All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 19-12 win over the Orioles, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Offense explodes: In nine innings, the Red Sox managed to score at least one run in all but three of them. They rapped out 16 hits -- ironically, the Orioles had one more at 17 -- and got contributions up and down the lineup. Five different players had multiple hits and five different players knocked in multiple runs, while six different players scored multiple runs. The game represented the third time this season the Sox have rebounded from at least five runs. The Sox also showed some plate discipline in the sixth when the porous Baltimore bullpen couldn't seem to throw a strike and the Sox were patient enough to take some close pitches, working two with the bases loaded. Boston belted three homers -- two with two baserunners on -- and sprayed the ball all over Camden Yards. If you count the rained out game that was postponed last month and will be made up Saturday as part of the day-night doubleheader -- and of course, that game didn't count -- the Sox have scored 24 runs in their last 11 innings in Baltimore.
Eovaldi implodes: For the second straight night, the Red Sox got next to nothing from their starting pitcher. A night after Rick Porcello allowed seven runs in four innings, Nathan Eovaldi had very little going for him, racked for eight runs -- four earned -- on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings. "I felt like I was behind in most of the counts,'' said Eovaldi, "and the times I was ahead, I wasn't making quality pitches.'' The start was all the more surprising because Eovaldi had pitched so well in his first two outings since joining the Sox, tossing seven shutout innings in his first start for them and eight in the next. Eovaldi couldn't rely on his trademark cutter, and couldn't seem to locate his fastball or any other secondary pitches. "Command was off,'' said Alex Cora. "It seems like from the get-go, he was battling his control. The ball was moving all over the place.''
Bullpen workload piles up: Eovaldi's timing couldn't have been worse, with the Sox having to play two games Saturday as part of a day-night doubleheader. And coming on the heels of Porcello's poor effort Thursday, the bullpen has been forced to throw 10.1 innings over the last two nights. The Sox used six relievers Friday night in relief of Eovaldi - only Hector Velazquez and closer Craig Kimbrel failed to see action. The bullpen, when it was utilized, wasn't always sharp. Three relievers -- Heath Hembree, Matt Barnes and Joe Kelly — allowed runs, although the latter two were scored upon late with the game already firmly in hand.
TURNING POINT
It's difficult to pinpoint one play in a game that featured 31 runs, but in retrospect, a mistake by Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis in the sixth loomed large. The Sox had the bases loaded when Andrew Benintendi hit a roller behind first. David had the momentum, as he charged the ball to come home for a force play, to step on the bag and continue with the throw. That would have given the O's a double play. Instead, inches from the bag, Davis never bothered to step on first. He did cut down Daniel Butler at the plate, but failing to get the second out cost the Orioles dearly as the Red Sox went on to add five more runs. Who knows how the inning -- and the game -- might have unfolded differently if Davis had gotten two outs on that play instead of just one?
TWO UP
Jackie Bradley Jr.: Bradley had a rough series in Toronto, with the only hit in the three-game series being a homer in the first game. But he made up for it Friday with three hits -- a single, double, and triple -- to go along with a walk. He was on deck in the top of the ninth when the third out was made, depriving him of a chance to be the second Red Sox hitter in as many games to hit for the cycle.
Brandon Workman: After Eovaldi couldn't get out of the third, Workman came in and brought some stability to the staff, getting the final out in the third before pitching a scoreless fourth with three strikeouts.
TWO DOWN
Heath Hembree: The Red Sox had finally pulled ahead in the top of the sixth, but Hembree was ineffective in the bottom of the inning, needing 27 pitches to get three outs, allowing two runs in the process.
Rafael Devers: The third baseman was the only hitter in the starting lineup to go without a hit, going 0-for-5, though he did claim a bases-loaded walk in the seventh.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"They're relentless. They ran the bases well, they were patient in certain at-bats and when you keep the line moving, the big dogs are going to be at the plate when there's traffic out there.''
— Alex Cora on the offense.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- J.D. Martinez became the first MLB player to accumulate 100 RBI this season with a two-run single in the eighth.
- The Sox tied a season-high by using seven pitchers
- A night after Mookie Betts hit for the cycle and reached base five times, he reached base five times again with two walks, two doubles and a single.
- Boston improved to 13-2 against the Orioles this season and have won 10 of its last 11 at Camden Yards.
- The Sox are 40-15 against division opponents.
- The game marked the fourth time in the last eight games that the Sox have reached double figures in runs.