Tag: jd martinez

J.D. Martinez scratched from Red Sox lineup due to back spasms

J.D. Martinez was originally batting third and starting at designated hitter for the Red Sox in their series opener against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Friday night.

But about 80 minutes before first pitch, Martinez was scratched from Boston’s lineup due to what the club described as back spasms. The veteran slugger was replaced by Rob Refsnyder, who swapped spots in the batting order with third baseman Rafael Devers.

This is not the first time this season that Martinez has dealt with back issues. The 34-year-old was also a late scratch against the Mariners back on May 22 for the very same reason. He previously missed seven of a possible nine games in late April because of left adductor tightness.

Fresh off being named an All-Star for the fifth time in his career, Martinez is batting .302/.368/.481 with 30 doubles, nine home runs, 38 RBIs, 51 runs scored, 31 walks, and 84 strikeouts over 81 games (356 plate appearances) so far this season.

It remains to be seen if Martinez will be able to return to action against Toronto on Saturday.

(Picture of J.D. Martinez: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox at the All-Star Game: Rafael Devers draws a walk in American League’s ninth straight win

The American League defeated the National League by a final score of 3-2 in the 92nd MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, marking their ninth straight Midsummer Classic victory.

Yankees left fielder Giancarlo Stanton was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after crushing a game-tying, two-run home run in the top of the third inning that was immediately followed by a solo shot off the bat of Twins center fielder Byron Buxton. Stanton’s blast had an exit velocity of 11.7 mph and traveled 457 feet to left field while Buxton’s had an exit velocity of 107.7 mph and traveled 425 feet to left field as well.

Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin took the loss, as the first time All-Star was the one who gave up all three of those runs. Astros righty Framber Valdez, also a first-time All-Star, earned the winning decision by tossing a scoreless third inning.

As far as those who represented the Red Sox were concerned, it was a quiet night for the trio of Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez. Devers, the AL’s starting third baseman, drew a seven-pitch walk off National League starter Clayton Kershaw in his lone trip to the plate.

Bogaerts entered the game as a defensive replacement for the White Sox’ Tim Anderson in the fourth inning. He went 0-for-1 with a strikeout at the hands of Diamondbacks reliever Joe Mantiply before being lifted for the Rangers’ Corey Seager in the middle of the seventh.

Martinez, meanwhile, pinch-hit for former teammate Miguel Cabrera in the top half of the seventh. Unlike Bogaerts and Devers, Martinez received two at-bats, though he, too, failed to record a hit.

So, between the three of them, the Sox’ contingent combined to go 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk. Let’s check in on how some of their former teammates did.

Mookie Betts, starting in center field for the National League, went 1-for-1 with a first-inning RBI single off American League starter Shane McClanahan. Kyle Schwarber, representing the Phillies as a reserve, went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. The same can be said for Andrew Benintendi, who was representing the Royals as a first-time All-Star. Martin Perez, also a first-time All-Star, tossed a 1-2-3 fifth inning for the AL.

Santiago Espinal, who Boston traded to Toronto for Steve Pearce in July 2018, went 0-for-1 with a walk in his first All-Star experience as a member of the Blue Jays.

All told, the American and National League lineups combined for just five runs on 13 hits. Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase picked up the save by striking out the side on 10 pitches in the bottom of the ninth, thus securing win for the junior circuit.

With this installment of the All-Star Game in the books, the likes of Bogaerts, Devers, Martinez will head back to Boston from Los Angeles before the second half of the regular season begins.

The Red Sox open the second half with a three-game weekend series against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park. They will then host the Guardians and Brewers to conclude a 10-game homestand that will take them right into August.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

J.D. Martinez joins Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts in representing Red Sox at All-Star Game

Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez is headed to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium, Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday. The veteran slugger will replace the injured Yordan Alvarez of the Astros on the American League roster.

Now a five-time All-Star, Martinez originally finished behind the likes of Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani and Alvarez in both fan and player voting for the starting and reserve designated hitter spots. But Alvarez was placed on the 10-day injured list because of right hand inflammation on Sunday, making him ineligible to compete in the 92nd Midsummer Classic.

Because Martinez was the next designated hitter in line on the player ballot, he will join teammates Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts in representing the Red Sox in Los Angeles next Tuesday. In addition to Martinez taking over for Alvarez, the Giants’ Carlos Rodon and the Marlins’ Garrett Cooper were named replacements in the National League for the Brewers’ Josh Hader and the Phillies’ Bryce Harper, respectively.

Martinez, who turns 35 next month, has made the American League All-Star team in four of his five seasons (2018-2019, 2021-2022) with Boston. There was no All-Star Game in 2020 due to the nature of the COVID-shortened season.

In 76 games this season, Martinez is batting .313/.380/.500 with 29 doubles, nine home runs, 38 RBIs, 50 runs scored, 30 walks, and 78 strikeouts across 337 trips to the plate.

As is the case with Bogaerts, Martinez can become a free-agent at the end of the year. So this very well may be the final time he represents the Red Sox in an All-Star Game.

(Picture of J.D. Martinez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Brayan Bello lasts just 4 innings in second start as Red Sox fall to Rays, 10-5

The Red Sox did not arrive in St. Petersburg, Fla. until about 4 a.m. eastern time Monday morning. It showed in their loss to the Rays on Monday night as Boston fell to Tampa Bay by a final score of 10-5 at Tropicana Field to drop to 47-40 on the season.

Brayan Bello, making his second start of the season, did not fare much better than he did in his major-league debut against the Rays at Fenway Park last Wednesday. This time around, the rookie right-hander allowed five earned runs on seven hits, three walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over four innings of work.

All five of those Tampa Bay runs came within the first two innings of Monday’s loss. In the first, Bello put three of the first four batters he faced on to fill the bases for Josh Lowe, who lifted a softly-hit two-run single to center field to give the Rays an early 2-0 lead. The Sox were able to respond in their half of the second, though, as Xander Bogaerts reached second base via a leadoff double, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored from third on an infield RBI single off the bat of Alex Verdugo.

Despite getting one of those runs back, Bello ran into more trouble in the bottom of the second by issuing a leadoff walk to Luke Raley. He then got the first two outs of the inning, but gave up run-scoring hits to three of the next four batters he faced to make it a 5-1 game in favor of Tampa Bay.

Again, Boston responded in its half of the third. Jarren Duran went from first to third on a Christian Vazquez double. Both runners were then driven in on a two-run double from J.D. Martinez that cut the deficit down to two runs at 5-3. Duran struck again in the fourth by plating Rob Refsnyder on an RBI single, although he was tagged out in between first and second base to end the inning.

Bello, meanwhile, had begun to settle in a bit and ended his night by tossing back-to-back scoreless frames. The 23-year-old finished with a final pitch count of 82 (48 strikes) and was taken off the hook in the top of the fifth.

There, while matched up against Luke Bard, J.D. Martinez ripped a 105.9 mph double and was immediately driven in by Bogaerts. Bogaerts and Verdugo then proceeded to advance to second and third base, but both runners were stranded in scoring position with Trevor Story grounding out and Franchy Cordero striking out to extinguish the threat.

In relief of Bello, Austin Davis received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The left-hander yielded just one single in the bottom of the fifth before making way in the sixth for fellow southpaw Jake Diekman, who took over in a 5-5 game but could not keep the tie intact.

Instead, Diekman plunked the first Ray he faced in Taylor Walls, got the first out of the inning, and then surrendered a go-ahead RBI double to Yandy Diaz. Kaleb Ort came in for Diekman and allowed the runner he inherited to score on an RBI single from the pinch-hitting Harold Ramirez.

Phillips Valdez was next. He retired the side in order in the seventh but did not receive much defensive help in the eighth. Bobby Dalbec failed to catch a pop-up off the bat of Raley that should have gone for the first out of the inning. Walls then grounded into a force out at second before advancing to third on a Brett Phillips single. Diaz drove in Walls on a sacrifice fly before Ramirez scored Phillips on an RBI base hit back up the middle.

A groundball from Randy Arozarena that could not be corralled by Cordero kept the inning alive for Yu Chang, who plated Tampa Bay’s 10th and final run on another RBI single. Valdez was charged with three runs in the eighth. All three were unearned.

Down to their final three outs of the ninth, the Red Sox went down quietly against Jason Adam. They did not record a single hit in the last four innings of another defeat at the hands of a divisional opponent.

Next up: Sale’s 2022 debut on deck

Chris Sale will make his highly-anticipated season debut for the Red Sox in the second game of this four-game set. Boston will need to activate the left-hander from the 60-day injured list before first pitch on Tuesday night.

Opposing Sale will be veteran right-hander Corey Kluber for the Rays. Kluber and Sale finished first and second in American League Cy Young Award voting back in 2017.

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

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Franchy Cordero, Christian Vázquez, and J.D. Martinez all homer as Red Sox beat Yankees, 11-6, to earn series split

The Red Sox wrapped up their weekend on a solid note by coming from behind for a second night in a row to ultimately beat and earn a series split the Yankees. After Alex Verdugo walked it off in 10 innings on Saturday, Boston rallied from multiple four-run deficits to defeat the Yankees by a final score of 11-6 at Fenway Park on Sunday.

Nick Pivetta, making his 18th start of the season, was unfortunately the primary reason why the Sox fell behind early on Sunday night. In just 3 1/3 innings of work, the right-hander got rocked for six runs on eight hits, and two walks, to go along with five strikeouts.

All six of those Yankees runs came within the first three innings. In the first, Pivetta served up a blistering two-run home run to Giancarlo Stanton. In the second, he gave up a pair of run-scoring hits to Jose Trevino and Isiah Kiner-Filefa. And in the third, he surrendered another two-run blast to Matt Carpenter.

Franchy Cordero had just crushed a two-run homer of his own in the bottom of the second off Yankees starter Jameson Taillon to briefly cut the Red Sox’ deficit in half, but Carpenter took things into his own hands to give New York a 6-2 lead.

Taillon, however, fell victim to the long ball again in the latter half of the third inning. With two outs and the bases empty, Christian Vazquez clobbered a 380-foot solo shot over the Green Monster to make it a three-run game at 6-3.

Pivetta, meanwhile, came back out for the fourth but gave up base hits to two of the final three batters he faced before getting the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora. The 29-year-old wound up throwing 90 pitches (59 strikes) in the process of raising his ERA on the season to 4.08.

Kaleb Ort took over for Pivetta with two outs to get in the fourth inning. Making his first-ever appearance at Fenway Park, Ort retired the dangerous duo of Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo before getting through a scoreless fifth with the help of an inning-ending 3-6-1 double play.

To lead off the bottom of the fifth, Jackie Bradley Jr. reached base on a line-drive single. He then moved up to second on a Bobby Dalbec groundout and to third on a Jarren Duran groundout before being driven in by Vazquez. Following a Yankees mound visit, J.D. Martinez proceeded to tie things up by clubbing another two-run homer 392 feet into the Red Sox bullpen in right field.

Martinez’s ninth big fly of the season — and his first at Fenway Park since June 14 — knotted things up at six runs apiece going into the sixth. There, former Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman loaded the bases with no outs. Boston was only able to get one run out of it, though, as the pinch-hitting Jeter Downs plated Trevor Story on fly ball that was dropped by D.J. LeMahieu to give the Red Sox their first lead of the night.

After Hirokazu Sawamura tossed a pair of scoreless frames in the sixth and seventh (and Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected for arguing balls and strikes), the Sox struck again in their half of the seventh when Martinez reached base on a Kiner-Filefa throwing error. Like Chapman, Miguel Castro proceeded to load the bases with no outs. Following another mound visit, Story cleared said bases on a 402-foot three-run double that nearly left the yard.

It may not have been a grand slam, but it still plated three. Story then scored from second when Cordero greeted new Yankees reliever Albert Abreu by dropping a sacrifice bunt. Abreu fielded the ball cleanly, but he made an errant throw to first base that deflected off Rizzo and allowed Story to score on a heads-up play.

Taking a commanding 11-6 advantage into the late innings, Matt Strahm stranded one runner in the eighth while Ryan Brasier faced the minimum in the ninth. Downs, for his part, had taken over at third base after pinch-hitting for Duran earlier in the contest. The rookie infielder made a superb barehanded play while charging towards the ball to rob Kiner-Filefa of a potential infield single with an absolute dart to first base . He then showed off his hops to start the game-ending 5-4-3 double play.

With the win, the Red Sox improve to 47-39 on the season and to 11-20 against divisional opponents. This is the first time in tries this year that the Sox have not lost a series to an American League East rival.

Next up: Happy flight to St. Petersburg

It will be a quick turnaround for the Red Sox as they will board a flight to St. Petersburg before opening a four-game series against the reeling Rays on Tuesday night.

In the series opener, rookie right-hander Brayan Bello will be making his second start for Boston while Tampa Bay will roll fellow righty Matt Wisler. First pitch from Tropicana Field is scheduled for 7: 10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

Red Sox play sloppy defense, go 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position in 3-1 loss to Cubs

Sloppy defense and a lack of scoring opportunities is what did the Red Sox in on Saturday night, as they dropped their second straight to the Cubs by a final score of 3-1 at Wrigley Field.

Cubs starter Alec Mills threw just seven pitches and faced two batters in the first inning before leaving the game with lower back pain. He was relieved by Mark Leiter Jr., who allowed just one run over 5 1/3 impressive innings on short notice.

That lone Red Sox run came in the sixth inning, when after Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled and Jarren Duran singled to put runners at the corners with no outs, Rafael Devers grounded into a run-scoring, 1-4-3 double play.

At that point, Boston was trailing Chicago by just one run at 2-1. Josh Winckowski, making his fifth start of the season for the Sox, had gotten tagged for two runs in the bottom of the second inning.

After retiring the side in order in the first, Winckowski gave up a leadoff single to Patrick Wisdom, who then took second base on a Devers throwing error. The very next batter, Nico Hoerner, attempted to move Wisdom over to third by laying a bunt. Winckowski fielded said bunt, but air-mailed his throw to first base, which allowed Wisdom to score the game’s first run. Hoerner moved up to second on Winckowski’s error and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Narciso Crook to make it a 2-o game.

Despite those shaky results early on, Winckowski ultimately settled into his outing. The right-hander allowed just the two runs (one earned) on six hits, one walk, and six strikeouts over six solid innings of work. Of the 94 pitches he threw, 63 went for strikes.

Dating back to June 15, Winckowski owns an ERA of 1.96 in his last four starts. On the season as a whole, the 24-year-old hurler has posted a 3.12 ERA.

In relief of Winckowski, Ryan Brasier received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora and he needed just 14 pitches to face the minimum in a scoreless bottom of the seventh.

Tanner Houck made his first appearance since last Sunday in the eighth and gave up a one-out single to Wilson Contreras. Contreras was pinch-ran for by Nelson Velazquez, who promptly stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored from third on an RBI single off the bat of Wisdom.

Taking a 3-1 lead into the ninth, the Cubs had already received a stellar effort out of their bullpen. Duran led off the top of the ninth with a double off veteran closer David Robertson. He then stole third base but was stranded there after Devers and J.D. Martinez struck out, Xander Bogaerts drew a walk, and Alex Verdugo lined out to center field to end the game with a final score of 3-1.

With the loss, the Red Sox have dropped four of their last five contests to fall to 43-35 on the season. They have already lost their last two series and are now at risk of getting swept for the first time since May 5-9 when they did so against the White Sox.

Next up: Seabold vs. Thompson

In order to avoid a second straight sweep, the Red Sox will activate and send rookie right-hander Connor Seabold to the mound in Sunday’s series finale. The Cubs will counter with fellow righty Keegan Thompson.

First pitch from Wrigley Field is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

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

Red Sox go 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position, fail to finish off sweep of Athletics in 4-3 loss

The Red Sox were unable to complete their three-game sweep of the Athletics at Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon. Boston instead fell to Oakland by a final score of 4-3 to put its three-game winning streak come to an end and drop to 34-30 on the season.

Rich Hill, making his 12th start of the year for the Sox, allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and zero walks to go along with four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of work.

All three runs the veteran left-hander gave up came in the top half of the third. The Athletics’ rally began when Cristian Pache reached base on a one-out popup to shallow center field that was not caught by a back-tracking Trevor Story. It was ruled a double and was immediately followed by an RBI single off the bat of Chad Pinder that got Oakland on the board first.

A hard-hit double from Ramon Laureano put runners at second and third for Christian Bethancourt, who drove in both on a two-run single to left field. Hill did not falter, though, as he proceeded to sit down 10 of the next 11 batters he faced before yielding a two-out single to Seth Brown in the sixth inning.

That would mark the end of Hill’s afternoon as he got the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora. The 42-year-old southpaw finished with a final pitch count of 82 (61 strikes) and induced eight swings-and-misses with his four-seam fastball, a pitch he threw 30 times.

In relief of Hill, Hirokazu Sawamura received the first call out of the Boston bullpen while inheriting one runner in Brown. A passed ball allowed that runner to advance to second and he proceeded to score from there on an Elvis Andrus line drive that went through the legs of Rafael Devers.

Sawamura got through the rest of the inning unscathed, but the Red Sox found themselves trailing 4-1 heading into their half of the sixth. To that point in the contest, the Boston lineup had been held in check by Oakland right-hander Paul Blackburn despite having a fair share of scoring opportunities.

Jarren Duran led off the first inning with a drag bunt single and advanced to third on a one-out single from J.D. Martinez. Neither runner scored. A pair of singles from Franchy Cordero and Jackie Bradley Jr. put runners on the corners with two outs in the third for Duran, who struck out swinging.

The Sox finally prevailed in the third, as Devers drew a leadoff walk and later scored from third on an RBI groundout off the bat of Xander Bogaerts. They could have gotten more in the frame, but both Alex Verdugo and Story were retired to extinguish the threat.

An inning later, the A’s elected to intentionally walk Devers with two outs, which loaded the bases for Martinez. Martinez, however, softly grounded out to Blackburn himself to end things in the fourth.

Blackburn compiled his first 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, but ran into more trouble in the sixth when he gave up a one-out single to Christian Vazquez. That prompted a pitching change as A.J. Puk was dispatched from the Athletics bullpen. Puk got Bradley Jr. to ground into a force out at second to snuff out the lead runner, then fanned the pinch-hitting Bobby Dalbec on three straight heaters.

After Ryan Brasier made quick work of Oakland in the top of the seventh, Boston had another prime opportunity in the latter half of the frame. Devers was plunked by a pitch and Bogaerts roped a one-out single to put runner at first and second. Matched up against new A’s reliever Zach Jackson, Verdugo flew out to center field and Story punched out on a 3-2, 87 mph slider to end the inning.

Hansel Robles worked his way around a ground-rule double in an otherwise clean eighth inning. In the bottom of the eighth, the pinch-hitting Rob Refsnyder led off with a line-drive single off Sam Moll. Vazquez followed by drawing a walk. Bradley Jr. and Dalbec each recorded outs, but Devers kept the inning alive by reaching on a fielding error committed by A’s third baseman Jonah Bride.

Refsnyder scored on the play. Martinez then greeted new reliever Dany Jimenez by lacing an RBI single back up the middle. It scored Vazquez and very well could have scored the tying run in Devers were it not for the efforts of second baseman Tony Kemp.

Kemp prevented the ball from rolling into center field, which forced Devers — representing the tying run — to hold up at third base. Following a mound visit, Bogaerts grounded into a force out to put an end to the inning with the Red Sox still trailing 4-3.

The score would remain that way after Tyler Danish sat down the side in order in the top half of the ninth. Down to their final three outs in the bottom half, Verdugo, Story, and Refsnyder went down quietly as 4-3 would go on to be Thursday’s final score.

All told, the Red Sox lineup went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runers on base as a team. It was a particularly tough day for Story, who went 0-for-5 with three punchouts and three runners left on base. The second baseman is hitting just .143 (4-for-28) over his last seven games.

Next up: Wainwright vs. Wacha

The Red Sox will look to win another series as they welcome the Cardinals into town for the first time since 2017 on Friday night. In the first of a three-game weekend set, it will be right-hander Michael Wacha getting the start for Boston and fellow righty Adam Wainwright doing the same for St. Louis.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Trevor Story: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez both homer as Red Sox cruise to 6-1 win over Athletics

The Red Sox returned home to Fenway Park for the first time in nearly two weeks on Tuesday and continued their winning ways with a series-opening win over the Athletics.

Boston defeated Oakland by a final score of 6-1 in a tidy two hours and 43 minutes to take the season series from the A’s and improve to 33-29 on the year.

Matched up against rookie left-hander Jared Koenig to begin things on Tuesday, Xander Bogaerts kicked off the scoring with a first-inning broken-bat RBI single to right field.

An inning later, Rob Refsnyder delivered with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly that scored Christian Vazquez from third base. In the bottom of the third, J.D. Martinez clubbed his eighth home run of the season and his third in his last four games.

Rafael Devers’ doubled Boston’s advantage in the fourth. With runners on first and second and no outs in the inning, Devers took an 0-1, 88 mph sinker on the inner half of the plate from Koenig and crushed it 439 feet into the right field bleachers.

Devers’ team-leading 15th big fly of the year — a three-run blast that left his bat at a blistering 107.3 mph — gave the Sox a commanding 6-0 lead at the end of the four.

To that point in the contest, Nick Pivetta had been cruising right along in his 13th start of the season for Boston. The right-hander took a no-hit bid into the fourth inning before giving up a leadoff single to Tony Kemp. He then took a shutout bid into the eighth inning before yielding a leadoff home run to Stephen Vogt.

Pivetta did not let that rattle him, though, as he proceeded to retire the next (and final) three batters he faced to end his night on a solid note. Finishing with a final pitch count of 100 (67 strikes), the 29-year-old hurler wound up allowing just the one run on three hits, two walks, and three strikeouts over eight strong innings of work.

Of the 100 pitches Pivetta threw, 55 were four-seam fastballs. He induced a game-high seven swings-and-misses with the pitch while topping out at 96.2 mph with it. He also lowered his ERA on the season down to 3.50.

In relief of Pivetta, Phillips Valdez received the first and only call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The righty allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base, but closed it out from there to secure the 6-1 victory.

Next up: Kaprielian vs. Winckowski

The Red Sox will call up rookie right-hander Josh Winckowski to start the second game of this three-game set on Wednesday. The Athletics, on the other hand, will turn to fellow righty James Kaprielian.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers: Elsa/Getty Images)

Trevor Story crushes 3 home runs, collects 7 RBIs as Red Sox overcome early deficit to defeat Mariners, 12-6

The Red Sox fell behind early, but ultimately prevailed against the Mariners for their second straight win on Thursday night. Boston defeated Seattle by a final score of 12-6 to improve to 16-22 on the season.

Rich Hill made his seventh start of the year for the Sox, but really served as more of an opener. The veteran left-hander allowed four earned runs on six hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts over just two innings of work.

All four runs Hill surrendered on Thursday came in the top half of the second. He yielded a leadoff double to Eugenio Suarez and one-out single to Abraham Toro before Dylan Moore cranked a three-run home run over the Green Monster. Adam Frazier then reached base via a two-out walk and scored all the way from first on an RBI double off the bat of Ty France. That gave the Mariners a 4-0 lead before Hill was able to get through his second and final inning.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 56 (35 strikes), the 42-year-old southpaw may not have been able to provide Boston with length, but it had a fresh bullpen to work with following Nick Pivetta’s complete game two-hitter the night prior.

Before the Red Sox bullpen was called into action, the lineup got things going against Mariners rookie starter George Kirby in their half of the second. Alex Verdugo broke out of of a prolonged slump with a leadoff single. Trevor Story followed by crushing a towering two-run home run 402 feet to dead center field to cut the deficit in half at 4-2.

An inning later, Story struck again with a runner on base ahead of him. Following a leadoff single from J.D. Martinez, Story clubbed his second two-run blast of the game — a 403-foot shot down the left field line — to knot things up at four runs apiece.

To that point, Tanner Houck had already received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen in relief of Hill and worked a 1-2-3 third inning. The right-hander picked up where he left off in the fourth by retiring nine of the next 11 Mariners he faced while keeping that 4-4 tie intact going into the middle of the sixth.

Seattle was ready to take Kirby out of the game in favor of veteran reliever Sergio Romo, but the rookie had to face at least one batter since he had already taken the mound. That one batter he did face, Verdugo, led the bottom of the sixth off with a sharply-hit double. Romo was then greeted by Story, who managed to plate Verdugo on a single back up the middle that was accompanied by a fielding error. After taking their first lead of the night at 5-4, Story stole third base and scored from third on an RBI double from Jackie Bradley Jr.

John Schreiber took over for Houck following his four impressive frames in the seventh and retired the side in order. In the bottom of the seventh, the Sox padded their lead as Bobby Dalbec, Christian Vazquez, and Bradley Jr. were either walked or hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Mariners got one of those runs back in the top of the eighth when Hirokazu Sawamura loaded the bases with one out and Matt Strahm walked one of those runners in before ending the inning.

A half-inning later, Martinez and Bogaerts reached on back-to-back one-out singles to put runners on first and second for Story, who capped off his memorable night by depositing a 358-foot three-run home run into the Monster seats.

Story’s third big fly of the game and fifth of the season gave Boston a commanding 12-5 lead. Ryan Brasier gave one of those runs back on a Julio Rodriguez solo shot in the top of the ninth, but was able to slam the door on Seattle to secure a 12-6 victory.

Some notes from this win:

Trevor Story went 4-for-4 with three homers, seven RBIs, five runs scored, one walk, and one stolen base. It was the second three-home run game of the 29-year-old’s career and undoubtedly his best all-around performance with the Red Sox so far this season.

From MLB Stats, Story is the first second baseman in major-league history to hit three home runs and steal a base in the same game.

J.D. Martinez went 4-for-5 with three runs scored while Alex Verdugo went 3-for-5 with four runs scored.

Rafael Devers also extended his hitting streak to 13 straight games as part of a 1-for-5 night at the plate.

Alex Cora won his 300th game as Red Sox manager on Thursday.

Next up: Ray vs. Wacha

The Red Sox are expected to activate right-hander Michael Wacha from the 15-day injured list and have him start against the Mariners on Friday night opposite reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Trevor Story: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Nathan Eovaldi gives up 5 home runs in single inning as Red Sox get blown out by Astros, 13-4

The Red Sox fell behind early and could never recover against the Astros on a breezy Tuesday night at Fenway Park. Boston fell to Houston by a final score of 13-4 to drop to 14-22 on the season.

Matched up against Jose Urquidy to start things out, the Sox got off to a quick start thanks to Rafael Devers. With one out in the bottom of the first inning, Devers extended his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games by crushing a one-out home run 108.7 mph to center field. Moments later, J.D. Martinez extended his own hitting streak to 18 straight games with a single.

After needing just five pitches to retire the side in the top half of the first, Nathan Eovaldi took the mound in the second inning with a 1-0 lead to work with. Despite those two things working in his favor, the right-hander did not make it out of the second.

Instead, Eovaldi served up a leadoff homer to Yordan Alvarez that saw that one-run lead disappear. Yuli Gurriel then reached base on a missed catch error and Kyle Tucker capitalized on Boston’s mistake by mashing a two-run home run over Houston’s bullpen. Jeremy Pena, who played his college ball at the University of Maine, followed with a solo blast to left-center.

So the Astros had plated four runs without recording an out in the second. Eovaldi got that elusive first out, but then ran into more trouble by giving up back-to-back one-out hits to Martin Maldonado and Jose Altuve. Michael Brantley capitalized on the opportunity in front of him by cranking a three-run home run to right field. Houston batted around in the inning as Alvarez singled with two outs and Gurriel ended Eovaldi’s night with a 381-foot two-run blast.

Eovaldi’s eighth start of the season was also his shortest. The 32-year-old allowed nine runs — six of which were earned — on eight hits, no walks, and no strikeouts over just 1 2/3 innings of work. He also became the first Red Sox pitcher to ever give up as many as five home runs in a single inning, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

Tyler Danish took over for Eovaldi and ended things in the second. An inning later, Devers stayed hot by ripping a leadoff double to left field. Martinez followed — and also stayed hot — by hitting his fifth big fly of the season. A 401-foot two-run shot trimmed the Sox’ deficit down to six runs at 9-3.

Danish, meanwhile, had gotten through a scoreless third inning before loading the bases with one out in the fourth. The reliever then yielded a 386-foot grand slam to Kyle Tucker that put the Astros back up by 10 runs.

Following a perfect top half of the fifth from Hirokazu Sawamura, Boston got one of those runs back in the latter half when Trevor Story scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Kevin Plawecki.

Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes, and Jake Diekman worked one shutout frame each, as did Austin Davis.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, Alex Verdugo, Story, Franchy Cordero, and Plawecki went down in order against Blake Taylor to seal a 13-4 defeat for the Red Sox.

Boston went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday and left 13 runners on base as a team. Despite those situational struggles, Devers and Martinez combined for six hits as they each finished a triple shy of the cycle. Verdugo and Story also had four hits between them.

Next up: Garcia vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will look to bounce back as they go for the series win over the Astros on Wednesday. Boston will turn to right-hander Nick Pivetta while Houston will roll with fellow righty Luis Garcia in the series finale.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)