Kyle Schwarber, who cost the Red Sox the game night before, won one for them Tuesday, supplying a three-run pinch-hit double in the eighth inning, helping the Red Sox to an 8-4 win over the Seattle Mariners.
After Schwarber cleared the bases, Alex Verdugo followed with a line drive homer to right, giving the Sox five runs in the inning.
Nathan Eovaldi was brilliant over five innings, allowing two runs - one earned -- to keep things close before the bullpen took over.
WHO: Red Sox (81-65) vs. Seattle Mariners (78-66)
WHEN: 10:10 p.m.
WHERE: T-Mobile Park
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: SEA 3-2
SERIES TO DATE: SEA 1-0
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (10-8, 3.57) vs. LHP Tyler Anderson (6-9, 4.20)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Hernandez CF
Renfroe RF
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Martinez DH
Dalbec 1B
Plawecki C
Verdugo LF
Iglesias 2B
MARINERS
Crawford SS
Haniger RF
Seager 3B
France 1B
Toro 2B
Kelenic CF
Fraley LF
Bauers DH
Raleigh C
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
T8: Verdugo drills a two-run homer to right and the Sox have some breathing room.
T8 Schwarber, whose error in the seventh inning Monday night cost the Red Sox the game, gains some atonement with a bases-clearing double to RF, scoring three. Sox up 5-2.
T8: Cora is pulling out all the stops here. First, Travis Shaw for Dalbec; now, Kyle Schwarber for Kevin Plawecki.
T6: Bobby Dalbec goes down to get a curveball down and away and wallops it out to right. That's 22 homers for Dalbec, a figure topped by just three others on the club.
B5: Eovaldi deserves a ton of credit for pitching out of trouble -- much of it, not his doing.
T5: More wasted opportunities for the Sox, who waste a first-and-second, no out opportunity and fail to score
B4: Eovaldi does a great job limiting the damage. Had the bases loaded and no outs and allowed just one run.
B4: And there's tonight's defensive gaffe -- Hunter Renfroe, camped under a routine fly ball in front of the warning track, has the ball pop out of his glove. Instead of the first out of the inning, the bases are loaded.
B4: Ty France drops a bloop single into shallow center, scoring Haniger from second and the Mariners have tied it.
B4: Consecutive singles to open the fourth for the Mariners -- one an end-of-the-bat roller against the shift -- and Eovaldi is in his first bit of trouble.
T4: J.D. Martinez flicks a fastball on the outer half and drives it out to center, giving the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. No. 26 and his first since Sept. 5.
T3: Sox get two two-out walks for Xander Bogaerts, but Bogaerts goes down swinging to strand two. Just one hit through three for the Sox.
B1: After allowing a leadoff single to J.P. Crawford, Nathan Eovaldi comes back to fan the next three hitters and stand Crawford at first.
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox are 6-6 in September... They are 2-6 in their last 8 games, following a 4-game winning streak...They are 11-11 in their last 22 games. The Sox are 5-6 in their last 11 road games.....In 7 of their last 8 wins (including each of their last 4), the Red Sox were tied or trailing when they came to bat in the 7th inning. The Sox have 41 come-from-behind wins, 2nd-most in the majors behind the Rays (43). Each of the Sox’ last 3 wins has been by 1 run, as well as each of their last 3 losses...They are 26-18 (.591) in 1-run games, MLB’s 6th-best record. The Red Sox have allowed only 9 ER in their last 5 games (1.93 ERA, 42.0 IP)...Red Sox relievers have allowed only 2 ER in their last 17.2 IP (1.02 ERA).....Nathan Eovaldi leads MLB in BB/9.0 IP (1.65) and BB% (4.4)...Tonight will be his 29th start, tied for most in the AL...He ranks tied for 3rd in the AL in IP (163.2). Eovaldi has a 1.91 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in his last 6 starts (37.2 IP, 29 H, 8 ER, 6 BB, 47 SO)...The Sox have homered in 19 of their last 21 games...They rank 4th in the AL and 8th in MLB with 194 HR. The Sox lead MLB with 36 HR with at least 2 runners on base (33 three-run, 3 grand slams). The Sox have hit 4+ HR in a game 13 times, 2nd-most in franchise history (15 times in 1977). . The Sox have 16 games remaining in the regular season (8 road, 8 home)...Their best 16-game stretch of the season is 12-4, done 5 times (last: 6/19-7/5). 5 of the Sox’ remaining games are vs. teams with a winning record (SEA-2, NYY-3) and 11 are vs. teams with a losing record (BAL-6, WSH-3, NYM-2).....The Red Sox lead the majors in doubles (297) and XBH (511) and rank 5th in runs per game (5.03), 3rd in AVG (.260), 2nd in SLG (.445), and 3rd in OPS (.772). The Sox lead the majors in 2-strike RBI (296), 36 more than any other team...With 2 strikes, the Sox also lead MLB in XBH (179) and lead the AL in HR (75)...They have hit an MLB-best 18 HR in 0-2 counts. The Sox lead the majors in runs scored with 2 outs (305)...With RISP & 2 outs, the Sox lead the majors in OPS (.836) and lead the AL in AVG (.264)...The Red Sox feature 6 players who have hit 20+ HR this season: Devers (34), Schwarber (29), Renfroe (27), Martinez (25), Bogaerts (21), and Dalbec (21). The Sox are the only team featuring as many as 5 players with 50+ XBH (16 teams have 0 or 1). SOX & M’S: The Red Sox are 2-3 against the Mariners this season...Since the start of 2016, the Sox are 17-15 against the Mariners, but just 6-10 in Seattle. The Sox are 0-3-3 in their last 6 series at T-Mobile Park...The Sox’ last series win in Seattle was in 2013, winning 3 of 4 games from 7/8-11. Since the start of 2003, the Red Sox are 105-131 (.445) in the Pacific Time Zone, which includes games at LAA, OAK, LAD, SD, and SF...Against those same teams at Fenway Park in that same time, they are 147-82 (.642)......This is Rafael Devers’ 2nd time hitting 30+ HR (32 in 2019) and 2nd time recording 100+ RBI (115 in 2019)...He is the 13th player to record multiple 30/100 seasons with the Sox, but only the 2nd to do so before turning 25 years old (also Ted Williams). Devers ranks among the top 10 in MLB in HR (T-6th, 34), RBI (T-3rd, 103), doubles (T-7th, 34), XBH (3rd, 69), and total bases (6th, 281). Since 7/31 (min. 100 PA), Bobby Dalbec leads the AL in SLG (.728), OPS (1.116), and wRC+ (190), trailing Bryce Harper for the MLB lead in each category (.770 SLG, 1.217 OPS, 208 wRC+). In 35 games since 7/31, Dalbec has hit .311 (32-for103) with 11 HR, 33 RBI, and a .388 OBP...He has 7 HR and 19 RBI in his last 15 games (beginning 8/26). From the No. 9 spot in the batting order, the Red Sox lead the majors in HR (18) and XBH (47). The Sox have hit more than 18 HR from the No. 9 spot in the order once: 2003 (24)...They also hit 18 in 2011. ....Red Sox outfielders lead MLB with 39 assists, their most in a season since 1992 (also 39)... They last had 40+ outfield assists in 1987 (47). Hunter Renfroe leads MLB with 16 OF assists, the most in RF by a Red Sox in the expansion era (1961-present)... According to Elias, the only other Red Sox with 15 assists in RF since 1961 is Dwight Evans (3 times). TEAM EFFORT: The Red Sox have used 56 players this season, tied for their most in franchise history (also 2012). The Sox have used 33 pitchers, their most in franchise history...That does not include 4 position players who have pitched (Araúz, Arroyo, Gonzalez, Plawecki). 10 players have made their MLB debut with the Red Sox this season (Bazardo, Crawford, Duran, Espinal, López, Ort, Sawamura, Seabold, Whitlock, and Wong).
NOTES:
* Alex Cora got a little more definitive about the plans for Chris Sale. While Monday he said thee was a "good chance'' Sale, currently on the COVID-IL, would pitch this weekend at Fenway against Baltimore, Cora today added that Sale expected to be cleared and activated Friday, with the plans to start that night -- the opener of the eight-game homestand, the last season of the regular season. Sale has been throwing at his home, off a mound and into a net, to keep his arm in shape.
* The Sox activated LHP Martin Perez from the COVID-IL. To make room, Kaleb Ort, who made his major league debut Monday, was optioned to Worcester.
* Christian Arroyo and Jarren Duran are with the Worcester Red Sox, working out with the team in Syracuse. "Hopefully, they play tomorrow,'' said Cora.
* RHP Matt Barnes is scheduled to pitch Wednesday for Double A Portland in Hartford.