All you need to know about the Red Sox' win, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Eovaldi goes deep: Coming off a game in which they needed seven innings of relief from their bullpen, the Red Sox were in a bit of a spot Wednesday. They had to have innings from starter Nathan Eovaldi, giving most of their relief staff a day to recover. Just as he was asked, Eovaldi got the Sox through seven, and armed with a sizeable lead, Josh Taylor took it the rest of the way. Eovaldi has been working on being more efficient, part of Alex Cora's directive for pitchers to be more aggressive within the strike zone. Eovaldi got ahead often, putting him in advantageous counts. And even with the freedom to waste some pitches, Eovaldi has instead plunged straight ahead. The result? Few deep counts and, in general, quicker at-bats. The veteran has also made it a goal to work at a quicker pace, which serves to make him even more aggressive in his approach. Eovaldi's one regret of the afternoon was a four-pitch walk.
Boston staff keeping ball in ballpark: Through the first six games of the season, the Red Sox have yet to allow a single home run. Maybe that's the result of the cool spring temperatures at the time, or maybe it's indicative of the new "dead'' ball that Major League Baseball has introduced. Then again, other teams have played in cool conditions and other teams are using the same ball, and not one other club is as perfect as the Red Sox when it comes to allowing gopher balls. In fact, you have to back to 1992 to find a Red Sox staff that got as many as six games into a season without allowing a homer. And around the game, you have to go back to the 2015 Detroit Tigers to find another team to not give up a homer in the first six games to start a season. For the most part, the Red Sox' starting pitching in general has been solid -- save, of course, for the Garrett Richards debacle on Sunday afternoon -- and infinitely better than the rotation last season.
Martinez and Vazquez keep slugging: The Sox themselves have only four homers in the first six contest, with J.D. Martinez and Christian Vazquez each hitting two. No one else in the Red Sox lineup has as many as one. In one sense, it's a good sign that the Sox have been able to score enough runs -- after the first two games, that is -- without being dependent on the long ball. Cora has stressed the need to put the ball in play and push things offensively, without waiting around for the three-run homer. However, the Sox will welcome the kind of punch they're getting from Martinez and Vazquez. Martinez has at least one extra-base hit in every game so far and has already knocked in 11 runs. Vazquez got the day off from behind the plate following Tuesday's marathon, but with a lefty (Ryan Yarbrough) going for Tampa, got the start at DH, homering for the second straight game and knocking in three of the Sox' seven earned runs.
TURNING POINT
Leading 3-1 in the sixth inning, the Red Sox sent 10 men to the plate and scored six times to put the game safely out of reach. Of course, they got some help from the Rays along the way. The Sox already had three runs home when Willy Adames threw the ball away with two on, leading to two more runs and extending the inning further.
TWO UP
Bobby Dalbec: After sitting and watching for the previous two games, Dalbec was back in the lineup and made the most of the opportunity, collecting his first two hits of the season while making contact in each of his four plate appearances.
Xander Bogaerts: You can't have a much better day at the plate than Bogaerts did, pounding out three hits and scoring twice before being given the last few innings off.
ONE DOWN
Josh Taylor: Given a 7-0 lead with which to work, Taylor had one clean inning (the eighth), but then labored with two hits, a walk and a run allowed in the ninth. Taylor needs to find himself, and quickly.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I'm feeling good. I'm feeling sexy at the plate.'' Christian Vazquez
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Kiké Hernández has reached base in each of his five starts this season.
- Martinez has 11 RBI already, the most through the first six games of a season for a Red Sox player since 1955.
- Christian Vazquez has now homered in consecutive games for the sixth time in his career.
- The six runs scored in the fifth inning are the most for the Red Sox in any one inning this year and the most since last Sept. 20.
- The Red Sox outscored the Rays 26-9 in the series.