BSJ Game Report: Red Sox 7, Rays 4 - Three things we learned

The Red Sox snapped a two-game losing streak with a 7-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Here are three things we learned:

1 - After rough start, Eovaldi settles in

It didn't look good for Nathan Eovaldi in the early going. Through the first three innings, he had allowed six hits and a walk. Worse, he needed 66 pitches to get through those first three innings, and despite some early offensive backing — the Sox scored four runs in the first for him — it looked like it might be a short outing for Eovaldi. As usual, there were a ton of foul balls off Eovaldi and his inability to go deep intro games was again looking like an issue.

But after the first three innings, Eovaldi began to make some adjustments -- spotting his fastball better up in the zone and, thus, able to spot his curveball off that. He also made some mechanical adjustments with where he held his hands and glove, and the delivery was smoother. "The rhythm just felt better,'' he said. Hard to believe, but this qualified as his first win as a starter this season and the six innings matched his longest outing since April. It's too late to make this an impressive season for Eovaldi, but with one more outing later this week, he has a chance to go into the off-season on a strong note.

2 - Martinez looks more like himself

J.D. Martinez returned to the lineup Saturday night after missing a handful of games with a slight groin strain, and it wasn't surprising that he looked out of sorts at the plate, going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. It's understandable that he would feel a little rusty in the box. But that changed Sunday and Martinez looked more like himself with three singles and a bases loaded walk in five plate appearances. The first single in the first inning produced one RBI and the bases-loaded walk in the fourth led to another, giving him 99 for the season. With seven more games remaining, Martinez stands an excellent chance  of finishing with 100 RBI and enjoying his fourth season of 35 or more homers and 100 or more RBI and third in a row, the last two with the Red Sox. If he can finish with his batting average over .300, he would also become just the 20th player since 1920 to have three straight seasons of hitting .300 with at least 35 homers and at least 100 RBI. He's currently hitting .302.

3 - Vazquez adds to his best season

Every time Christian Vazquez puts the ball in play, it seems, he helps set a new career high. His three-run homer in the first -- No. 22  -- gave Eovaldi and the Red Sox a big lead right out of the gate, and his RBI total climbed to 69, also a career high. And still, Vazquez wasn't done, stroking two more singles over his remaining four plate appearances, boosting his average to .274. At a time when teams are looking for offense at every position on the field, the Red Sox now have a dependable power bat behind the plate, giving them the kind of run production they haven't had from the catcher's spot since the first three years of Jarrod Saltalamacchia's time in Boston, when he averaged 18 homers and almost 57 RBI per season. And as added bonus, Vazquez continues to look engaged and capable at first base, when the Sox move him there to save his body a bit while still reaping the benefits of having him in the middle of the lineup.