Red Sox Notes:

From The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier:

From Red Sox Stats:

—

The Red Sox wrap up their longest homestand of the season with a 5-5 record, which takes them to 13-9 on the year overall.

After an off day on Monday, the Sox will embark on a two-city, six-game road trip that starts with a two-game interleague tilt against the Mets in Flushing on Tuesday night.

Right-hander Garrett Richards is slated to get the start for Boston in Tuesday’s series opener at Citi Field. He will be opposed by left-hander Drew Peterson for New York.

First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and ESPN.

(Picture of Eduardo Rodriguez: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Cora predicted Xander Bogaerts would hit first home run of season Tuesday night: ‘You talking about me hitting a home run? I don’t have a home run at all’

Xander Bogaerts’ first home run of the season proved to be the difference maker in the Red Sox’ 4-2 victory over the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.

With no outs and two runners on in the bottom half of the fourth, Bogaerts came to the plate for a second time after already doubling in his first at-bat against tough left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu two innings prior.

That double was actually more of a gift than anything considering the way it was played by Blue Jays left field Lourdes Gurriel Jr., but Bogaerts made sure to make his second hit of the night count.

On a 1-2, 91 mph slider from Ryu that was on the inner half of the plate, the 28-year-old was able to get his hands in front of the ball and wound up depositing said pitch 408 feet into the second row of Green Monster seats in left-center field. Per Baseball Savant, the ball left Bogaerts’ bat at a blistering 102.1 mph.

Bogaerts’ three-run blast put the Sox up 3-1 and would prove to be instrumental in the club’s 4-2 win over Toronto to improve to 12-6 on the young season.

“They needed a shutdown inning. They didn’t get it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said in regards to the impact of Bogaerts’ homer. “It was a good swing. That was a good effort against a good pitcher. That guy, he’s very tough. He’s got a good breaking ball, a good changeup. But we hung in there with him and we were able to score some runs.”

The fact that Bogaerts was able to hit a home run on a pitch that was relatively up and in was impressive. There’s no doubt about that. With that being said, though, that ability is something the three-time Silver Slugger Award winner has regularly put on display over the years. Just ask his longtime teammate — and Tuesday’s starter — Eduardo Rodriguez.

“I’ve been here, what? Like six seasons, I think. And I’ve been seeing him hitting balls like nobody can hit it,” Rodriguez said of the Aruban-born shortstop. “I know he’s a really special guy. I can’t even explain to you how good he is. I’ve been watching him too much. Hitting balls out of the ballpark, both sides of the field, middle of the field. I know every time he steps up to the plate something good is going to happen. That’s how special he is.

“I love the way he plays all the time, the way he goes up there,” added Rodriguez. “After he hit that homer, he comes to me and says, ‘I got you. Go out there now and do your thing.’ That’s something that I really appreciate from him every time I’m pitching and he’s doing things like that.”

Rodriguez said he expects 35 home runs out of Bogaerts this season, but Bogaerts himself was just happy to get the first one out of the way, which is something Cora actually foresaw moments before it happened in the bottom of the fourth on Tuesday.

“I think that whole inning, Alex Cora predicted, to be honest with you,” Bogaerts recalled during his postgame media availability. “I remember him saying that the guy’s going to get a hit, J.D. [Martinez] is going to get a hit, and I’m going to hit a two-run homer. So he kind of predicted that whole inning to be honest. You guys got to see what’s up with AC and those predictions with his mind and stuff like that.

“I was like, ‘You talking about me hitting a home run? I don’t have a home run at all,'” joked Bogaerts. “And he’s talking about me hitting a homer.”

Following a 2-for-4 showing at the plate with two extra-base hits on Tuesday, Bogaerts is now slashing a scorching .393/.439/.557 to go along with that one homer and seven RBI through his first 16 games of the year.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Xander Bogaerts hits first home run of season, Eduardo Rodríguez punches out 6 in return to Fenway Park as Red Sox top Blue Jays, 4-2

For the second consecutive day, the Red Sox were matched up against one of the top pitchers in the American League. And for the second consecutive day, the Red Sox needed just one inning to get the best of that pitcher.

They did so in the first inning of Monday’s 11-4 win over the White Sox by getting to Lucas Giolito for six runs. They did so in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Blue Jays by getting to Hyun-Jin Ryu for all four of their runs.

Facing off against one of the toughest left-handed pitchers in baseball to kick off a quick two-game series at Fenway Park, the Sox lineup went down quietly the first time through the order, but eventually got to Ryu in their half of the fourth.

There, back-to-back singles off the bats of Christian Arroyo and J.D. Martinez to lead off the frame set the stage for Xander Bogaerts, who — on a 1-2, 91 mph fastball on the inner half of the plate from Ryu — crushed his first home run of the season 408 feet over the Green Monster.

Not only did Bogaerts club his first homer of the year in the fourth inning, but Marwin Gonzalez also collected his first double with one out.

Bobby Dalbec, meanwhile, hit the first triple of his big-league career on a 101.3 mph scorcher that traveled 408 feet to deep center field and brought in Gonzalez from second to make it a 4-1 game.

That would be all the scoring the Sox would need in this one, but it should not be ignored that Arroyo went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored while batting out of the two-hole Tuesday.

Rodriguez shines in return to Fenway

Eduardo Rodriguez made his third start of the season for the Red Sox on Tuesday, marking the first time he had started a game at Fenway Park since the final day of the 2019 season.

In his return to Fenway, the left-hander was impressive as he held the Blue Jays to just two runs on three hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over six-plus innings of work.

Both runs Rodriguez gave up came by way of the long ball, with Bo Bichette taking the southpaw deep to lead off the top half of the fourth and Randal Grichuk doing the very same thing three innings later.

Rodriguez serving up a solo shot to Grichuk would mark the end of his night, but his homecoming of sorts was a triumphant one to say the least.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 90 (62 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler turned to his four-seam fastball 33% of the time he was on the mound Tuesday, inducing six swings-and-misses while topping out at 94.8 mph with the pitch.

Able to improve to 3-0 on the young season while lowering his ERA to 3.38, Rodriguez’s next start should come against the Seattle Mariners in the final game of the Sox’ homestand on Sunday.

Andriese, Ottavino, and Barnes close things out

In relief of Rodriguez, Matt Andriese got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen for what was essentially a clean top half of the seventh inning. The right-hander retired the only three hitters he faced and capped off his outing by punching out noted Red Sox killer Rowdy Tellez on five pitches.

From there, Adam Ottavino maneuvered his way around a two-out walk and a throwing error committed by Christian Vazquez in an otherwise perfect eighth inning, while Matt Barnes notched his third save of the season and preserved the 4-2 victory for his side by working a scoreless ninth inning.

The Red Sox are now 12-6.

Next up: Richards vs. Thornton

Next up for the Red Sox, it’s the finale of this two-game set against the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

Right-hander Garrett Richards will be making his fourth start of the season for Boston, and he will be opposed by fellow right-hander Trent Thornton for Toronto.

First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Home runs from Kiké Hernández, Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez power Red Sox to 11-4 win over White Sox on Patriots’ Day

After being held in check offensively in both games of a doubleheader sweep on Sunday, the Red Sox bounced back in a tremendous way and came away with a four-game series split with the White Sox on Monday following an 11-4 victory to celebrate Patriots’ Day at Fenway Park in style.

Making his fourth start of the season for Boston in this one was Nathan Eovaldi, who was fresh off a solid performance against the Twins in Minnesota last week.

Working against another American League Central foe in the White Sox this time around, the veteran right-hander had yet another impressive day on Monday.

Over 6 1/3 innings of work, Eovaldi yielded four runs (all earned) on nine hits and zero walks to go along with 10 strikeouts on the afternoon to tie a career-high.

The first two of those Chicago runs scored on extra-base hits from Luis Robert and Adam Eaton in the first and third innings. Eaton was also responsible for his side’s third run when he plated Tim Anderson on a two-out, run-scoring double in the fifth.

Eovaldi managed to keep the White Sox off the board for a little while after that, but after allowing two of the first three hitters he faced to reach base in the top of the seventh, his day came to a close with Eaton due to hit next for Chicago.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 100 (75 strikes), the 31-year-old hurler turned to his vaunted four-seam fastball 41 times on Monday, inducing six swings-and-misses while topping out at 100.3 mph with the pitch.

Able to pick up his third winning decision of the season despite raising his ERA to 3.04, Eovaldi’s next start should come against the Mariners at Fenway Park on Saturday.

In relief of Eovaldi, rookie right-hander Garrett Whitlock got the first — and only — call out of the Red Sox bullpen an inherited a situation where there runners on the corners and still two outs to get in the sixth.

Whitlock, in his first appearance since Wednesday, allowed one of those inherited runners to score on an RBI groundout from Eaton — which closed the book on Eovaldi’s outing — but he avoided any further damage by getting Robert to ground out to retire the side.

From there, the 24-year-old continued to dazzle in his debut season with the Sox by fanning two and sitting down the final six hitters he faced in order to preserve the 11-4 victory for his side.

On the other side of things, a reeling Red Sox lineup was matched up against a tough opponent in White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito, who has finished in the top-7 in American League Cy Young voting in each of the last two seasons.

Despite the reputation Giolito carries with him, the 26-year-old struggled mightily in his first outing at Fenway Park in nearly two years.

That being the case because right from the get-go, the Sox put up six runs on seven hits while sending 11 batters to the plate in their half of the first.

Kiké Hernández led things off by crushing his third home run of the season just over the Green Monster to knot things up at 1-1, singles from Alex Verdugo and J.D. Martinez allowed Rafael Devers to drive in a run on a single of his own, and a Christian Vazquez single following a mound visit filled the bases for Marwin Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, one of the heroes of Saturday’s series-opening win, kept the line moving with an RBI single to score Martinez, while Hunter Renfroe drove in Devers on a groundout to third base.

Franchy Cordero followed with a line-drive RBI base hit to left field, which brought in Gonzalez. Just like that, the Red Sox had gone from trailing by a run to leading by five runs at 6-1.

Martinez provided more leadoff power in the bottom of the second, as he clubbed his sixth big fly of the season 398 feet over the Green Monster. 7-1.

A seven-pitch walk to Devers would mark the end of Giolito’s day after just one-plus innings pitched, and Renfroe would drive in the third baseman on a sacrifice fly off new White Sox reliever Zack Burdi. 8-1.

In the third, Verdugo became the third member of the top third of Boston’s starting lineup to go bridge. The 24-year-old took Burdi 417 feet deep to right field for his first Fenway homer of the season.

A one-out single off the bat of Vazquez an inning later would result in another Red Sox run crossing the plate when Cordero ripped a two-out, RBI single off Burdi.

And in the seventh, Martinez put the exclamation point on a 3-for-5 day at the plate by lacing yet another run-scoring base hit off Yermin Merceded — a position player — with two outs in the frame to bring in Hernandez from third.

Martinez’s second RBI knock of the afternoon gave the Red Sox a commanding 11-3 lead, which would go on to be Monday’s final score.

Some notes from this win:

The Red Sox are 11-6.

From Red Sox Notes:

—

Next up for the Red Sox, they will welcome the 7-9 Toronto Blue Jays into town for a brief, two-game series beginning Tuesday night.

Tuesday’s series opener at Fenway will feature an exclusively left-handed starting pitching matchup, with Eduardo Rodriguez getting the starting nod for Boston and veteran southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu doing the same for Toronto.

First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Kiké Hernández and Alex Verdugo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Powered by strong performances from Alex Verdugo and Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox extend winning streak to 9 consecutive games with 7-1 victory over Twins to sweep doubleheader

A half-hour intermission between games during Wednesday’s doubleheader at Target Field could not slow Alex Verdugo down, as the outfielder once again played a key role in the Red Sox’ 7-1 victory over the Twins in Game 2 of the twin bill.

After making a game-saving catch for the final out of the day cap, Verdugo picked up where he left off by going 3-for-4 at the plate in the night cap.

Matched up against another tough opponent in Twins right-hander Jose Berrios, it took the Sox offense as a whole some time to get going on Wednesday, but they eventually broke through in the fifth.

There, already trailing by a run, a one-out single off the bat of Bobby Dalbec filled the bases for Franchy Cordero, who proceeded to draw a four-pitch walk to drive in his side’s first run of the night.

The Twins then pulled Berrios for Tyler Duffey, though the stalemate they had put themselves in did not last all that long.

That being the case because with two outs in the frame and the bases still loaded, Verdugo drilled a two-run, go-ahead single to right field to give the Sox their first lead of the night.

A wild pitch from Duffey allowed Cordero to score from third to make it a 4-1 contest, and two more walks once again filled the bases for Rafael Devers.

Devers, who led off the top of the fifth with a double, greeted new Twins left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar by lacing a two-run single to right, which gave the Red Sox a 6-1 edge in the late stages.

Verdugo provided some insurance in the seventh by taking Thielbar deep to right field on a a down-and-in fastball for his second home run of the season.

The 24-year-old’s 406-foot blast put Boston up 7-1, which would go on to be Wednesday’s final score.

Rodriguez pulls it together for 5 strong frames

Another game, another Red Sox starter providing five solid innings of work on Wednesday.

This time around, it was Eduardo Rodriguez’s time to shine, as the left-hander held the Twins to just one run on five hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts in his second start of the young season.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 76 (51 strikes), the 28-year-old ultimately improved to 2-0 following Wednesday’s impressive showing. His next start should come against the Mariners on Tuesday.

Pair of rookies wrap things up

In relief of Rodriguez, rookie right-hander Garrett Whitlock came on for his first appearance in six days and needed all of 10 pitches to retire the three hitters he faced in order in the sixth.

From there, another rookie reliever — Eduard Bazardo — got the call for the seventh inning in what was his big-league debut.

The 25-year-old righty out of Venezuela was called up from Boston’s alternate training site to serve as the club’s 27th man for Wednesday’s doubleheader.

He worked his way around two walks and picked up his first major-league strikeout en route to preserving the 7-1 victory for the Sox.

Next up: Last game of road trip

After sweeping Wednesday’s twin bill and extending their winning streak to nine consecutive games, the Red Sox will go for the four-game sweep over the reeling Twins on Thursday afternoon.

Right-hander Garrett Richards will be getting the ball for Boston in the series finale, and he will be matched up against fellow righty Michael Pineda.

First pitch Thursday (also Jackie Robinson Day) is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN. Red Sox will be going for their 10th straight win.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: David Berding/Getty Images)

Alex Verdugo comes up with game-saving catch as Red Sox top Twins, 3-2, for eighth straight win in Game 1 of doubleheader

In the first game of a straight doubleheader at Target Field Wednesday afternoon, the Twins had Red Sox closer Matt Barnes on the ropes.

With a 3-2 lead to protect, Barnes had recorded the first two outs of the bottom half of the ninth, but only after putting the tying run on base in the form of a leadoff walk to Cave.

Cave stole second base to advance into scoring position, which brought Luis Arraez to the plate with the chance to knot things up at three runs a piece.

After falling behind in the count at 3-1, Barnes delivered an 86 mph curveball that Arraez — a right-handed hitter — slapped the other way.

Alex Verdugo, having moved from center to left field in place of Franchy Cordero an inning prior had just seconds to react to the screamer heading in his direction.

The young outfielder sprawled out to his right and wound up making a catch that was eerily similar to the one Andrew Benintendi made at Minute Maid Park in Game 4 of the 2018 ALCS.

Verdugo’s was still awe-inspiring snag secured a 3-2 victory for the Red Sox that extends their winning streak to eight consecutive games.

Arroyo, Renfroe stay hot at the plate

Facing off against a tough opponent in Twins right-hander Kenta Maeda, a three-run second inning is what gave the Sox the edge in this one.

Hunter Renfroe stayed hot and got his side in the board first by scoring Marwin Gonzalez from second on an RBI single.

After advancing to second on another single off the bat of Cordero, Renfroe came into score when upon fielding a softly-hit bunt from Kevin Plawecki, Maeda attempted to get the force out at third and instead air-mailed his throw well over Arraez’s head.

That blunder doubled Boston’s lead, and Christian Arroyo tacked on another run by plating Cordero on an RBI base-hit to left field. Arroyo also doubled in the top of the fourth.

Eovaldi improves to 2-1 on the season

The Red Sox continue to get consistency from their starting rotation, and Nathan Eovaldi provided that consistency in his third start of the season on Wednesday.

Over five solid frames of work, the veteran right-hander held the Twins to two runs on five hits, no walks, and one hit batsman to go along with three strikeouts on the afternoon.

Both runs Eovaldi gave up came in a rather laborious bottom half of the third, but the fireballer rebounded by retiring six of the final seven hitters he faced through the end of the fifth — with some defensive help mixed in there as well.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 82 (60 strikes), the 31-year-old topped out at 99.1 mph with his four-seam fastball, a pitch he threw 34 times. His next start should come against the White Sox back at Fenway Park on Monday.

In relief of Eovaldi, left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez got the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen in the middle of the sixth. The 24-year-old needed all of seven pitches to retire the side in order before Barnes came on for the seventh.

Next up: Game 2

Next up, the Red Sox will wrap up this twin bill against the Twins later Wednesday evening.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will make his second start of the season for Boston, and he will be opposed by ace right-hander Jose Berrios for Minnesota.

First pitch of Game 2 is scheduled for approximately 5:25 p.m. eastern time. Red Sox will be going for their ninth straight win.

(Picture of Matt Barnes and Alex Verdugo: David Berding/Getty Images)

Red Sox reinstate Eduardo Rodriguez from injured list ahead of left-hander’s season debut against Orioles

Before opening up a three-game series against the Orioles on Thursday, the Red Sox reinstated left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez from the 10-day injured list.

Rodriguez, who turned 28 on Wednesday, will make his 2021 debut in the first of three against Baltimore after starting the season on the injured list due to left elbow inflammation.

The Venezuelan southpaw originally had been slated to start for Boston on Opening Day, but was scratched from that start on account of dealing with “dead arm” during the late stages of spring training.

That bout with “dead arm” resulted in the Sox placing Rodriguez on the IL last week, but as expected, it was a short stint on the shelf for the lefty.

“He’s good to go,” Red Sox manager Cora said on Wednesday. “Looking forward to him to pitch tomorrow. He really wanted to pitch today because it’s his birthday. Good for him, but no. We’re very happy. He’ll be okay tomorrow. He’ll be ready to go.”

When Rodriguez takes the field at Camden Yards on Thursday afternoon, it will have been approximately 557 days since he last toed a big-league rubber. He missed the entirety of the shortened 2020 campaign after being diagnosed with myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) following a bout with COVID-19 last summer.

“It will mean a lot because of everything I went through last year,” Rodriguez told reporters Wednesday. “I just was happy to have the opportunity to be back in baseball and be back to start tomorrow.”

Rodriguez, who owns a lifetime 2.60 ERA in nine career starts at Camden Yards, will not be capped by a pitch or inning limit on Thursday, though the expectation is that Cora and Co. will take a conservative approach with him given the circumstances.

Regardless of that, it goes without saying that Rodriguez’s highly-anticipated season debut has been a long time coming. He will look to lead the Sox to their fourth consecutive victory on Thursday.

—

The reason the Red Sox were able to activate Rodriguez on Thursday without making a corresponding roster move is because the club optioned right-hander Tanner Houck to the alternate training site in Worcester on Tuesday night.

(Picture of Eduardo Rodriguez: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Red Sox option Tanner Houck to Worcester: Chaim Bloom says rookie right-hander ‘is a capable major-league starting pitcher right now, but that doesn’t mean he’s a finished product’

The Red Sox optioning rookie right-hander Tanner Houck to the alternate training site in Worcester on Wednesday did not come as much of a surprise.

With Eduardo Rodriguez set to make his season debut against the Orioles on Thursday, the Sox needed to open up a roster spot in order to activate the left-hander from the injured list.

Considering the fact that Houck has minor-league options and Boston’s starting rotation already consists of Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Richards, Nick Pivetta, and Martin Perez, optioning the young righty seemed like the most logical step to take so that Rodriguez could be slotted back into the rotation.

Since being called up by the Red Sox for the first time last September, Houck has posted a 1.17 ERA and 2.51 FIP over five outings (four starts) and 23 innings pitched. That includes his first start of the 2021 season against the Orioles over the weekend in which he gave up three runs (two earned) over five innings as well as a relief appearance in the 11th inning of Tuesday’s contest against the Rays in which he allowed one unearned run in one inning of work.

To say the 24-year-old out of Collinsville, Ill. has gotten his big-league career off to an impressive start would be an understatement, but the Sox still feel as though there are some things he can improve upon.

“Tanner pitched great, both in his start and his appearance out of the bullpen,” chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told The Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato on Wednesday. “Simply put, this is about depth. We’re fortunate to have five guys we feel are good and capable major league starters. Tanner, we feel, is a sixth. We want to keep them all starting and keep them all pitching.”

Bloom acknowledged that while Boston’s starting rotation is set for the time being, injuries are inevitable and having Houck available to come up from Worcester could prove to be extremely valuable.

While Houck will be limited to just throwing bullpen sessions and in simulated games at Polar Park for the time being before the minor-league season begins next month, one aspect of his game the Sox would like to see the former first-round pick build on is continuing to develop a third pitch.

That third pitch, a splitter, is one that is still relatively new to the 6-foot-5, 218 pound hurler. Of the 100 pitches the righty has thrown so far this season, only three have been splitters.

“I think Tanner Houck is a capable major league starting pitcher right now, but that doesn’t mean he’s a finished product,” Bloom told Mastrodonato. “We know his ceiling could be even higher if he gets really comfortable with a third pitch. We know he can get lefties out, executing the fastball and slider the way he has in his big league starts, but if he can get more comfortable with that splitter, he’ll be even better. While he’s in Worcester, it’ll be easier to work on that than it would be while he’s pitching in a close game at the big league level.”

To put it simply, Houck is still “a work in progress” in the Red Sox’ eyes.. The hope is that he will be able to make more developmental strides while at the alternate site before being called upon once again.

“Keep working on his craft, on his pitches,” Red Sox manager Alex said in regards to what Houck can do to improve in Worcester. “Keep throwing strikes. Keep developing his secondary pitches. And just be ready. That’s all he needs to do. Where we’re at right now, we knew that this was going to happen. You look at the guys that have pitched for us, they’ve done an amazing job. And the difference between this team and last year — and even 2019 — we’re a lot deeper.

“He was a professional when we talked to him,” Cora continued. “He understands. Whenever we need him, he’ll be here and he’ll perform.”

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Nathan Eovaldi hurls 7 strong innings, Christian Vazquez crushes another homer as Red Sox complete sweep of Rays with 9-2 win in series finale

The Red Sox had nowhere to go but up after getting swept by the Orioles over the weekend, and up they went in the process of completing a three-game sweep of the Rays with a commanding 9-2 victory over Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

Eovaldi tosses seven solid frames

Nathan Eovaldi led the way in his second start of the season, tossing seven innings of one-run ball while scattering just three hits and three walks to go along with seven strikeouts on the afternoon.

After giving up that one run on an RBI single in the third, the veteran right-hander retired 11 of the final 15 hitters he faced from the fourth inning on.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 91 (60 strikes), Eovaldi relied on his four-seam fastball 38% of the time he was on the mound Wednesday, inducing eight swings-and-misses while topping out at 99 mph with the pitch.

Ultimately picking up his first winning winning decision of the season, the 31-year-old hurler was named the YouTube Player of the Game for his efforts. His next start should come against the Twins in Minnesota next week.

In relief of Eovaldi, left-hander Josh Taylor wrapped things up by allowing one run over the final two innings of Wednesday’s contest to preserve the 9-2 win for his side.

Martinez, Bogaerts, Vazquez lead the way offensively

A Yoshi Tsutsugo RBI single gave the Rays an early 1-0 lead in the third inning, but the Boston bats responded with three runs of their own an inning later.

Xander Bogaerts knotted things up at one by driving in Rafael Devers on a line-drive, run-scoring single to center field off Rays left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, then Christian Vazquez took things into his own hands a few moments later.

Starting at designated hitter after catching all 12 innings on Tuesday, Vazquez crushed his second home run of the season — and second in as many days — off a 2-1, 83 mph cutter from Yarbrough at the top of the strike zone.

Vazquez’s 376-foot blast over the Green Monster gave the Sox a 3-1 advantage.

Aided by a two-run double from a red-hot J.D. Martinez, Bogaerts, Vazquez, Hunter Renfroe, and Christian Vazquez combined to tack on four additional insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth with some help from some sloppy fielding from the Rays.

By the time Arroyo drove in Renfroe on an RBI double to shallow right field, the Red Sox had jumped out to a 9-2 lead, which would be more than enough to secure a 9-2, series-sweeping win on Wednesday.

Next up: First road trip of the season

After salvaging their first homestand of the year to improve to 3-3 through their first six games, the Red Sox will head to Baltimore for the first leg of a two-city, seven-game road trip.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will be making his first start of the season in Thursday’s opener against the Orioles, and he will be matched up against veteran right-hander Matt Harvey.

First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)