On Monday afternoon, everything went right for the Red Sox. That was hardly the case Tuesday night.
The Sox were routed by the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3, as the Jays exploded for six runs over two innings against starter Eduardo Rodriguez. All of that damage was done by the long ball, as the Jays got a solo homer from Randal Grichuk, and a two-run and three-run homer from burly DH Rowdy Tellez.
It was the worst start of the season for Rodriguez. The Sox had won each of his previous seven starts.
All three Red Sox runs came on solo homers, long after the game had bee decided -- Rafael Devers, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mitch Moreland.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays
WHEN: 7:07 p.m.
WHERE: Rogers Centre
SERIES TO DATE: Red Sox 1-0
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: Red Sox 2-1
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-2, 4.88) vs. RHP Marco Stroman (1-6, 2.95)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
10:02 Rafael Devers didn't homer in his first 32 games this season. He now has five in the last 16 games. That one came on a pitch an inch off the ground.
9:57 The beating continues as the Jays tee off on Colten Brewer, as Brandon Drury drives a ball to the left-center gap, scoring two. Hard to believe that this game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth.
9:41 Can't say the Red Sox haven't had their chances. But with the bases loaded and a chance to get back into the game, Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland go down swinging. They're 0-for-7 with RISP
9:11 Tyler Thornburg, in relief of Rodriguez, walks the first two hitters, then gives up a run-scoring single to Danny Jansen. Thornburg has now been scored upon in six of his last seven outings.
9:01 Mitch Moreland goes the other way for his 13th, a solo shot to get the Red Sox on the board.
8:48 Rodriguez again mislocates down-and-in -- this time with a slider -- and again, Tellez makes him pay, driving the ball out to right-center with two on base.
8:19 In the span of a three pitches, Blue Jays jump out to a 3-0 lead. First, Rowdy Tellez golfed a changeup down and in into the second deck in RF, and two pitches later, another changeup is out to left by Randal Grichuk. Both pitches badly mislocated.
7:54 Not a great start for the Red Sox lineup, which is 0-for-4 with two strikeouts with RISP.
7:48 Stroman is trying to work down in the zone with nearly every pitch, but so far, Red Sox are doing a nice job waiting for him to work up more. They've worked three walks among the first 11 plate appearances.
7:08 Benintendi takes a called third strike, and now has just two hits in the first inning all season. Benintendi has actually done a decent job getting on base in the leadoff spot (.356 OBP), but not in his first at-bat of games.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Benintendi LF
Betts RF
Moreland DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Chavis 2B
Vazquez C
Bradley CF
Pearce 1B
BLUE JAYS
Davis CF
Guerrero Jr. 3B
Smoak 1B
Tellez DH
Grichuk RF
Galvis SS
McKinney LF
Jansen C
Drury 2B
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox won the series opener Monday for their second straight win and eighth win in their last 11 games and 14th in their last 19...In the 23 games since April 24, the Red Sox have a 2.94 ERA, the lowest in the American League for that span to go along with an opponents average of .195 (lowest in MLB) and opponents OPS of .603 (Lowest in the AL)….After starting the year going just 4-5 in games in which they scored first, the Sox are 11-3 in their last 14 such games...The Sox have won each of their last 16 games in which they score at least five runs...Boston is 9-2 in its last 11 road games...In those games, they've outscored the opposition 73-35. In those 11 games, the Sox have hit 22 games...The Sox are averaging almost seven runs (6.84) per game over the last 19 games with an OBP of .373....Since the start of 2017, the Red Sox are 30-11 against the Blue Jays, going 10-1-2 in series in that time...In Toronto, the Sox are 14-3 in their last 17 games, outscoring the Jays by almost exactly two-to-one (111-56)….Since the start of 2017, the Red Sox have stolen more bases against the Jays (59) than any team has against any single opponent... Michael Chavis leads the Red Sox in homers (nine) and RBI (24) since joining the team....He's hit five of the longest six homers for the Red Sox this season...The only other Red Sox players to collect 24 RBI in their first 26 games are Ted Williams and George Scott...In his last 15 games, Xander Bogaerts has hit .323 with 15 RBI and 16 RBI and a .997 OPS. He also has more walks (10) than strikeouts (9) in that span...Christian Vazquez, back in the lineup tonight, is hitting .436 with a 1.110 OPS and six extra-base hits in his last 17 games..He currently has a six-game hitting streak...Over his last 22 games, Rafael Devers is hitting .359 with four homers and 20 RBI and a .965 OPS. In that span, he leads the majors in hits (33) and is eighth in RBI (20)....Andrew Benintendi has a four-game hitting streak and has scored 11 runs in his last 14 games...Mookie Betts has a five-game hitting streak in place and has 15 runs in the last 11 games. He's tied for second in the AL in runs scored and is third in OBP...Jackie Bradley Jr. had his first homer of the season Monday. Since the start of 2018, the Red Sox are 13-0 when he homers...The bullpen trio of Matt Barnes, Marcus Walden and Brandon Workman have combined to post a 1.62 ERA and a .118 opponents batting average against...Barnes owns the best strikeout rate of AL relievers at 48.6 percent....Walden leads all relievers in wins (six)….Workman has lowest opponent batting average (.062) in the big leagues...The Red Sox have won each of Eduardo Rodriguez's last seven starts, during which time he's 4-0 with a 3.46 ERA....He posted a season-high 10 strikeouts in his last outing....He hasn't allowed a homer in his last five starts...Randal Grichuk is 2-for-10 with four strikeouts while Luke Maile is 1-for-8 with five strikeouts...Justin Smoak is 4-for-15 against Rodriguez...Against Marcus Stroman, Bogaerts is 11-for-31 with two homers, Mitch Moreland is 5-for-13....and Steve Pearce is 4-for-9 with a homer...Betts is just 7-for-32 (.219) against Stroman and Bradley is 2-for-21 (.095).
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- J.D. Martinez is sick and out of the lineup. He called Alex Cora this morning to tell him he wasn't feeling well. He is, however, at the ballpark and available to pinch-hit.
- Rick Porcello, who had been expected to start Thursday, will now start Wednesday (on regular rest). The Sox are still undecided on their starter for Thursday afternoon. Among the in-house options: Ryan Weber and Hector Velazquez.
- Nathan Eovaldi threw a 35-pitch bullpen, including breaking pitches. He's likely to have throw another bullpen Friday before going out on a rehab assignment next week.