The Red Sox unleashed an assembly-line offense Tuesday night, churning out one hit after another, resulting in an easy 10-4 romp over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Leading 1-0 in the fifth, the Red Sox sent 13 men to the plate, with eight runs scoring, to blow the game wide open. At one point, 10 consecutive batters reached base, with all but the last two eventually crossing the plate.
In a balanced 15-hit attack, every member of the starting lineup collected at least one hit, with five different players getting multiple hits, led by the previously slumping Xander Bogaerts, who had three.
As if the offensive show of force wasn't enough, the Sox also turned a triple play on the Cards in the fourth. With runners on first and second and no out, Yadier Molina hit a grounder to third. Rafael Devers stepped on the bag for the first out, threw to second for out No. 2 and, finally, Eduardo Nunez made the relay to first to nab Molina.
Rick Porcello won his third straight start, blanking the Cards for the first five innings before they managed three runs off him in the sixth. He then retired the side in order in the seventh before giving way to the bullpen.
The win was Boston's 13th in their last 14 home interleague games.
GAME NO.: 119
WHO: Red Sox (67-51) vs St. Louis Cardinals (61-57)
WHEN: 7:10
WHERE: Fenway Park
TV: NESN
RADIO: WEEI (93.7 FM)
PITCHERS: Rick Porcello (6-14, 4.63) vs. Mike Leake (7-10, 3.48)
BOX SCORE: MLB Gameday
SERIES TO DATE: The Red Sox swept the Cardinals in St. Louis in May, winning the first game 6-3 and taking the second 5-4 in 13 innings. The interleague season series concludes with two games Tuesday and Wednesday night at Fenway.
WHERE THINGS STAND: The Sox have won 10 of their last 12, but opened the current homestand with a 7-3 loss to Cleveland. That game also snapped the team's string of eight straight quality starts. The Cardinals have been hot of late, winning eight of their last 10, to move back into the N.L. Central race. They trail the world champion Chicago Cubs by just a game and a half in the standings.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Porcello has won his last two starts as he attempts to put an inconsistent first half behind him. The Sox have been carried offensively by two rookies -- Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi -- who have combined for seven homers since last Friday. The Cardinals have gotten better pitching of late, helping them to become factors in the N.L. Central. The division had been a two-team race between the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, but the Cards' second-half surge has made the division more jumbled and interesting.
STAT OF NOTE: The Red Sox have won 12 of their last 13 interleague games at Fenway.
LINEUPS:
RED SOX:
Nunez 2B
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Ramirez DH
Devers 3B
Bogaerts SS
Moreland 1B
Leon C
Bradley Jr. CF
CARDINALS
Carpenter 1B
Pham LF
DeJong SS
Fowler CF
Molina C
Gyorko 3B
Wong 2B
Martinez DH
Grichuk RF
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- Second baseman Dustin Pedroia is performing "strengthening exercises'' on his left knee. "With the information that he's received,'' said John Farrell, "the strengthening will help stabilize the knee a little more and hopefully reduce the impact of the overall volume.'' Farrell had no timetable for a return, but emphasized to say "this is going to be longer than 10 days. I do know that he's feeling better by the day. Knowing Pedey, he's going to be out there as soon as he can. But I can't give you a (targeted return) date.''
- Farrell was asked about the defense of Rafael Devers and what the expectations were for the future at third base. "Even if he plays like this for the rest of his career,'' Farrell said, "that's a solid average to a tick above-average major league defender. In the time he's been here, his defense has been better than advertised. He's going to continue to grow accustomed to the speed of the game here. Our positioning might be a little bit more aggressive than he was used to at the minor league level. That will also become more familiar to him. He's done a very good job.''
- Rick Porcello's run support has been all over the place this season. In 10 of his 24 starts, Porcello did not get a single run while he was still in the game. In five other starts, however, the Sox have scored seven or more runs while he's on the mound, including the nine they've provided him tonight through the first five innings.
- Porcello's two-seamer was particularly effective tonight, getting him lots of ground balls -- and at the right time. Porcello got double-plays from his infield in the second and fifth, and, in the fourth inning, a rare triple play. Beyond the effectiveness of the sinker, Porcello was not hit hard until Dexter Fowler's two-run double off The Wall in the sixth. Every other base hit off him came on the ground, snaking through the infield.
- Xander Bogaerts collected just two extra-base hits in his last 16 games before tonight. He doesn't have one tonight, be has driven the ball better than he has in a while. His singles in both the fifth and sixth were hard-hit line drives, something that's been all too rare from him of late.