All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 5-0 win over the Rays, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Perez guts through five scoreless: It was hardly a thing of beauty, but Martin Perez was able to grind through five scoreless innings to claim his second win this season. Perez had baserunners in every inning and in each of the first four innings, he started by allowing the leadoff man to walk. But Perez was able to take control each time and extricate himself from any damage. The telling statistic of his outing may have been that the Rays were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Every time they had an opportunity to do something, Perez turned them back. "I think the key was, I didn't lose my focus with runners on base,'' he said. "I was able to throw the pitch that I wanted and where I wanted to.'' Twice, he used double plays to erase a leadoff man who had reached. "I always had in my mind that they weren't going to score any runs against me,'' he said. Perez also said the Sox took a more aggressive approach in attacking the Tampa lineup, noting that the night before, the Rays hitters "had been too comfortable.''
Verdugo breaks through: Through the team's first 11 games, Alex Verdugo hadn't done much damage at the plate. The centerpiece in the haul the Red Sox got back for Mookie Betts, Verdugo had driven a few ground balls through the infield, but hadn't driven the ball much. That changed in the fourth inning when Verdugo got a breaking ball down-and-in from Ryan Yarbrough and lined it over the fence in right field. "It felt really good to finally be able to stay on one, to stay through it and to get one out,'' said Verdugo. Verdugo was still recovering from a stress fracture in his lower back in spring training, then had to endure the shutdown for several months before having an abbreviated summer camp and jumping into the season. "It's hard because little things in your swing break down,'' he said. "I think the biggest thing was my timing was super late. I was just starting late and everything was speeding up on me. I just went back to being a little bit calmer and starting a little earlier and I'm starting to see the ball better.''
Bullpen does the job: Following a brutal night Sunday in New York, the bullpen rebounded nicely in this series. In Tuesday's loss, four relievers combined to allow one run over the final three innings. Things improved from there Wednesday as Roenicke used four relievers to close out the win. Colten Brewer, Austin Brice, Matt Barnes and Brandon Workman each worked an inning and didn't allow a hit -- much less a run -- between them. Barnes relief on his fastball more than usual and retired the top of the Rays lineup in order before turning things over to Workman for the ninth. Working with a five-run cushion, Workman missed with a 3-and-2 curveball to Renfroe, the first hitter he faced, but recovered to fan the next three in a row, showing far better command than he did last week at Citi Field.
TURNING POINT
The Sox had finally snapped a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth and were up 2-0, but Perez invited trouble by allowing a leadoff double to Carlos Martinez and a walk to Hunter Renfroe. As he did throughout the game, however, he buckled down and retired the next three hitters in succession, stranding both baserunners.
ONE UP
Michael Chavis: Chavis had a three-hit night with two singles before smoking a two-run homer on a changeup in the sixth, doubling the Red Sox lead from 2-0 to 4-0.
ONE DOWN
Kevin Pillar: He got the opportunity to hit leadoff with Andrew Benintendi benched for the night, but failed to reach base while going without a hit in five plate appearances.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I came here to contribute. I play the game hard and I want to contribute in everything that I do. To finally be able to help out and actually get a couple of runs for us, it's huge.'' Alex Verdugo on his first homer as a member of the Red Sox
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- On the seven-game road trip, Xander Bogaerts collected 10 hits, including five for extra-bases.
- J.D. Martinez has four doubles in his last three games.
- Jose Peraza started in the outfield for just the 37th time in his career.