As for the game, the Sox did what they had to do and sweep the Baltimore Orioles. Eduardo Rodriguez (9-6, 4.97 ERA) posted one of his best starts of the season by holding the O's to an unearned run in 6 innings of work. Meanwhile the Sox iced the game early with a three run JD Martinez home run off Baltimore starter Keegan Akin in the first inning. The Sox rallied for three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach although the O's got a run against Adam Ottavino in the seventh. The duo of Garrett Whitlock and Matt Barnes slammed the door in the final two innings as the Sox completed the three game sweep of the O's with a 6-2 victory at Fenway Park.
The O's struck first in the top of the first against Rodriguez although Cedric Mullins struck out swinging to start. Austin Hays drew a walk, Trey Mancini got a base hit to left and Anthony Santander got a base hit to left.....only for Martinez to heave the ball into the Red Sox bullpen for no reason to score Hays. Ramon Urias struck out swinging and Pedro Severino took strike three to end the inning with the O's up 1-0.
The Sox wasted no time getting the lead back in the bottom of the first as Kike Hernandez got a base hit to center to start. Hunter Renfroe banged into a double play but Xander Bogaerts got a base hit to center. Devers walked and Martinez crushed his 23rd home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Kyle Schwarber flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 3-1.
Ryan McKenna walked to start the top of the second but Maikel Franco grounded into a double play. Jorge Mateo grounded out to short to end the inning. Bobby Dalbec grounded out to third to start the bottom of the second but Alex Verdugo singled in the hole at short. Christian Vazquez flied out to center and Hernandez flied out to center as well to end the inning.
Mullins lined out to center to start the top of the third but Jays singled to left. Mancini grounded out to third to move Hays to second but Santander struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Renfroe struck out looking to start. Bogaerts walked and Devers doubled to left to force the O's into intentionally walking Martinez to load the bases. Schwarber flied out to right and Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning.
Urias walked to start the top of the fourth before Severino flied out to center. McKenna dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Urias to second but Franco lined out to second to end the inning. Verdugo popped up to short to start the bottom of the fourth before Vazquez lined a base hit to center. Hernandez and Renfroe both flied out to right to end the inning.
Rodriguez punched out Mateo swinging to start the top of the fifth before Mullins grounded out to second. Hays also grounded out to second to end the inning. Marcos Diplan came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Bogaerts flied out to left to start. Devers popped up to second and Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Rodriguez came back for one final inning in the top of the sixth and Mancini lined out to left to begin. Santander struck out swinging and Urias grounded out to short to end the inning. Despite only throwing 83 pitches, Sox manager Alex Cora had decided that was it for E-Rod who held Baltimore to just one run in 6 innings.
The Sox rallied in the bottom of the sixth against old friend Fernando Abad as Schwarber doubled to right to start. Dalbec struck out swinging again but Verdugo and Vazquez drew back to back walks to load the bases. Tanner Scott came in to pitch to Hernandez and beat out a roller to third to score Schwarber. Renfroe walked home Verdugo and Bogaerts beat out a double play ball to score Vazquez. Devers lined out to left to end the inning with Boston ahead 6-1.
Schwarber starts the rally
With a 5 run lead, Cora felt comfortable enough to turn the game over to the bullpen and Adam Ottavino immediately struggled in the top of the seventh. Severino was plunked and two wild pitches moved him to third but McKenna popped up to first. Franco walked and Mateo drilled a liner off Ottavino to score Severino. Cora pulled the plug on Ottavino before he could get hurt any further and Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to face Mullins. Mullins popped up to third and Hays grounded out to second to end the inning with the O's down 6-2.
Hope Ottavino is okay
Konner Wade came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Martinez popped up to first to start. Schwarber doubled to center before moving to third on the grounder to second by Dalbec, only for Verdugo to take strike three to end the inning.
The Lock returned for the top of the eighth and and blew away Mancini to start. Santander struck out swinging and Urias went down hacking to end the inning. Vazquez popped up to short to start the bottom of the eighth before Hernandez flied out to right. Renfroe grounded out to short to end the inning.
Matt Barnes ran into trouble trying to close out the top of the ninth although Severino grounded out to third to start. DJ Stewart pinch hit for McKenna and doubled to right but Franco flied out to left. Mateo hit a liner to third that Devers mishandled for am error but Mullins flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-2 and swept the Orioles.
Sox win
JD Hero
Adam Ottavino allowed a run in just 1/3 of an inning.
Hero of the Night is JD Martinez. His 3 run home run set the tone and outscored the O's by himself
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 5 with an rbi.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Kyle Schwarber was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Alex Verdugo was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Eduardo Rodriguez got the win with 6 solid innings allowing just an unearned run.
Garrett Whitlock tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Adam Ottavino allowed a run in just 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Like I said yesterday, the Sox had to beat the Orioles not only to gain some ground in the standings but because they are so bad it would be embarrassing to lose to them. It was still nice to see the bats remain hot and more importantly, Rodriguez to toss a good game. He hasn't been the same since he contracted Covid last season but this was the first time in a while he looked like the 19 game winner he was in 2019. The only drawbacks to this game was JD's error that he definitely made up for and Ottavino allowing a run in the seventh inning. Whitlock once again pitched well and the offense got on base consistently on base all day. Can't ask for more than that, especially against a team they had to beat. The Tampa Bay Rays lost so the Sox picked up a critical win on them with only 42 games left in the season. The Sox need to forget this series, though, because now they have to play a doubleheader Tuesday against the New York Yankees. This could be a chance to put them further behind AND gain ground on Tampa if they can win both games. The Sox haven't looked right since the All-Star break so they need to take the doubleheader to at least look like they're going to make some noise down the stretch. The win improved the Sox to 69-51, 3 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. Now the Sox face a real test when they travel to New York to play the doubleheader on Tuesday against the Yankees. Tanner Houck gets the ball for the Sox up against Jordan Montgomery of the Yankees in Game 1. The game begins Tuesday afternoon at 1:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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