Bobby Dalbec snapped out of an 0-for-27 slump with a single in his first at-bat, but saved his best work for his second at-bat -- a three-run homer that helped deliver a 6-2 Red Sox win over the Baltimore Orioles.
The Sox also got run-scoring doubles from Christian Vazquez and Marwin Gonzalez to add on late in the game.
Eduardo Rodriguez lasted only five innings, but improved to 5-0 as the Red Sox won their second straight. They're 4-0 at Camden Yards this season.
WHO: Red Sox (19-13) vs. Baltimore Orioles (15-16)
WHEN: 7:05
WHERE: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: 3-3
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0, 4.18) vs. RHP Matt Harvey (3-1, 4.06)
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Gonzalez 2B
Verdugo CF
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Vazquez C
Renfroe RF
Cordero LF
Dalbec 1B
ORIOLES
Mullins CF
Hays RF
Mancini DH
Severino C
Franco 3B
Mountcastle LF
Galvis SS
Valaika 1B
Urias 2B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
T8: Red Sox add an insurance run when Christian Vazquez doubles into the left field corner. Nice baserunning from Devers, who scores all the way from first.
T7: Red Sox lineup has been shut down by the Orioles bullpen of late -- no hits over the last three innings and just one baserunner.
B6: Ryan Mountcastle takes Hirokazu Sawamura deep to right-center to bring the Orioles to within two. Sawamura has allowed four homers in 13.2 innings and that's a problem.
B6: Rodriguez lifted after five. The Red Sox may be second in the A.L. in games in which their starters go five innings, but the problem is, as was the case tonight, they go only five. Eventually, that's going to catch up with the bullpen and the workload that's being placed on the relievers.
B5: Rodriguez is in some trouble here, with a run here and two on and his pitch count climbing to 90. Before the game, Alex Cora said the Sox could use a deep start from Rodriguez, but it doesn't appear they're going to get more than another inning.
T4: Dalbec, who snapped his hitless streak earlier in the game, gets a hanging breaking ball middle-middle and clubs it into the seats in left for a three-run homer. Second homer of the year and part of a big night for the slumping first baseman.
T4: Just when it seemed like the Red Sox were about to squander a chance, having missed a chance to bring in Devers from third with one out, Hunter Renfroe comes through with a sharp line single to left, giving the Sox a 1-0 lead.
B3: Ramon Urias got a big jump on Rodriguez, but a strong throw from Christian Vazquez made a strong throw throw to cut him down. That's just the fourth runners caught stealing in 14 tries against Vazquez this season.
B3: All three hits off Rodriguez tonight have been bloopers that fell in front of outfielders -- very little hard contact.
T3: Just as Franchy Cordero snapped a long hitless streak Thursday, Bobby Dalbec does the same here, singling up the middle with one out and ending what had been an 0-for-27 slide.
T2: Great bat control by Rafael Devers, who brings his hands in and fights off an inside pitch by punching it down the left field line for a one-out double.
B1: For the third straight start, Rodriguez's fastball velocity is off, topping off at 92 mph in the first inning. That can be overcome if he can command it; if not, that fastball becomes more inviting and hittable.
B1: Bad baserunning mistake by Cedric Mullins, who was at third base on a line drive hit directly to right fielder Hunter Renfroe and, even with Renfroe overthrowing second, is easily doubled up for a huge out.
PRE-GAME STATS: The Red Sox have the best record in baseball (19-13, .594)...After they were swept by the Orioles in the first series of the year, they're 19-10 (.655) in games and 5-1-3 in series...The Sox’ +26 run differential ranks fourth in the AL. ,...The Sox lead the majors in come-from-behind wins with 13....The Red Sox’ winning percentage on the road (.692) is the best in the American League and tied with the San Diego Padres for the best in the majors.... the Sox also rank fourth in road ERA at 3.26.... The Sox started 6-0 and 8-1 on the road before going 1-3 at Texas last weekend....The Red Sox lead the majors in runs (166), batting average (.267), slugging percentage (.444), OPS (.776), doubles (72), and extra-base hits (113)... The Sox have hit 11 homers in their last six games, though none of their 16 hits yesterday were homers. In their last 5 games, the Sox are batting .311 with an .856 OPS, and averaging 7.4 runs per game)....In the month of May, Xander Bogaerts is hitting .476 (10-for-21) and has scored eight runs....Alex Verdugo has a 24-game streak of successfully reaching base safely -- the longest on-base streak in the majors this season and the longest of his career. The last Red Sox to reach base in 25+ consecutive games were Mookie Betts (25 games in 2019) and J.D. Martinez (26 games in 2018). During the streak, Verdugo has hit .351 with a .981 OPS during the streak (34-for-97, 10 BB, 2 HBP), after going 0-for-11 through his first 3 games of the season....Martinez leads the majors in RBI (31) and total bases (80) and is tied for the lead in homers (10)... He leads the AL in runs scored (28) and extra-base hits (20) and is tied for the lead in doubles (10)...He also ranks 2nd in the majors in hits (40), 6th in AVG (.348), and 3rd in OPS (1.127)...He's one of eight players in team history to amass 10 or more homers and 30 or more RBI in the first 30 games of a season...Statistical oddity: The visiting team has won each of the last seven meetings between the Red Sox and Orioles, including all six this season....The Sox own the highest win % at Camden Yards (.603) among AL teams, going 143-94....Ten of the Red Sox first 36 games are against the O's. They then don't meet again over the equivalent of more than half the season, covering 82 games from May 11 to Aug. 12...The Sox have won each of Eduardo Rodriguez’s last eight starts against the Orioles, his original team...Since the start of 2018, he is 7-0 with a 2.01 ERA vs. the O’s....The Sox saw two pitching streaks come to end Thursday -- they had struck out 10 or more hitters in the nine previous games and also had had their starter go at least five innings in each of the previous 10 games...Trey Mancini is 10-for-34 with two homers lifetime against Rodriguez while Pedro Severino is 5-for-10 with a homer...Christian Vazquez is 3-for-3 in his career against Matt Harvey and Rafael Devers is 2-for-5 with a homer.
NOTES:
- The Red Sox' lineup is without Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion. Arroyo is improving and can contribute in the field or on the bases and should be back in the starting lineup by Sunday. However, the Sox decided to take a more conservative approach with Kike Hernandez and placed him on the 10-day IL with a strained right hamstring. To take Hernandez's spot on the roster, the team recalled Michael Chavis, who had been in Baltimore as part of the team's traveling taxi squad.
- Alex Cora said he wants to see Eduardo Rodriguez improve his command. If he can get ahead of hitters, he can expand the strike zone with his changeup up and down in the strike zone.
- With both Hernandez and Arroyo out of the lineup, Cora had Marwin Gonzalez in the leadoff spot.
- Cora is happy to have Brandon Workman back in the organization. Workman signed a minor league deal with the Sox Thursday after being designated for assignment for the Cubs last week. Cora said he tried to convince Workman to sign with the Sox over the winter, but the reliever opted to sign with Chicago. Cora added that diminished velocity might have been an issue for Workman with the Cubs. "I texted with him a few days ago, thanking him for giving us a chance and (told him to) 'Get to work,' '' he said. "There's a things that we recognized with our information department that hopefully he can regain and he can become a factor. We always talk about his velocity. When his velocity is a tick up, it helps everything else. I think, with him, velocity is very important because the shape of the breaking ball and the spin is usually the same. But if he doesn't have something to else to separate, he becomes a one-pitch pitcher. We just have to get him to gain his confidence, too. Sometimes it's mechanical, sometimes (in a matter of) repetitions. I know he's happy. There's a comfort level (with the organization). Hopefully, he can become a factor.''