When things are bad, find a team that's worse.
That's what the Red Sox did to snap a three-game losing streak, finally winning a see-saw battle with the Miami Marlins, 8-7, snapping a three-game losing streak.
The Red Sox' bullpen blew a three-run lead in the eighth and a one-run lead in the ninth before coming back both times. In the ninth, the winning run scored when Marlins shortstop JT Riddle's throw to first got by first baseman Miguel Rojas and allowed J.D. Martinez to score the winning run from second base.
Matt Barnes and Heath Hembree had combined to allow five runs in the in eighth and Craig Kimbrel suffered his fifth blown save of the year in the ninth.
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
10:32 Craig Kimbrel can't lock it down, and allows the tying run to score in the ninth. That's his fifth blown save of the season.
10:06 On a full-count, Jackie Bradley Jr. drives a single up the middle and scores two runs, tying the game 6-6. That's the kind of at-bat -- seven pitches, resulting in hard contact -- that Bradley would have been incapable of providing in the first half of the season. He now has 50 RBI from the No. 9 spot.
9:31 Simply brutal outing by Barnes, who faces five hitters and allows two hard-hit singles and two homers with one strikeout. Heath Hembree on.
9:26 In the span of three pitches, the Red Sox' seemingly comfortable three-run lead disappears, as Matt Barnes first gives up a two-run homer to J.P. Realmuto and then a solo shot to Starlin Castro. Both pitches were fastballs over the heart of the plate.
9:05 Strong work from the bullpen so far: Brandon Workman and Joe Kelly have combined to pitch 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing just two baserunners.
8:17 Second straight inning that Johnson has nimbly pitched himself out of trouble -- this time, it was first and third with one out - but he kept the ball in the infield with two popups and stranded both.
7:51 Brian Johnson gets himself out of tough jam -- first and third, two out -- by getting the Marlins' best hitter, J.P. Realmuto, to line out to Kinsler, shifted around to just to the right of the second-base bag.
7:34 The Marlins bring the infield in...and Ian Kinsler makes them pay by bouncing a chopped over the head of third baseman Brian Anderson, landing in left field and scoring Xander Bogaerts (double) from third base.
7:19: A good sign from Mookie Betts in his first at-bat -- he swings at the first pitch and lines a single to left field. Betts, who's been slumping over the last 10 days, had become unusually passive at the plate and was falling behind in the count early, putting himself on the defensive.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Miami Marlins
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox are reeling a bit, having lost six of their previous eight, and are coming off the worst week of the season, with two three-game losing streaks. Tonight, they'll try to avoid seeing their streak grow to four games for the first time this season. Despite the losing skid, they remain 6.5 games in front of second-place New York in the A.L. East. This will be the first meeting between the Sox and Marlins since the fifth and sixth games of the year when the Sox played two games in Miami -- winning both. The Marlins have the second-worst record in the National League and are in last-place in the N.L. East, 21 games out of first. They've gone 5-5 in their last 10 games coming into this series.
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Brian Johnson (4-3, 4.12) vs. RHP Jose Urena (4-12, 4.50).
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Moreland 1B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Nunez 3B
Kinsler 2B
Swihart C
Bradley CF
MARLINS
Ortega RF
Anderson 3B
Realmuto 1b
Castro 2b
Dietrich DH
Dean LF
Rojas SS
Galloway CF
Holaday C
NEWS AND NOTES:
- LHP Eduardo Rodriguez, who pitched his second rehab start for Pawtucket Monday night, will rejoin the Red Sox rotation Saturday in Chicago, Alex Cora announced. Rodriguez has been out of the rotation with an ankle injury since the middle of July. With Rodriguez returning, RHP Hector Velazquez returns to the bullpen, effective tonight.
- LHP Chris Sale is played catch Monday and again today. Cora termed the session on Monday "a good start.'' Cora couldn't provide a future timeline for Sale, other than to promise "he'll be pitching for us in September.''
- RHP Steven Wright (knee) is set to pitch two innings tonight for Pawtucket, where he'll be caught by Christian Vazquez (pinky finger), as both continue their rehab assignments. Vazquez, barring further setbacks, is expected to join the Red Sox Friday in Chicago and be activated Saturday when rosters expand.
- Interestingly, Cora indicated that he's likely to stay with the catching tandem of Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart for the most part when Vazquez returns. "I'm very comfortable with the way Sandy's playing and the way Blake's playing,'' said Cora. "It's always tough to play three catchers on a weekly basis at the big league level. We'll play it day-by-day, honestly, when he comes back. It's a little bit different than earlier in the season (when Vazquez was the de facto No. 1); Blake is not only swinging the bat well, but he's playing good defense. When the time comes, we'll sit down and talk with them.''
- Pedro Martinez was at Fenway, working with RHP Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi has struggled over his last three outings and Martinez told Cora he noticed something while watching him on TV and offered a bullpen tutorial.
- 3B Rafael Devers (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with an affiliate Wednesday, though the Sox weren't sure where.