As for the game, welcome to Boston Nathan Eovaldi! The flamethrowing right hander held the Minnesota Twins to just 4 hits in 7 innings on just 82 pitches in his Red Sox debut. JD Martinez provided all the offene by himself and Eovaldi was a winner in his first Sox game. The Sox had taken 3 out of 4 from Minnesota with a 3-0 win at Fenway Park.
Eovaldi took the mound in the top of the first inning and Joe Mauer grounded out to second to start. Eddie Rosario doubled but Jorge Polanco flied out to center. Brian Dozier whiffed on a full count to end the inning. Twins starter Jose Berrios got the start in the bottom of the first and Mr. Mookie Betts popped up to first to start. Andrew Benintendi singled and JD Martinez walked. Polanco botched a force attempt by Steve Pearce to load the bases but Jackie Bradley Jr whiffed on a full count. Eduardo Nunez grounded out to short to end the inning.
Eovaldi struck out Logan Morrison swinging to open the top of the second before Miguel Sano whiffed. Robbie Grossman singled but Jake Cave grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Blake Swihart singled to start. Brock "The Hitman" Holt was hit with a pitch but Sandy Leon botched a bunt attempt, getting Swihart thrown out at third. Mr. Mookie beat out a double play ball to keep the inning going and Benintendi walked to load the bases. Martinez cashed in with a double that scored Holt and Betts to put the Sox on top. Pearce lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Bobby Wilson lined out to center to open the top of the third before Mauer grounded out to second. Rosario grounded out to second to end the inning. JBJ whiffed on a fastball right down the middle but Nunez singled and Swihart doubled him to third. Holt looked at strike three and Leon grounded out to first to end the inning.
Polanco singled to start the top of the fourth but Dozier grounded into a double play. Morrison flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth although Mr. Mookie lined out to left but Benintendi doubled. Martinez singled home Benintendi to increase the lead. Pearce whiffed but JBJ singled. Nunez walked but Swihart whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Eovaldi stayed tough in the top of the fifth as Sano flied out to center to start before Grossman grounded out to first. Cave singled up the middle but Wilson flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox chased Berrios in the bottom of the fifth although Holt flied out to center to start. Leon looked at strike three before Mr. Mookie singled. Gabriel Moya came in for Berrios and got Benintendi popped up to second to end the inning.
Eovaldi was unstoppable in the top of the sixth as Mauer lined out to third to begin. Rosario whiffed before Polanco flied out to left to end the inning. Adalberto Mejia came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Martinez lined out to right to begin. Pearce whiffed before JBJ grounded out to short to end the inning.
Eovaldi came back for one more inning in the top of the seventh. Dozier hit one up the elevator shaft before Morrison flied out to right. Sano looked at strike three to end the inning. Sox manager Alex Cora decided that was enough for Eovaldi who was very impressive in his debut. He went 7 innings, threw 82 pitches, struck out 5 and allowed just 4 hits.
Nunez singled to open the bottom of the seventh but Swihart popped up to second. Holt whiffed and Leon grounded out to third to end the inning.
Nunez moved to third, Tzu-Wei Lin came in for Swihart and played short, Holt went to second and Matt Barnes came in to pitch the top of the eighth. Grossman walked but Cave whiffed. Max Kepler pinch hit for Wilson but looked at strike three. Mauer grounded into a force to end the inning. Mitch Garver took over behind the plate in the bottom of the eighth and Mr. Mookie looked at a full count strike three. Benintendi flied out to center and Martinez whiffed to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to close out the top of the ninth and he blew away Rosario to start. Polanco was plunked and took second on a wild pitch...but was doubled off at second on a Dozier line drive to end the game. The Sox had won Nathan Eovaldi's debut by a score of 3-0.
Hero of the Night is Nathan Eovaldi. he tossed 7 innings of shutout ball on just 82 pitches, scattering 4 hits while striking out 5.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with a walk and all 3 runs batted in.
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 3 with a walk.
Blake Swihart was 2 for 4.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 33rd save with a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Steve Pearce was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Brock Holt was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Tzu-Wei Lin played third in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
What a debut for Nathan Eovaldi. He was just supposed to be depth with Eduardo Rodriguez on the disabled list and Drew Pomeranz faltering, but he could be the fourth starter they need going forward at this point. If he can pitch like this more often, Eovaldi would be a great compliment to Chris Sale, Rick Porcello and David Price. JD Martinez supplied the offense as the Sox once again struggled to put runs on the board. Still, with pitching as good as this, its hard to squawk too much about the offense. The problem is Eovaldi can't possibly pitch this good all the time so the offense which has been dormant since the All-Star break needs to return fast with the New York Yankees in town in four days. The win improved the Sox to 74-33, 5.5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. It should be noted the 1936 Red Sox with Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove won 74 total games. This year's team has 74 wins on July 29th. Tomorrow night the Sox go up against the Philadelphia Phillies in a brief two game inter-league set. Phillies ace Aaron Nola goes for them opposite David Price in the first game at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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