The Red Sox overcame a brutal first inning from starter Eduardo Rodriguez to pound out 13 hits and subdue the Kansas City Royals, 10-5, to pick up their 19th win in the month of April for the first time in franchise history.
A grand slam by Xander Bogaerts -- his second of the season and the sixth by the team -- helped key a five-run third for the Sox, who never trailed again after that.
Five different Red Sox players knocked in at least one run and four had multi-hit games, led by Bogaerts (three hits) and Mitch Moreland (three hits, including a homer).
Rodriguez was lifted after four innings and 88 pitches. Hector Velazquez gave the Sox two scoreless innings to restore order.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox snapped a two-game losing streak Sunday with a win over Tampa Bay to avoid a sweep by the Rays. Boston has lost 5-of-8 after a blistering start and has lost two of its last three series after winning the first six in a row. The Royals should represent relatively easy pickings - they own the worst record in the American League and sit in last place in the A.L. Central.
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-0, 3.63) vs. RHP Jason Hammel (0-2, 3.38)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS
9:46 Better inning for Carson Smith, who allows a single but strikes out two in the seventh. Slider looked sharp - got two swings-and-missed with it.
9:26 Two very effective innings so far from Hector Velazquez, who has been a highly valuable part of this staff since the beginning of the season. Has retired six of the seven hitters he's faced and his ERA for the season is now down to 2.08
8:34 How long has it been since a team had six grand slams before May 1? This long: that franchise doesn't exist anymore. the Montreal Expos were the last to accomplish that feat, in 1996.
8:25 Just when it seemed safe to assume that the first inning from Rodriguez would be the worst inning by a pitcher tonight....up steps Jason Hammel and the bottom of the third. He threw 3x pitches, walked two, allowed xx runs. And
8:02 Rodriguez has settled in after his horrific first, retiring six of the last seven hitters and using just 25 pitches to do so.
7:30 Absolutely brutal inning for Rodriguez, who hits one batter and issues two bases-loaded walks to go with two hits.
7:20 Seventeen pitches in and it's already a rough spot for Eduardo Rodriguez, with a single, walk and hit batsman loading the bases with no out.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Benintendi CF
Ramirez DH
Martinez LF
Moreland 1B
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Nunez 2B
Bradley RF
Vazquez C
ROYALS
Merrifield 2B
Soler RF
Moustakas 3B
Perez C
Cuthbert DH
Duda 1B
Jay CF
Gordon LF
Escobar SS
NEWS AND NOTES
- OF Mookie Betts, who is battling a tight hamstring, remained out of the lineup for the second straight day but appears to be available for in-game use as a pinch-hitter, according to Alex Cora. "He's feeling better,'' said Cora. "I feel like not starting today is going to benefit him, but if we need him later in the game, we'll use him.''
- INF Brock Holt took ground balls in the afternoon and should be ready to be activated by the time the Red Sox travel to New York next week. He, too, has been slowed by a hamstring and is currently on the DL. "It looks like it's not going to be something that's going to take a while,'' Cora said. "He's improving.''
- Cora said LHP Chris Sale is a bit off with his mechanics and rotation in his delivery and has been working with pitching coach Dana LeVangie to fix things. "He feels he's getting closer,'' said Cora. "His slider hasn't there all season. It's a work in progress, but he's getting close.'' Cora noticed that teams are making a conscious effort to spoil and foul off Sale's pitches, driving up his pitch count and limiting the length of his outings. "That's a good approach,'' Cora said. "They're making adjustments. For however much we preach about being aggressive early in the count, there are some teams that are making adjustments with two strikes. They're making contact or fouling pitches off and putting pressure on the starters.''
- Cora continues to stress more discipline at the plate for his own hitters in an effort to cut down on strikeouts. "They're pushing us out of the strike zone,'' he said of opponents. "(We're) swinging at marginal pitches, probably in the middle of the at-bat and when you're 0-2, 1-2, it's tough to hit at this level. We're been pushed out of the strike zone and we can't do that. For us to be successful, we've got to stay in the strike zone. Actually, we have to push them out of the strike zone. If we can do that, we'll be OK. (Sunday) we did a better job later in the game, but we have to adjust.''
- Red Sox catchers are hitting a combined .167 (17-for-102) with zero homers and five RBI, but Cora believes there will be improvement. "I do feel it's small sample size,'' said Cora. "Early in the season, Christian (Vazquez) was hitting the ball hard and he didn't see the results and he started chasing hits. And when you start chasing hits, you're going to be chasing out of the zone. One thing with Christian, he's going to put the ball in play and instead of hitting the ball hard because the pitches are in the strike zone, you starting expanding and it's weak contact. That's what we've seen for the probably two weeks. It's been better lately, closer to what we expect from him. But in the end, both of them are doing an outstanding job behind the plate, calling games and blocking balls. We'll keep working with them. We know they're better than what we've seen so far.''
- Dustin Pedroia, working in extended spring training, told The Athletic Monday that he's targeting May 25 for his return to the major league lineup. "We'll see,'' said Cora with a smile. "It's a work in progress. Whenever he's ready, he'll be here. He's in the (equivalent) of the beginning of spring training.''