The Orioles wasted no time scoring in the top of the first inning. Trey Mancini opened with a single to right but Manny Machado flied out to right. Jonathan Schoop singled Trey to third but Adam Jones drove home Mancini with a sac fly to give the O's the lead. Danny Valencia flied out to right to end the inning but the O's were already up 1-0.
The Sox wasted no time exploding against the struggling Tillman in the bottom of the first inning. Mookie Betts started the rally with a walk and moved to second on the Andrew Benintendi ground out to the right of the mound. Mitch Moreland singled Betts to third and JD Martinez scored him with a sac fly to tie the game. Rafael Devers doubled to deep left and Eduardo Nunez cleared the bases with a 3 run bomb into the Monster Seats to give the Sox the lead. Jackie Bradley Jr popped up to short to end the inning but it was now 4-1 Sox.
Rodriguez recovered to open the top of the second by whiffing Chris Davis and Tim Beckham back to back. Craig Gentry looked at strike three to end the inning, good bounce back by Eduardo. Christian Vazquez started the bottom of the second with a pop up to center as Sox analyst Dennis Eckersley said Tillman had mediocre command. Tzu-Wei Lin doubled to the left field wall and Betts followed with a double of his own almost to the same spot to score Lin with another run. Moreland drew a walk but Martinez was robbed of a hit by Gentry to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.
Rodriguez cruised in the top of the third as Caleb Joseph lined out to right to start. Mancini walked but Machado lined out to left. Schoop grounded out to short to end the inning. Devers began the bottom of the third with a single and Nunez followed with one of his own. JBJ was plunked to load the bases and that was it for the ineffective Tillman. He sure has stunk the joint out to begin the season. Pedro Araujo relieved Tillman and the first thing he did was uncork a wild pitch to score Devers and advance the others into scoring position.Vazquez walked to re-load the bases but Lin whiffed. Betts flied out to center and Benintendi whiffed to end the inning. They squandered the chance to break it open but still led 6-1.
Martinez and Betts made a boo-boo in the top of the fourth when they let a pop up by Jones drop in between them but Betts gunned down Jones at second....but wait! Grumpy O's manager Buck Showalter challenged the call but the umpires determined he was out anyway. Valencia singled but Rodriguez recovered to strike out both Davis and Beckham to end the inning. Moreland whiffed to start the bottom of the fourth as NESN showed a replay of Drew Pomeranz' rehab start in Portland earlier tonight where he struck out Tim Tebow. Martinez flied out to right but Devers beat out an infield single. Nunez lined out to center to end the inning.
Rodriguez returned for the top of the fifth and struck out Gentry to start. Joseph flied out to center and Mancini whiffed to end the inning. Mike Wright Jr took over for the bottom of the fifth and whiffed JBJ to start. Vazquez popped up to second but Lin walked. Betts flied out to right to end the inning.
Rodriguez came back for one more inning in the top of the sixth inning and got Machado to pop up to first to start. Schoop singled to center but Jones lined out to a running Benintendi in left. Valencia walked but Rodriguez froze Davis on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning. Rodriguez had tossed 6 innings of 1 run ball, lot better than his last outing.
The Sox got another run in the bottom of the sixth as Benintendi walked to start. Moreland looked to have banged into a double play but Sox manager Alex Cora challenged the call and it turns out Moreland beat the relay throw to first. Martinez smashed a ground rule double to put runners on second and third but Devers whiffed. Wright then threw a wild pitch for ball four and Moreland made a mad dash home to score the run, advancing Martinez to third. JBJ popped up to third to end the inning but it was now 7-1.
Heath Hembree took over on the mound for the top of the seventh and crapped his pants. Beckham grounded out to second to start but Gentry singled in the hole at short. Joseph whiffed but Mancini singled. Machado doubled into the gap to score both runners, cutting into the Sox lead. Schoop whiffed to end the inning but it was 7-3 Sox.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the seventh as Vazquez flied out to right to start. Lin singled to center but Betts whiffed. That was it for Wright as Donnie Hart replaced him to get Benintendi to ground out to second to end the inning.
Joe Kelly came on to pitch the top of the eighth and he blew away Jones to start. Pedro Alvarez pinch hit for Valencia and grounded out to second before Davis grounded out to first to end the inning. Engelb Vielma took over for Schoop as Moreland grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the eighth. Martinez singled but Devers flied out to center. Nunez grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Matt Barnes got the call to close out the top of the ninth inning and Beckham grounded out to third to start. Gentry watched strike three go by as Chance Sisco pinch hit for Joseph. Sisco singled but Mancini grounded into a force to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-3.
Hero of the Night is Eduardo Rodriguez. He kept the vaunted O's offense off the board by firing 6 innings of 1 run ball, adding to the string of outstanding starts by the Sox rotation.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Rafael Devers was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 4 with a walk and a 3 run blast.
Tzu-Wei Lin was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Heath Hembree gave up 2 runs in an inning of work.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but walked, drove in a run and scored.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 but walked.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored twice.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
If Rodriguez can pitch like this consistently the Red Sox are in great shape moving forward. It looks like Rick Porcello has put the stench of last year behind him, Chris Sale is his usual self and when David Price isn't cold he's been dominating this season. Getting Rodriguez back healthy gives the Sox 4 top of the line starters even without the injured Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright. The offense continues to produce even without Hanley Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia. Hanley is still smarting from the beanball yesterday but luckily there was no structural damage. Bogaerts is out of the walking boot so he's on his way back and Pedroia is scheduled to start rehabbing at the end of the month. Pomeranz looked more like himself in his rehab start in Portland tonight but consider the competition. Since he never really had Spring Training it would be unfair to expect him to be throwing bullets already. As for tonight's game, the only problem moving forward is the bullpen. It looks shaky as hell and if Alex Cora continues to play Dr. Quick Hook then he's going to burn relievers left and right. The problem was they never replaced Addison Reed and Tyler Thornberg isn't back yet. If Carson Smith can rediscover his 2014 form and Thornberg comes back healthy, things may settle down and lighten the load for Craig Kimbrel. If injuries and a missing bullpen arm is the only thing wrong with your team, you must be doing well. Tomorrow afternoon the O's look for revenge as they send former Tampa starter Alex Cobb to the mound in his season debut. Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez gets the start for Boston at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment