Well, that was a nice change of pace.
After dropping 10 of their last 12 games, the Red Sox snapped a six-game losing streak to the Rays in impressive fashion — mashing their way to a 20-8 blowout on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
J.D. Martinez led the way with four hits on the night for the Sox, while Bobby Dalbec, Hunter Renfroe and Xander Bogaerts combined to drive in 13 runs. Not to be outdone by his teammates’ showcase at the plate, Nathan Eovaldi was dominant on the mount — giving up just one run and three hits over seven innings while fanning 10 batters.
————
WHO: Red Sox (65-50) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (69-44)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m
WHERE: Fenway Park
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: 4-6
SERIES TO DATE: TB 2-1
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (9-7, 4.07) vs. LHP Josh Fleming (9-5, 4.12)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Hernandez 2B
Renfroe RF
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Martinez LF
Plawecki C
Gonzalez LF
Dalbec 1B
Duran CF
RAYS
Lowe 2B
Choi 1B
Cruz DH
Meadows LF
Franco SS
Arozarena RF
Wendle 3B
Phillips CF
Mejia C
IN-GAME TAKEAWAYS:
Top 9th:
Bot 8th: Apparently Bogaerts' hand is ok. His three-run shot makes it 18-1. Wong makes it 19-1 with an RBI triple. Gonzalez makes it 20-1 Red Sox.
Top 8th: Nathan Eovaldi's night is done: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 10 SO
Top 6th: A homer from Lowe breaks up Eovaldi's shutout, but the Sox starter still escapes the sixth having thrown 78 pitches.
Bot 5th: JD Martinez is 3-for-3. And Bobby Dalbec drives in three with a triple that should have been snagged by Arozarena. Just been that kind of night for Tampa. 14-0 Red Sox.
Top 5th: Eovaldi keeps on chugging along. 5 innings, two hits allowed, no walks and eight strikeouts.
Bot 4th: Fleming is mercifully removed from the game after giving up another four runs. Sox lead, 10-0. He walks in a run, gives up an RBI double to Devers and both Gonzalez and Dalbec drive in a run with singles. Sheesh.
Top 4th: Ho hum — another 1-2-3 inning for Eovaldi. He's at 46 pitches through four innings.
Bot 3rd: Martinez with another single and eventually makes it over to third — but Duran can't bring him in. He strikes out for the second time tonight.
Top 3rd: Eovaldi continues to be sharp here early. He's up to six strikeouts through three innings. One hit allowed.
Bot 2nd: Red Sox aren't missing against Josh Fleming. Renfroe with another double — driving in two more. 5-0 Red Sox.
Top 2nd: Another inning - another pair of Ks for Eovaldi. 3-0 Sox going into the bottom of the second.
Bot 1st: Well, that's an encouraging start for the Sox. Three straight doubles from Hernandez, Renfroe and Bogaerts makes it a 3-0 game — while an RBI single from Martinez makes it 3-0.
Top 1st: A solid start for Eovaldi — 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. 15 total pitches.
NOTES:
The Red Sox, who have lost 10 of their last 12 games, will be looking to right the ship once again with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound Wednesday. Currently, the Sox trail the Rays by five games in the AL East — their largest deficit of the season.
Eovaldi is coming off arguably his worst start of the season — surrendering a season-high seven runs over 4.2 IP on Friday against the Blue Jays. In total, Eovaldi has a 3.79 ERA over his last 13 starts. In 12 career appearances against the Rays, Eovaldi is 3-6 with a 5.24 ERA.
Marwin Gonzalez will return to the Sox lineup and bat seventh on Wednesday — with the utility player taking over in left field. Hunter Renfroe will bat second in the order, while Bobby Dalbec returns after a day off.
Kevin Plawecki will start at catcher, with Alex Cora noting that the reps at backstop between him and Christian Vazquez might get a lot more even moving forward — given Plawecki’s proficiency at the plate. Over his last nine starts, Plawecki is batting .439 with four runs scored, three doubles and four walks. Vazquez will be away from the club for the next few days after being placed on the MLB's bereavement list.
The Red Sox are demoting another starter to the bullpen, as Cora announced Wednesday that Garrett Richards has been knocked out of the rotation. Richards is 6-7 on the season with a 5.22 ERA. Chris Sale and Tanner Houck are expected to take both Richards’ and Martin Perez’ spots in the rotation moving forward.
While Thursday’s starter is currently listed as TBA, Houck is expected to get the call in the series finale against Tampa Bay, while Nick Pivetta will start on Friday. Sale will make his anticipated return on Saturday against the Orioles.
Cora announced that Kyle Schwarber could begin his rehab assignment with the WooSox as soon as Thursday. Ryan Brasier began his rehab assignment last night with Triple-A Worcester, logging a clean inning of relief work.
It’s far from a surprise, but Cora noted that Matt Barnes is going to get the next couple of days off after pitching in four straight games — and losing three of them. However, Cora added that Barnes is still expected to be the club’s closer upon returning to game action.