Rodriguez took the mound in the top of the first inning and got Trey Mancini to ground out to second to start. Adam Jones hit yet another ground ball into left for a single but Manny Machado popped up to left. Jonathan Schoop flied out to center to end the inning. Rookie David Hess got the start for Baltimore and Mr. Mookie Betts hit one up the elevator shaft to start the bottom of the first. Andrew Benintendi and Mitch Moreland both grounded out to second to end the inning.
Mark Trumbo hit a roller up the middle for a base hit to start the top of the second but Danny Valencia popped up to center. Joey Rickard lined out to left and Andrew Susac struck out to end the inning but Rodriguez had already thrown 38 pitches. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second when JD Martinez hit a cheap 298 foot home run just over the wall in right to give the Sox the lead. Rafael Devers walked but Eduardo Nunez whiffed. Brock "The Hitman" Holt singled but Christian Vazquez beat out a double play ball. As usual Jackie Bradley Jr struck out on straight fastballs down the middle to end the inning with the Sox rally ending just up 1-0.
Craig Gentry whiffed to begin the top of the third but Mancini singled to right. Jones singled to right but Machado popped up to third. Schoop grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox tried to rally in the bottom of the third when Mr. Mookie smashed a 400 foot double off the top off the centerfield wall to begin. As usual the Sox did nothing as Benintendi popped up to second, Moreland whiffed but Martinez was intentionally walked. Devers popped up to left to end the inning with 4 runners left on base the last two innings.
Rodriguez got Trumbo to ground out back to the mound to start the top of the fourth but Devers decided to kick a ground ball by Valencia into the Orioles dugout while screaming "GOALLLLLLLL!" for an error. Valencia was forced at second on a ground ball by Rickard but Susac singled to center. Gentry flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox went down in the bottom of the fourth in almost record time. Nunez whiffed, Holt grounded out to first and Vazquez also grounded out to first to end the inning.
The O's almost struck back in the top of the fifth although Rodriguez whiffed Mancini to start. Jones singled under the glove of Nunez but Rodriguez froze Machado and blew away Schoop to end the inning. Babies were thrown in the air as JBJ actually doubled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. JBJ moved to third on a fly out by Mr. Mookie then scored on the two run blast to right by Benintendi. Moreland smacked a ground rule double and Martinez crushed a 430 foot two run home run to extend the lead. Devers grounded out to third but Nunez singled to chase Hess. Mike Wright Jr came in and Holt stroked a single but Vazquez popped up to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Could Rodriguez go one more inning in the top of the sixth? He struck out Trumbo but Valencia singled off the Monster. Nunez tried to backflip a ground ball hit by Rickard to second for a force but failed. Susac struck out but Gentry singled to load the bases and chase Rodriguez. Everything the O's hit found a hole or were botched by Nunez and Devers, but all Heath Hembree had to do was get one measly out...and he did. Mancini flied out to right to end the inning with Rodriguez pitching 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball.
JBJ worked a walk to start the bottom of the sixth but Mr. Mookie flied out to right. Benintendi singled to right but Moreland popped up to third. Martinez lined out to third to end the inning, another multiple runner squander.
Hembree returned for the top of the seventh and struck out Jones to begin. Machado singled off the glove of Devers as usual but Schoop whiffed. Trumbo popped up to first to end the inning. Jace Peterson took over for Jones in the bottom of the seventh and Devers popped up to third to start. Nunez lined out to right but Holt walked and Vazquez singled. JBJ returned to normal by striking out and slamming his bat down to end the inning.
Bobby Poyner took over for the top of the eighth inning and Valencia grounded out to third to start. Rickard singled but Susac popped up to first. Gentry singled but Mancini grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Sox looked to rally in the bottom of the eighth when Mr. Mookie walked and Benintendi singled to chase Wright, but Pedro Araujo whiffed Moreland, Martinez and Devers in short order.
Brian Johnson was brought in for the top of the ninth and Peterson doubled to start. It should be noted this was Baltimore's 13th hit of the day but only their first extra base hit. Peterson moved to third on the groundout by Machado but Schoop popped up to center. Johnson froze Trumbo to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-0
Hero of the Night is JD Martinez. He belted not one but two home runs, driving in 3 runs total.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 3 for 5 with a 2 run home run.
Brock Holt was 2 for 3 with a walk.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Eduardo Rodriguez got the win with 5 2/3 scoreless innings on 9 hits and no walks while striking out 7.
Heath Hembree pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Bobby Poyner pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Brian Johnson pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a walk.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with an error but walked.
Eduardo Nunez was just 1 for 4.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
It was a good win but the warts on this team are taking center stage over the good things. As good as Betts and Martinez are, the liabilities on defense like Nunez and Devers along with the bottom four of the order (JBJ and Vazquez included) makes this a very top heavy team. If they're trailing in the later innings with Devers, Nunez, Vazquez and JBJ coming up....just change the channel. Hanley Ramirez has hit .200 this month so he's been just as useless as the others. Its really been the Mookie and Martinez show and that can't continue. Devers and Ramirez have to figure it out and luckily Dustin Pedroia is coming back soon. If he can come back in June and hit .300 like always it will be a huge boost to this offense. As for Rodriguez, some of those hits and errors could have been avoided but kudos to him for getting out of almost every jam he was in. The win improved the Sox to 32-15, percentage points behind the New York Yankes for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox travel to Tampa to play the Rays for a 3 game set. Chris Sale(4-1, 2.29 ERA) takes on Jake Faria on Tuesday night at 7:10 PM at Tropicana Field
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