All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox'11-4 win over the Tigers, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
ERod dominates: Eduardo Rodriguez turned in his third straight good start, allowing just one run on three hits over six innings while fanning seven and walking three. Rodriguez didn't allow his first hit until one out in the fifth when Gordon Beckham lined a single to left. A lengthy sixth inning, in which Rodriguez was forced to throw 22 pitches, shortened his outing by an inning, but he was nonetheless impressive. "Outstanding, outstanding,'' remarked Alex Cora. "Stuff-wise, he was really good. He commanded the situation, got people out in the strike zone, mixed up his pitches, (good) location. He's been good for us. I'm hard on him -- everybody is -- because we know how good he can be. It's good to see him compete at this level, this way. We expect him to do that every time he goes out there -- take us deep into games and dominate.'' Rodriguez flashed a good slider and noted, almost off-handedly, that it was Dustin Pedroia who showed him the new grip.
Bullpen misses bats: Until Tyler Thornburg stumbled (two walks, two hits, three runs allowed) in the ninth despite a 10-run lead, the Red Sox bullpen was dominant in relief of Rodriguez. Brandon Workman walked one batter but got all three of his outs in the seventh on swinging strikeouts. In the eighth, Matt Barnes picked up right where Workman left off, fanning the first two batter he faced. He then loaded the bases with two singles sandwiched around a walk before getting out of the jam by striking out Ronny Rodriguez. Workman and Barnes got six outs in the seventh and eighth and every one came via strikeout. For the season, Barnes has struck out 22 of the 43 batters he faced, a percentage of 51.2 percent while issuing just three walks. He's recorded two or more strikeouts in each of his last 11 appearances, the second-longest streak ever for a Red Sox believer, behind only Calvin Schiraldi (12 straight) in 1986.
Patience is a virtue: Before the game, Cora pointed to the fact that the Sox had worked six walks in Tuesday's loss as proof that Red Sox hitters were starting to control the strike zone and weren't chasing pitches -- a good sign. As it turned out, the Sox were just getting started when it came to working walks. On Wednesday, they drew a season-high of 10 walks, including five in the eighth inning alone, including three straight with the bases loaded, forcing in runs as the Sox opened the game up. "We're walking more,'' said Cora. "It's just a matter of getting that big hit.'' Of the nine members of the original starting lineup, seven of the nine walked at least once.
TURNING POINT
In the fifth inning, with the Red Sox clinging to a modest 2-0 lead, Rodriguez issued a leadoff walk, and one out later, gave up his first hit, giving the Tigers an opening with runners on first and second and just one out. But Rodriguez dug in and struck out the next two batters to freeze the baserunners and escape the inning without any damage. In the bottom of the inning, the Sox scored twice more to double their lead.
TWO UP:
Jackie Bradley Jr.: Bradley came into the game with just two hits in his last 20 at-bats and a batting average down to .134. But he collected two hits and twice hit the ball hard -- one on a lineout to right, and another well-struck ball on which center fielder JaCoby Jones robbed him of extra bases.
Christian Vazquez: The catcher continued to have better at-bats, taking part in a hit-and-run in the second inning, working a walk in the sixth and adding a run-scoring single in the seven-run eighth inning.
ONE DOWN:
Mitch Moreland: The first baseman was the only member of the Boston lineup to not collect a hit (0-for-3) though he did have two walks.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I feel like we haven't had a night like that this season.'' J.D. Martinez.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Red Sox pitching recorded 14 strikeouts, a season-high for a nine-inning game for them this season.
- Christian Vazquez moved to first base in the top of the ninth and has now played three positions this year.
- Michael Chavis stole his first base of his major league career.
- J.D. Martinez has hit safely in 23 of his 25 games this season.