All you need to know about the Red Sox' win, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Red Sox keep it rolling on the road: After a three-game sweep of the Rays ended their first Fenway homestand of the season, the Sox headed out for their first road trip and kept the momentum going, hammering the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3 for their fourth win in a row. The game also afforded the Red Sox some revenge after being swept by the O's at home last week.
As was the case with their wins over Tampa Bay, the Sox got strong pitching and plenty of offensive support. Eduardo Rodriguez was in the spotlight, making his first regular-season start in more than 18 months after missing all of 2020 with COVID-19 and myocarditis. He was a bit shaky in the first inning when the O's got to him for two runs, but starting with the final out of the first inning, retired 13 of the next 14 hitters he faced, taking the Sox through the fifth inning. Boston banged out a dozen hits, including two homers -- one each from Rafael Devers and Enrique Hernandez -- and did most of their damage against the O's beleaguered bullpen in the middle innings. Since being limited to just five runs in their first three games, the Sox have not scored fewer than six runs in the four games since.
Whitlock shines again: While the pitching focus was squarely on Rodriguez, as it should have been, the outing for the Red Sox' rookie righthander did not go overlooked. Whitlock, who was the lone bright spot in Sunday's blowout loss in relief of starter Garrett Richards, was given the ball with a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth. He made good on the confidence that Alex Cora showed in him by tossing two perfect innings and fanning three. "You see it and you're like, 'Wow, he belongs,' '' said Cora. "The tempo, the conviction. Most of the time, Rule 5 guys don't shake off your catcher. But he knows what he wants to do and goes to the pitch he wants in that situation. We do believe his stuff will play. This is the second time we've seen him and you see the swings. We're comfortable with him.'' The ability to provide multiple innings and to perform in high-leverage spots could make Whitlock a very valuable member of the bullpen. Every inning he eats up means one less inning of wear and tear for the late-inning options like Adam Ottavino and Hirokazu Sawamura.
TURNING POINT
Trailing by a run in the top of the sixth, the Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs, with two hits off starter Matt Harvey and a walk against Paul Fry. Fry got ahead of Christian Arroyo 0-2, but Arroyo battled back and managed to hit a grounder to the right side, scoring Rafael Devers from third. Cora called it perhaps the biggest at-bat of the game. A single to left from Franchy Cordero then gave the Sox a lead to which they would only keep adding.
TWO UP
Matt Barnes: It wasn't a save situation, but Barnes were utterly dominant in the ninth, striking out the side. In fact, Barnes was one strike away from recording an immaculate inning (striking out the side on the minimum nine pitches) and of the 11 pitches he threw, everyone but one was a strike.
Christian Vazquez: Vazquez posted his fourth multi-hit game in six games, cracking three hits including two doubles and a single.
ONE DOWN
Marwin Gonzalez: Gonzalez was charged with one error at short and nearly had another when he bobbled a routine grounder in the fifth, then compounded things by bouncing a throw to first which Bobby Dalbec had to dig out of the dirt. Later, Gonzalez broke from third too soon on a dirt ball and was tagged out to end the rally.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"It was special. When I went out there in the first inning, it felt like my first time in the big leagues.'' Eduardo Rodriguez.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- After going six full games without allowing a homer, the Sox allowed two in the first four innings.
- J.D. Martinez continued his streak of extra-base hits with a seventh-inning double and now has at least one in every game this season.
- Christian Vazquez had three hits, his fourth multi-hit game in six tries this season.
- Matt Barnes has seven strikeouts in his last three innings.
- The error by Gonzalez ended a four-game errorless streak for the team.