The Red Sox -- for a change -- got strong pitching and enough offense to snap their longest losing streak of the season at five, defeating the Detroit Tigers, 4-1.
The Sox rode the long ball with all four of their runs coming on homers. J.D. Martinez and Jarren Duran hit solo shots and Kike Hernandez delivered a two-run belt.
Eduardo Rodriguez provided five scoreless innings, though he labored at times with 99 pitches. Red Sox pitchers racked up 18 strikeouts, establishing a season high.
WHO: Red Sox (63-45) vs. Detroit Tigers (52-57)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Comerica Park
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: 2-2
SERIES TO DATE: DET 1-0
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (7-6, 5.60) vs. RHP Casey Mize (6-5, 3.41)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Hernandez
Duran CF
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Martinez DH
Verdugo LF
Renfroe RF
Cordero 1B
Vazquez C
TIGERS
Baddoo LF
Schoop 2B
Grossman RF
Cabrera 1B
Haase DH
Candelario 3B
Greiner C
Short SS
Hill CF
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
B8: Red Sox pitchers are racking up the strikeouts. It's 16 and counting....
B7: Josh Taylor allows a solo homer to Jonathan Schoop. That's just the second run of any kind that Taylor has allowed since April 30.
B5: With his 99th pitch of the night, Rodriguez finishes with a flourish, catching the top of the strike zone for a called third strike against Robbie Grossman, stranding two and posting his 10th strikeout.
B5: There's an example of how frustrating Rodriguez can be. Red Sox add on three runs in the top of the inning, so Rodriguez responds by walking the leadoff man in the bottom of the inning -- Detroit's No. 8 hitter.,
T5: Kike Hernandez flexes his muscles and hammers a slider out to left for No. 15. He's quickly followed by Jarren Duran, who goes the other way for a solo shot. Two swings, three runs in a hurry.
T5: For the fifth straight inning, the Red Sox put the leadoff man on base. So far, the only time that runner has scored was when Martinez homered to open the second. Otherwise, the Sox have wasted three other scoring chances.
B2: Eduardo Rodriguez is dominant so far, with a ton of swing-and-misses, though his pitch count after two innings (47 pitches) is troublesome.
T2: J.D. Martinez with his patented inside-out swing, driving a pitch out that just barely reaches the first row in right-center.
T1: Red Sox put runners at the corners, but can't turn it into anything as Rafael Devers bounces into an inning-ending double play.
WHAT'S UP: : At 63-45 (.583), the Red Sox own the fourth-best record in the AL, seventh-best in MLB...They have lost six of their last seven games, after winning six of their previous seven.....The Red Sox have lost their last five games, their longest losing streak of the season...Prior to this, it had been nearly two months since they lost three straight games (May 31-June 2))... Between streaks, they were 31-17 (.646).....The Sox were the last AL team to lose four consecutive games, as well as the last to lose five consecutive games....The Red Sox trail the Rays by one game, the smallest gap between first- and second-place teams in any division... The Sox’ largest deficit of the season is 3.0 games, and their largest lead of 2021 is 4.5 games....In their first nine games out of the All-Star break, Red Sox starters posted a 3.50 ERA; In eight games since then, they have an 8.47 ERA....Sox starters have thrown five innings in one of the club’s last eight games...To begin the season, they threw five or more innings in 50 of the team’s first 59 games. Only six pitchers have started a game for the Red Sox this season, the fewest in the majors (they used 16 starters in 2020)...They have not used fewer than eight starting pitchers in a season since 1965 (seven)....According to FanGraphs, the Red Sox feature three f the top 15 leaders in WAR: Rafael Devers (T-10th, 4.2), Xander Bogaerts (13th, 4.0), and Nathan Eovaldi (T-14th, 3.9)...All 3 players lead the AL in WAR at their respective positions...The Red Sox have allowed four runs or fewer in 11 of their last 14 games, including each of the last 2. In their last three games, the Sox have struck out 32 batters and walked only six....In their last 31 games, Sox pitchers rank 3rd in the majors in SO/BB ratio (3.24; 279 SO, 86 BB)....Red Sox relievers rank third in the AL and sixth in MLB in ERA (3.60)...Their nine active relievers have a combined 2.79 ERA for Boston this season...In his last 14 games, Matt Barnes has posted a 0.66 ERA with a 0.88 WHIP.... Beginning April 30, Josh Taylor has allowed no runs in 33 of his 34 outings....Among the 172 pitchers with at least 50.0 innings this season, Garrett Whitlock ranks first in the AL and second in the majors with a 1.21 ERA. Whitlock has made 19 scoreless appearances of more than an inning, most in MLB...In his last 20 games, he is 4-0 with a 0.57 ERA ....in their last 10 games, the Red Sox have averaged 3.1 runs per game while batting .241 with a .668 OPS and six HR...They have struck out 10 or more times in four consecutive games, matching their longest streak of 2021....Overall, the Sox rank in the top five in the majors in runs (fifth, 532), AVG (fourth, .256), SLG (fourth, .437), OPS (fourth, .757), doubles (first, 226), and XBH (first, 375). The Sox own MLB’s best records when scoring four or more runs (56-8, .875) and five or more runs (48-5, .906)...The Red Sox have committed only three errors in their last 12 games....In that time, only the A’s (one) and Diamondbacks (two) have been charged with fewer errors. The Sox lead MLB with 33 OF assists, nine more than any other team...Sox OFs rank third in the AL and T-sixth in MLB with 15 defensive runs saved (source: FanGraphs)....Hunter Renfroe leads the majors with 13 OF assists; 17 teams have fewer than 13 OF assists this season....Eduardo Rodriguez ranks seventh in the AL in SO/BB (4.32, min. 90.0 IP). The Red Sox are 8-2 in his last 10 starts, and 58-19 (.753) since the beginning of 2018...Rodriguez leads Sox starters and ranks sixth in the AL in SO/9.0 IP (10.93, min 90.0 IP). He ranks second among Sox starters in SO/BB ratio, FIP (3.46), and BB/9.0 IP (2.53). Has an expected ERA of 3.72...Rodriguez is 4-1 with a 2.91 ERA in six career starts vs. DET...Robbie Grossman is 4-for-11 lifetime against Rodriguez....Alex Verdugo is just 1-for-15 on the current road trip while J.D. Martinez is just 3-for-17...Kike Hernandez and Christian Vazquez each have a five-game hitting streak.
NOTES:
* The Red Sox reinstated Matt Barnes from the IL-COVID list after a one-day stay and is available for use tonight. To make room for the return of Barnes to the active roster, the team optioned infielder Jonathan Arauz.
* Alex Cora said a key for starter Eduardo Rodriguez is improved fastball command. "That's what he was really missing with the last one,'' said Cora.
* Cora continues to emphasize the need for improved offensive input as the No. 1 goal to snap out of the current funk. "We can talk about the starting pitching and all that and obviously we need more from those guys,'' said Cora. "But one thing we need to a better job offensively. I think we're stuck right now. We haven't done a good job staying in the zone. When we stay in the zone, we're not doing damage. With men in scoring position, we haven't been great. But at the same time, we know we can hit. We know we have guys who are capable of (doing more), but right now, we've got to grind through it. Small things are going to take us to do big things. Right now, we've just got to win the little battles.''
* Cora did not have an update on Darwinzon Hernandez, who was set to undergo an MRI on a bothersome oblique.
* Kyle Schwarber did more work around the first base bag and ran the bases, but the Sox still don't have a start date for a rehab assignment.
* Cora has taken note of what's happening with Triston Casas, who has homered in the last three games for the U.S. Olympic baseball team in Tokyo. "We've been paying attention,'' said Cora. "This is part of player development. The fact that he can go to a high-pressure situation and perform at this level is amazing. He's a good one, he's an important piece of our future and we're very proud of him.''