Nothing can stop the Boston Red Sox it seems. The Minnesota Twins threw their two best pitchers at the Sox and they beat them both. In Game 2 of the doubleheader, the Sox used a 5th inning rally to stomp Jose Berrios and the Twins into submission. The Sox scored 6 times in that inning with big hits coming from Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers along with a clutch walk from Franchy Cordero. On the pitching side, Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 3.60 ERA) mowed down the Twins by allowing just a run in 5 innings of work. Rookies Garrett Whitlock and Eduard Bazardo slammed the door and the Sox had won their ninth game in a row with a 7-1 victory over the Twins at Target Field.
Berriosgot the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez singled to left to begin. Alex Verdugo banged into a double play and JD Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning. The Twins wasted no time getting to Rodriguez in the bottom of the first although Mitch Garver struck out swinging to start. Josh Donaldson singled to center then took third on the base hit to right by Nelson Cruz. Kyle Garlick scored Donaldson with a sac fly to put the Twins on top. Jorge Polanco singled Cruz to third but Luis Arraez grounded into a force to end the inning with the Twins up 1-0.
Berrios cruised in the top of the second as Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to start the top of the second. Jake Cave reached over the wall to rob Rafael Devers of a home run and Christian Vazquez grounded out to second to end the inning. Rodriguez recovered in the bottom of the second as Miguel Sano popped up to first to start. Max Kepler took strike three and Cave struck out struck out swinging to end the inning.
Marwin Gonzalez grounded out to short to start the top of the third and Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging. Franchy Cordero struck out swinging to end the inning. The Twins looked to score when Garver led off the bottom of the third with a base hit to right before Donaldson walked. Cruz beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners but Garlick grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Hernandez flied out to center to start the top of the fourth but Verdugo got a base hit to center. Martinez walked but Verdugo was doubled off of second on a line drive to Berrios by Bogaerts to end the inning. Polanco doubled to left to start the bottom of the fourth but Arraez flied out to left. Sano struck out swinging and Kepler popped up to short to end the inning.
The Sox exploded in the top of the fifth when Devers doubled to center to start and Vazquez walked. Gonzalez took strike three but Dalbec beat out a grounder into the shift to load the bases. Cordero walked to score Devers with the tying run and Tyler Duffey came in to relieve Berrios. Hernandez struck out swinging but Verdugo came through with a base hit to right to score Vazquez and Dalbec. Cordero took third on the throw and he scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead. Martinez and Bogaerts drew back to back walks to reload the bases to chase Duffey. Caleb Thielbar came in to pitch to Devers and Rafael lined a base hit to right to score Verdugo and Martinez to ice the game. Bogaerts took third on the play but Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-1.
Rodriguez cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Cave grounded out to third to start. Garver struck out swinging and Donaldson grounded out to second to end the inning. That was it for Rodriguez who survived the first inning to toss 5 innings of 1 run ball to give the Sox a chance to come back.
Christian Arroyo pinch hit for Gonzalez to open the top of the sixth and he struck out swinging to start. Dalbec struck out swinging and Cordero took strike three to end the inning. Garrett Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Cruz grounded out to first to start. Alex Kirilloff pinch hit for Garlick and struck out swinging before Polanco lined out to right to end the inning.
The Sox got a run back in the top of the seventh although Hernandez sruck out swinging to start. Verdugo put the exclamation point on his day with a solo home run to right to increase the lead. Martinez lined out to right but Bogaerts got a base hit to center. Devers popped up to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
25 year old rookie Eduard Bazardo made his major league debut on the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning and Arraez grounded out to second to start. Sano walked but Kepler struck out swinging for Bazardo's first big league K. Cave walked but Garver grounded into a force to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-1.
Hero of the Night is Alex Verdugo again. He drove in two big runs to give the Sox the lead and added a home run in the seventh inning.
The Good:
JD Martinez walked twice in four plate appearances with a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Eduardo Rodriguez got the win with 5 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed 5 hits and a walk while striking out 5.
Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Eduard Bazardo made his ML debut with a scoreless seventh inning.
The Bad:
Marwin Gonzalez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Christian Arroyo struck out as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 2 but walked and scored a run.
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 2 but walked home a run and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
The 2001 Red Sox lost 2 of their first 3 games before winning 11 of their next 12. This year's team lost their first three games but have won 9 in a row. At this point the Sox need to go 3-1 in their next four games to match the 01 Sox. Hopefully they avoid the same fate as that team. The Sox won both games of today's doubleheader in different fashion, grinding out a win in Game 1 and romping in Game 2. Rodriguez pitched a good game while he was in and probably could have gone longer, but why risk it? The New York Yankees are kicking themselves for letting Garrett Whitlock go because he's looked good so far. One of the reasons the Sox have won 9 in a row is the fact Matt Barnes, Whitlock and Hiro Sawamura hasn't allowed a run yet this season. The offense kicked it into high gear after the first three games and hopefully the Sox can keep this up the rest of the season. Kudos to Bazardo to toss a scoreless inning in his debut before he's sent back to the Alternate Training Site. The Sox look to win their tenth in a row tomorrow afternoon against the Twins. Garrett Richards (0-1, 10.29 ERA) takes on Michael "Pine Tar" Pineda of the Twins. The game begins at 1:10 PM Eastern time at Target Field.
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