All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Orioles, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Kluber turns it around: You didn't need to examine the games closely to know that Corey Kluber had struggled mightily in his first four starts for the Red Sox -- the 0-4 mark and 8.50 ERA told the story. But Kluber made some adjustments on the side after his last outing and the results were far improved Tuesday. Kluber gave the Sox six strong innings, allowing just one run -- on a solo homer -- while filling up the strike zone. Kluber had walked eight in his first four starts, which was hardly characteristic for him. On Tuesday, he was far more aggressive with the strike zone, attacking hitters and consistently getting ahead. Of course, it helped that he was given a big cushion in the early innings, which freed him to go right after the Baltimore hitters. He was efficient, pitching to just four batters over the minimum while also inducing plenty of weak contact -- of the 18 outs he recorded, 12 were either infield popups or routine flyouts to the outfield.
Balanced offense: The Sox got contributions up and down the lineup in the win, with seven of the nine members of the starting lineup collecting at least one hit and four different players contributing at least one RBI. It was especially noteworthy that the Sox got some offense from the bottom third of the lineup, with the final three spots in the order combining to produce six hits and five RBI, led by Jarren Duran's three-hit night and a grand slam. As Alex Cora noted, it was encouraging to have a night that didn't rely so heavily on leadoff man Alex Verdugo (1-for-5) and Rafael Devers (0-for-3, walk, sac fly) for a change.
Middle-infield injuries pile up: Tuesday afternoon, the Red Sox placed infielder Yu Chang on the IL with a broken left hamate bone that will require surgery on Thursday. The injury, incurred Monday night on a routine swing, will sideline Chang for about six weeks. Chang had become the de facto starting shortstop over the last two weeks, having started 10 of 12 games there until Monday's mishap. He may have been inconsistent offensively, but he showed occasional pop (three homers). More importantly, he also stabilized the shortstop position defensively. Now, the Sox will have to lean mostly on Kiké Hernandez, who has already committed six errors at short in limited playing time. Making matters worse, Christian Arroyo, who had battled a tight hamstring last week and was limited in his availability, left the game in the fifth inning Tuesday after the hamstring tightened up on him. Taken together, the two injuries have limited the team's depth in the middle of the infield.
TURNING POINT
The Red Sox were already leading 3-0 after the second inning when they loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth. Starter Kyle Bradish was already on the ropes and Jarren Duran delivered the knockout blow by hitting a line shot to straightaway center for his first homer of the season and first career grand slam. It turned a comfortable 3-0 advantage into a 7-0 romp.
TWO UP
Masataka Yoshida: Yoshida continues to be an on-base machine. He collected two more hits and walked once and now has a six-game hitting streak in which he's hitting .500 (12-for-24)
Reese McGuire: In addition to guiding Kluber through his best start of the season, McGuire also had a hit and knocked in two runs.
TWO DOWN
Kaleb Ort: Ort was called upon for a classic inning of mop-up, with the Sox leading by seven. But Ort had a nightmarish inning, allowing two homers and a grand slam and five runs overall. That, in turn, required the Sox to get closer Kenley Jansen up for the final two outs. After a poor inning in Milwaukee over the weekend in which he walked three and threw a wild pitch, it's worth wondering how long he'll remain on the roster.
Enmanuel Valdez: Valdez, who replaced Arroyo in the bottom of the fifth, had a base hit in his only at-bat. But he also dropped a routine throw on a force play which extended the inning. It was also his second error in two games.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"From pitch one, he was attacking the strike zone. He just did a great job getting ahead of guys.'' Reese McGuire on Corey Kluber.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The Red Sox became the first team in the majors to hit three grand slams this season. In addition to Duran, Masataka Yoshida and Rafael Devers have hit them.
* Kenley Jansen is now 6-for-6 in save opportunities.
* In their first 24 games, the Red Sox had allowed seven earned runs in the eighth and ninth innings combined; Kaleb Ort allowed four earned all by himself Tuesday night.
* The Red Sox have now homered at least once in each of their last seven games.
* Justin Turner (0-for-4, walk) saw his five-game hitting streak come to an end.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Orioles play the third and final game of their series Wednesday afternoon at 1:05 p.m., with RHP Tanner Houck (3-0, 4.29) vs. RHP Tyler Wells (1-0, 2.70).