Returning home from a six-game road trip, the Red Sox were pounded by the Washington Nationals, 10-2, allowing 16 hits in the process.
The Nationals erupted for five runs in the third off Martin Perez, who had his worst start for the Red Sox since his first one on the opening weekend of the season. After retiring the first six hitters he faced, Perez came unglued in the third, surrendering two homers and three doubles.
Until the ninth, the lone Red Sox run came in the third when Rafael Devers doubled home Alex Verdugo. Otherwise, Max Scherzer dominated them, fanning 11 over six innings.
The loss was the fourth in the last five games for the Red Sox.
WHO: Red Sox (10-21) vs. Washington Nationals (11-17)
WHEN: 7:35 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Martin Perez (2-3, 3.45) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (2-1, 4.31)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI 93.7 FM
RED SOX
Verdugo LF
Devers 3B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Moreland 1B
Vazquez C
Pillar RF
Bradley CF
Peraza 2B
NATIONALS
Turner SS
Soto DH
Kendrick 1B
Cabrera 3B
Suzuki C
Eaton RF
Harrison 2B
Taylor LF
Robles CF
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
10:05 The beating continues as Josh Harrison homers into the CF bleachers off Jeffrey Springs. The Nationals have three homers and seven extra-base hits tonight.
9:23 Verdugo is getting more comfortable playing The Wall in Fenway. Played carom of a smash by Kurt Suzuki and got the ball back into second quickly, holding Suzuki to a long single.
9:00 That's all for Perez, who has his shortest non-rain impacted start of the season, going just four innings and allowing six runs -- five of them in a disastrous third inning.
8:52 Poor fundamentals by the Sox costs them a run. Nats pull off a delayed double steal. Trea Turner pulls up short of second, and retreats to first base in a run down while Victor Robles scores from third. Had Bogaerts thrown home, Robles would have been an easy out, but because Robles crossed the plate before the tag was applied to Turner, Nats get a run.
8:34 Two-out double by Rafael Devers, ripped to the bullpen wall in right, scores Alex Verdugo (head first slide) all the way from first.
8:14 It's gotten ugly quickly as Howie Kendrick fishes out a changeup at the bottom of the zone and golfs it into the Monster Seats.
8:12 Behind 3-and-0 to Juan Soto, Perez makes the mistake of coming up and in with a changeup. Soto drove it over the visitor's bullpen, doubling the Red Sox lead 4-0.
8:10 Trea Turner rips a double through a drawn-in infield into the LF corner, scoring two and the Nats have a 2-0 lead.
8:05 Red Sox fail to get two there, but Rafael Devers did well to field a a hard-hit grounder on an in-between hop to get the forceout of Josh Harrison at second.
7:58 Red Sox get something going against Max Scherzer (back-to-back singles to start the inning), but come away empty-handed. A flyout to RF moves Xander Bogaerts to third, but with one out, Kevin Pillar lines out to Scherzer, who then doubles up Mitch Moreland at 1B to close the inning.
7:48 Martin Perez looks sharp through two innings, retiring all six hiters he's faced. Four of the six outs have come on the ground, with just 21 pitches needed.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- The Red Sox were waiting on a bullpen to be thrown by RHP Nathan Eovaldi to make sure that he's sufficiently recovered from a calf strain to pitch Saturday, but the expectation was that he'd be fine.
- Ron Roenicke would not reveal the team's pitching plans beyond Sunday but said the Sox have a rotation in place -- all of it predicated on Eovaldi pitching Saturday. Chris Mazza, who was set to pitch Thursday's game, will go Sunday.
- The Red Sox and Blue Jays will make up Thursday's game with a 4:10 doubleheader Friday Sept. 4 when the Jays visit Fenway. In that second game, the Blue Jays will be the home team and bat last.