All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-4 win over the Rockies, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Sox homer-happy again: The Red Sox may not have the home run potential of the Yankees or the Twins, but of late, there are few teams as adept at hitting the ball out of the ballpark. After smashing three homers in the series opener Tuesday night, the Sox kept powering the ball, getting four homers at Coors Field: a two-run shot from J.D. Martinez to open the scoring; a solo shot from Rafael Devers (who broke out of an 0-for-15 with a three-hit night); and two homers from Xander Bogaerts. Together, the four homers produced six of the seven runs the Sox scored. They've now homered in 18 straight games (the franchise record is 22 straight, set in 2016) and in 30 of their last 31. Over the last 54 games -- exactly one-third of the season -- the Sox have hit exactly 100 homers, ranking them fifth in that span.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1166888091765891073
Ground made up: Part of what makes the Red Sox' wild card chase so difficult is that they've got two teams ahead of them in the race for the second wild card. So, in addition to having to win their own games, they need two teams in front of them to slip up. On Wednesday, it finally happened. While the Sox were posting their sweep of the Rockies, the A's were losing in Oakland and the Rays were dropping another one in Houston. That trifecta of outcomes resulted in the Sox moving to within five games of the A's and four of the Rays in the wild card standings. The Sox don't have any games remaining with the A's, so that makes picking up ground especially difficult, but they do have a four-game series at Tropicana Field in September that will provide them with a big opportunity.
Rodriguez shaky, but gets the win: This was hardly vintage ERod. For one thing, his control was off, as he walked hitters in three straight innings from the second through the fourth. At Coors Field, that's asking for trouble and eventually, Rodriguez got some, with the Rockies scoring once in the fourth and adding on two more in the fifth. For much of this season, Rodriguez has improved both his efficiency and his ability to go deeper into games, but Wednesday was like something from past seasons, when Rodriguez always seemed to be walking the tightrope. Only once did he face the minimum number of hitters in an inning and he needed a staggering 56 pitches to get through his final two frames. But to his credit, he got big outs when he needed them and left with the lead.
TURNING POINT
Clinging to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth, Rodriguez faced a bases-loaded, two-out jam, with Trevor Story due. Behind him, waited the dangerous Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado. But Rodriguez got out of the mess by getting Story on a soft liner to second, stranding three, and in the top of the next inning, the Red Sox offense began adding on.
TWO UP
Brandon Workman: With a three-run lead, Workman didn't have the toughest save opportunity, but he still flashed dominant stuff and struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth.
Christian Vazquez: Vazquez continues to contribute with the bat, chipping in with a single (he was out, stretching for a double) and later missing a three-run homer by a foot and settling for an RBI single.
ONE DOWN:
Brock Holt: A night after collecting three hits and reaching base four times -- matching season highs in both categories -- Holt struggled at the plate, hitless in five appearances.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"He left everything he had in the fifth inning, but that was good enough.'' Alex Cora on Rodriguez.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
- Eduardo Rodriguez saw his scoreless streak snapped at 20.1 innings in the fourth.
- Devers became the first Red Sox player to record 80 extra-base hits in a season.
- The Red Sox are 10 games over .500 for the first time since July 30.