It was a month of retribution for the Boston Red Sox and it ended on a high note. The Red Sox were picked by many to finish fourth in the AL East but as of right now they sit alone in first place. They were going into May in first to begin with but tonight's win against the Texas Rangers was a bonus. JD Martinez left last night's game with a bad headache and he took his frustrations out on the Texas pitchers. 3 batters into the first inning he put Boston on top with a 3 run bomb off Texas starter Kohei Arihara. Two innings later JD tagged Arihara again for a solo shot. Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts also went yard as the top of the order carried the Sox for 6 hits and 6 runs. Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 3.63 ERA) earned the win with 6 solid innings of 1 run ball, matching his win total from last year. The B-Team of the bullpen tossed 3 scoreless innings and the Sox ended the month of April with a 6-1 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.
The Sox wasted no time getting to Arihara in the top of the first inning. Christian Arroyo and Alex Verdugo drew back to back walks and JD Martinez plastered his 8th homer of the season to put the Sox up for good three batters into the game. Xander Bogaerts made it back to back jacks with his fourth homer of the season to increase the lead. Rafael Devers lined out to right and but Christian Vazquez reached on an error but Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Bobby Dalbec popped up to second and Hunter Renfroe struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Eovaldi got the ball in the bottom of the first and Willie Calhoun lined out to his real life best friend Verdugo to start. Nick Solak lined out to right and Joey Gallo struck out swinging to end the inning.
Franchy Cordero led off the top of the second by flying out to left to start. Arroyo grounded out to short and Verdugo grounded out to first to end the inning. The Rangers struck back in the bottom of the second as Nate Lowe took strike three to start. Adolis Garcia was plunked and moved to second on the David Dahl grounder, then Kiner walked. Old friend Brock "The Hitman" Holt lashed a base hit to right to score Garcia and send Kiner to third. Holt swiped second but Jonah Heim grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
The Sox struck again in the top of the third as Martinez pounded another home run to increase the lead. Bogaerts flied out to center but Devers crushed his 7th home run of the season to ice the game. Vazquez flied out to right but Dalbec was plunked to chase Arihara. Hyeon-Jong Yang came in to pitch and Renfroe lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-1.
Devers goes yard
Calhoun lined out to short to start the bottom of the third and Solak struck out swinging. Gallo walked but Lowe flied out to left to end the inning.
Yang cruised in the top of the fourth as Cordero grounded out to first to start. Arroyo grounded out to second and Verdugo took strike three to end the inning. Garcia struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the fourth but Dahl singled to center. Kiner singled to right but Dahl was doubled off second on a bullet to Renfroe hit by Holt to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fifth as Martinez got a base hit to center to start but was forced at second by Bogaerts. Devers walked and both runners moved over on the Vazquez grounder. Dalbec flied out to right to end the inning. Heim popped up to third to open the bottom of the fifth but Calhoun singled to left. Solak and Gallo both flied out to right to end the inning.
Yang froze Renfroe for strike three to start the top of the sixth and Cordero flied out to right. Arroyo grounded out to short to end the inning. Eovaldi came back for one last inning in the bottom of the sixth as Lowe flied out to center to begin. Garcia grounded out to second and Dahl whiffed to end the inning. Eovaldi pitched great, allowing just 1 run in 6 innings of work.
Verdugo popped up to short to begin the top of the seventh and Martinez struck out swinging. Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning. Josh Taylor came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Kiner grounded out to short to start. Holt singled to left but Heim struck out swinging. Calhoun hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
Brett de Geus came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Devers grounded out to third to start. Vazquez grounded out to short and Dalbec flied out to left to end the inning. Darwinzon Hernandez came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and blew away Solak with a 95 mph fastball to start. Gallo whiffed on a slider in the dirt but Lowe singled off the glove of Hernandez. Garcia took strike three to end the inning.
Renfroe flied out to center to start the top of the ninth and Cordero took strike three. Arroyo got Boston's first hit since the fifth inning with a single to center but Verdugo flied out to right to end the inning. Austin Brice came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Dahl flied out to right to start. Kiner struck out swinging but Holt walked. Holt took second and third on defensive indifference and Heim walked. Calhoun grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-1.
Sox win
JD Hero
Hero of the Night is JD Martinez. His two home runs put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk including a solo home run.
Nathan Eovaldi got the win with 6 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed just 4 hits and 2 walks.
Josh Taylor pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Darwinzon Hernandez pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Austin Brice pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4.
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Christian Arroyo was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but the one hit was a home run.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch.
Final Thoughts:
The good news is the Sox finished the month on a high note with a good win. The top of the order supplied the offense and got shut down pitching from the bullpen as well as Eovaldi. That's where the good news ends. Batters 6-9 went 0 for 15 with 3 strikeouts. Dalbec did get plunked but apart from that, the achillies heel of this year's Sox team is the bottom of the order. Vazquez, Dalbec, Renfroe, Cordero, Gonzalez and Kike Hernandez are all hitting under .240. That can't continue in the month of May if the Sox hope to keep their good season going. Eovaldi stepped up big tonight and so did the B-Team trio of Taylor, Hernandez and Brice. The Sox go into tomorrow night's game with the A-Team rested and a 17-10 record, good for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night is game 3 of this four game set and Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0, 3.52 ERA) takes on Jordan Lyles of the Rangers at 7:05 PM Eastern time at Globe Life Field.
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