All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 8-5 win over the Orioles, complete with BSJ analysis and insight.
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Offense continues to heat up: All of a sudden, the Red Sox lineup is firing on all cylinders. Even during their recent nine-game losing streak, the Sox had decent offensive production, averaging close to five runs per game. (It was the pitching that was largely the culprit). But now that the pitching has improved, the offense has really started to click. In each of the last four games, the Sox have scored at least six runs and the homers are starting to pile up, too. Boston got three in Friday's win -- a solo shot from Xander Bogaerts, a two-run homer from J.D. Martinez and a three-run belt by Rafael Devers, the latter of which was measured at nearly 450 feet. Devers has two homers in his last three games, both of them tape-measure blasts and Martinez has two homers this week, too. "I thought the quality of at-bats was really good,'' said Ron Roenicke. "We're walking some, we're not chasing out of the zone so much and then when we get that mistakes, we're getting the guys who are really hitting the ball well. If we set the table for those guys, hopefully they all get hot at the same time and then they'll be fun to watch.''
Hernandez impresses in debut: Lefty Darwinzon Hernandez made his first appearance of the season, having been delayed by a case of COVID-19, and looked sharp. Hernandez entered in the fifth and went two innings, fanning three, allowing one hit and issuing one walk. His fastball was up to 97 mph at times and he commanded pretty well. Most noticeably, he didn't look like someone who hadn't pitched at this level since last September. It would have been easy for Hernandez to be a little hyper and overthrow in his first outing, but he kept himself under control. "Coming out today for the first time, he threw some nasty pitches," Roenicke said. "You see the swings they take and the bats that break. It's really good stuff. It was fun to see him back.''
Closing duties to be shared: With the departure of Brandon Workman, Roenicke said the closing duties won't necessarily be handled by just one reliever, though he did hint that, logically, Matt Barnes would probably get more opportunities to handle the ninth. But Roenicke also said he could envision using Josh Taylor some and Austin Brice could get some save chances. "This will be a little bit different,'' said Roenicke. "But if it matches up better with (Barnes) in the eighth inning and another closer in the ninth, we'll do that. I don't think I'm going to limit him to just the one inning. I think the matchups will kind of tell us what to do there.'' This could be tricky, as the Red Sox began 2019 with Barnes as a bit of a "rover'' -- utilized for the biggest high-leverage spot, regardless of inning. However, Barnes didn't always fare well without a structured plan, so it will be interesting to see how the Sox deploy their late-inning relievers.
TURNING POINT
With the Red Sox pitching staff shutting down Baltimore, a 3-0 lead looked sufficient. But just for good measure, Devers hit a three-run homer in the fifth to double the lead. Turns out that was especially important when the Orioles jumped on Josh Osich in the late innings for five runs.
TWO UP
Colten Brewer: Brewer turned in easily his best start of the year, going four shutout innings while allowing just three hits. It may be that Brewer is emerging as a conventional starter, but he'll need to improve on his efficiency, as his pitch count often runs high.
Kevin Pillar: Hitting leadoff against a lefty, Pillar reached base twice with a single and walk, scored two runs and made an incredible diving catch in foul territory.
ONE DOWN
Josh Osich: The Sox were cruising, shutting out the Orioles for the first six innings, but Osich allowed two solo homers in the seventh and a three-run shot in the eighth, making it a bit too close for comfort in the late innings for the Red Sox.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I understand it. That's just the way it goes. Hopefully, we'll continue to play good ball and we'll still have fun. I know it hurts to lose those two guys, but we're still going to have fun and we're still going to compete.'' Ron Roenicke on the loss of Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Alex Verdugo extended his hitting streak to 12 straight game, a career-high.
- The Red Sox have hit six homers in the last three games.
- Michzel Chavis snapped an 0-for-11 slump with a two-run single in the sixth inning.