After a mid-game scare in which the Red Sox temporarily surrendered the lead, they answered quickly with three runs in the seventh inning and finished off a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, 8-6.
The win stretched the Red Sox' winning streak to five straight games.
In a balanced attack, six different Red Sox hitters knocked in at least runs, with Bobby Dalbec and Kike Hernandez each collecting two RBI each.
The Sox have now beaten Baltimore 11 times in their last 12 tries this season.
WHO: Red Sox (85-65) vs. Baltimore Orioles (47-101)
WHEN: 1:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: BOS 11-4
SERIES TO DATE: BOS 2-0
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (10-8, 3.52) vs. LHP Alexander Wells (1-3, 7.76)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7
LINEUPS
ORIOLES
Mullins CF
Mountcastle 1B
Santander LF
Mancini DH
Hays RF
Urias 3B
Severino C
Valaika 2B
Martin SS
RED SOX
Hernandez CF
Renfroe RF
Devers 3B
Bogaerts SS
Martinez DH
Dalbec 1B
Plawecki C
Verdugo LF
Iglesias 2B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
B7: Sox had gone 12 plate appearances without a hit, but the Sox now have four straight hits for three runs as Rafael Devers strokes an RBI single to the right of second base.
B7: Another high double high off the wall -- this one from Renfroe, scoring Hernandez and the Sox lead again.
B7: With some good fortune, the Red Sox tie the game up. A one-out double, banged high off The Wall by Iglesias gets things going and then Hernandez sends a ball up the middle that looked to be a groundout but the ball strikes the second base bag and kicks into center field as Iglesias scores.
T7: Things unravel quickly for the Red Sox. After Whitlock and Sawamura load the bases with three walks and Trey Mancini ropes a double down the left field line. All three runs score, though Mancini is thrown out at third.
T7: In an ominous development, Garrett Whitlock, working his second inning, leaves in the middle of an at-bat. Looks like he was grabbing a pectoral muscle, or something in the chest area. Hirokazu Sawamura on.
B5: Red Sox offense has hit a wall of sorts. Since Hernandez banged a double off The Wall in the second to score a run, they're just 1-for-12 with the lone hit in that time a Fenway homer from Martinez that just reached the Monster Seats.
B3: J.D. Martinez, who was rung up on a bad call in his last plate appearance, lofts a flyball that settles into the first row of the Monster Seats for No. 27 and the Sox are back up by two runs.
T3: Hays steals second and opposing runners are now 36-for-39 in stolen base attempts this season with Kevin Plawecki behind the plate.
T3: Austin Hays grounds a single up the middle to score two and all of a sudden, the Orioles are back to within a run.
B2: Red Sox are teeing off on Alexander Wells. Kike Hernandez gets a fastball on the inner half and fights it off for a Wall double in the corner, scoring Alex Verdugo.
B1: After being in danger of getting shutout of a bases-loaded, no-out chance, the Sox get one run as Bobby Dalbec gets drilled in the back and Kevin Plawecki shoots a groundball single to right, scoring two more.
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have won their last 4 games and are 10-6 in September...Since 8/20, they are 16-11 in games and 6-2-1 in series. The Sox are 20 games above .500...They have not been more than 20 games over .500 since July (63-42)...The Red Sox’ .613 win percentage at home ranks 4th in the AL and 7th in the majors...They started the season 10-11 at home but are since 36-18 (.667). In home games, the Sox lead MLB in runs per game (5.8) and OPS (.830) and lead the AL in AVG (.280). In their last 19 home games, the Sox have scored 147 runs (7.7 per game) and hit 34 HR. ...The Red Sox have 44 come-from-behind wins, tied with the Rays for most in the majors...The Red Sox have a 2.01 ERA (18 ER/80.2 IP) in their last 9 games...They allowed 3 ER or fewer in each of those 9 games, the club’s longest such streak since April 2018...They last had a longer streak in August 2013. The Sox have issued 3 BB or fewer in each of their last 6 games (14 BB), tied for their longest streak of 2021....Red Sox relievers have allowed 0 ER in their last 21.0 IP and 1 ER in their last 29.1 IP (0.31 ERA)...In their last 8 games, they have given up 2 ER in 35.2 IP (0.50 ERA). In their last 3 games, Sox relievers have given up 0 runs in 15.0 IP and held opponents to a .120 AVG with 0 XBH (6-for-50, 17 SO, 4 BB)... Since 8/20, the Red Sox are 9-1 in games started by Nathan Eovaldi or Chris Sale...In 6 starts since returning from Tommy John surgery, Sale is 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA (8 ER/30.0 IP), 31 SO, and only 6 BB. In his last 7 starts, Eovaldi has a 1.90 ERA (9 ER/42.2 IP) with 56 SO, 7 BB, and a 0.96 WHIP...He owns the lowest walk rate among qualified AL pitchers (4.4%)...The Red Sox have played more games than any other team in the majors (150)...They have 12 games remaining in the regular season (6 road, 6 home); their best 12-game stretch of the season is 10-2. The Sox are playing 8 games in 12 days from 9/16-27. 3 of the Sox’ remaining games are vs. teams with a winning record (NYY) and 9 are vs. teams with a losing record (BAL-4, WSH-3, NYM-2). ...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). ...The Red Sox have scored 7+ runs in each of their last 4 games, their longest streak since 6/26-7/2/19... They last had a longer streak from 6/30-7/4/17 (5 straight). The Sox lead the majors in doubles (310) and XBH (531) and rank 4th in runs per game (5.1), 3rd in AVG (.261), 2nd in SLG (.448), and 3rd in OPS (.776). ....The Red Sox rank 8th in MLB with 200 HR...They have homered in 23 of their last 25 games; in that time (beginning 8/23), they rank T-3rd in MLB with 43 HR. The Sox lead MLB with 37 HR with at least 2 runners on base (34 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). From the No. 9 spot in the batting order, the Sox lead MLB in HR (18), RBI (tied, 68), and XBH (49)...Only once have they hit 19+ HR from the No. 9 spot (24 in 2003). ...In their last 37 games (beginning 8/8), the Sox lead the majors in AVG and OPS with runners in scoring position (.306/.909)...In their 113 games prior, they ranked 17th in AVG and 18th in OPS with RISP (.252/.744). The Sox are slugging an MLB-best .440 against relief pitchers...They have hit 88 HR against relievers, most in the AL..In the Red Sox’ last 4 games, 13 of their 21 RBI hits/outs came with 2 strikes, including 4 on a full count...The Sox lead the majors in 2-strike RBI this season (316), 48 more than any other team. With 2 strikes, the Sox also lead MLB in XBH (192) and lead the AL in HR (tied, 78)...They lead the majors in HR hit in counts of 0-2 (18) and 1-2 (27). The Sox lead MLB in runs scored with 2 outs (314)... With RISP & 2 outs, they lead the majors in OPS (.837). ...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). ....Beginning 8/8, Bobby Dalbec has 12 HR and 35 RBI in 32 games...In that time, he leads the majors (min. 100 PA) in SLG (.828), OPS (1.258), and wRC+ (225) while batting .343 with a .430 OBP. Dalbec leads AL rookies in SLG (.501) and ranks 3rd in HR (23) and RBI (75)...In 146 career ML games, he has hit 31 HR with 91 RBI and an .834 OPS.
NOTES:
* Alex Cora had nothing but praise for the work of today's starter Nathan Eovaldi. "He's evolved, he's gotten better,'' said Cora. "I think his attack is a lot different than when we got him. He understands now that you don't have to throw 100 mph every pitch to get people out,. He's more efficient. He's been able to post every five days, every time that we need him. For everything that he's gone through in his career, he's been great. Ten years at this level and now it seems like he's actually at his best. We're very lucky to have him.''
* Kyle Schwarber was out of the lineup with a lefty going for the Orioles, mostly because the Sox want to have Bobby Dalbec in there. ""It's just Bobby -- let's put it that way,'' said Cora. "Bobby has to play against every lefty and you have to pick and choose with Alex (Verdugo) and Kyle. That's the bottom line. Kyle will be fine. He'll play both games against the Mets, who are going with two righties, and Alex will play both games. We'll find a way to do that. But this is more about Bobby Dalbec than anything else.
* Christian Arroyo is set to play nine innings for Worcester today and could potentially rejoin the Sox Tuesday when the next series begins. He's coming back from the COVID-IL stint.
* Jose Iglesias has provided some big hits for the Sox of late, and even when he doesn't get on base, has provided tough at-bats, fouling off pitches and making pitchers work. "He puts the ball in play,'' said Cora. "It's been refreshing - a veteran guy who understands where we're at and what we're fighting for.'[