The Boston Red Sox Saturday, May 11, 2019

* The Boston Globe

Surging Red Sox keep up the beat, rout Mariners

Julian Benbow

In a season driven more by winding narratives than crisp baseball, Red Sox manager Alex Cora found some

irony in the situation his team found itself in Friday.

The Sox were fresh off a successful road trip — the kind that helped wash away an ugly start to the season.

Their stars — from Chris Sale to Mookie Betts — were returning to the form that made them elite a year

ago. Even the sound and fury that inevitably followed the team as its players weighed their reasons for

going to the White House had subsided.

The kicker: The Sox had a chance to face the same Seattle Mariners team that threw them into a hole to

start the season by taking three out of four games to start the year.

In a lot of ways, the Sox’s 14-1 win over the Mariners felt like a reboot. The victory pushed the defending-

champion Sox over .500 for the first time this season after being as far down as seven games under.

“That’s the first goal,” Cora said. “We didn’t play well, so we needed to get back to .500. We did it without

playing our best baseball, I think. We still can do better. Now the goal is to get to five over .500, and so on

and so on. That’s how you do it. You can’t start looking at 10 or 20. It’s by stages. We’ll try to get to five

over .500 as soon as possible and then go from there.”

They’ve won three straight games, six of their last seven, and nine of their last 11, bringing the momentum

they built on a 5-2 road trip back with them to Fenway Park.

The Mariners looked nothing like the team that blasted 11 homers and outscored the Sox, 34-24, over the

first four games of the season.

Instead, starter Eduardo Rodriguez muzzled the Mariners, holding them scoreless on five hits over seven

innings with five strikeouts and one walk.

With Seattle’s offense on mute, the Sox bats went to work. Andrew Benintendi went 3 for 5 with his fifth

homer of the season, a solo shot of Anthony Swarzak in the sixth inning. Rafael Devers went 3 for 5 with

his second homer of the season and four RBIs. Mitch Moreland went 2 for 3, driving in four runs and

hitting his team-high 11th homer of the year.

It was the third time the Sox cranked out 10 runs this season.

“Definitely playing more like we want to,” Moreland said. “Obviously continuing to get guys on and create

those situations to have those bigger innings. It’s definitely helping us. The pitching staff’s done a great

job. Eddie did a great job tonight. It was a good, complete win for us, for sure.”

Mookie Betts (1 for 3, two runs, 1 RBI) lit the fuse with an RBI single in the third inning on a ground ball

up that middle that plated Jackie Bradley Jr. Two batters later, after a single by J.D. Martinez, Moreland hit

a towering shot to right-center field off Mariners starter Erik Swanson that gave the Sox a 4-0 lead.

The next inning, Devers led off by lifting a 1-and-2 changeup from Swanson into the visiting bullpen to

stretch the lead to 5-0.

The Sox piled on in the fifth when Moreland dropped a 2-and-2 changeup from Swanson just inside the

foul line in the left-field corner for an RBI double.

With that, Swanson’s night was done. In 4⅔ innings, the rookie righthander gave up seven runs on seven

hits with just four strikeouts.

But the damage wasn’t done. Swarzak came on to clean up the mess but gave up a single to Xander

Bogaerts that made it first and third with two outs. Devers cashed in with an RBI single to right that scored

Moreland and pushed the lead to 7-0. Benintendi poured it on in the sixth with a homer to right field.

Even with another rough low-leverage outing from Tyler Thornburg, the Sox showed the traits of a

dominant team. They came up with seven two-out RBIs on seven two-out hits.

“I think good teams do that,” Cora said. “In ’17, Houston didn’t strike out that much, and they won the

World Series. Same thing last year. With the stuff that you see on a daily basis, I know it’s hard to do, but

good teams do that. We have a good team.

“Like I’ve been saying all along since we went to Tampa, we feel that we’re putting good at-bats, we’re

walking a lot more, we’re controlling the strike zone. It was just a matter of getting that big hit. I know in

Baltimore we struggled two games, but it feels like we’re getting close to who we are.”

Rodriguez’s seven innings gave him his longest outing of the season. Now, after posting a major-league

high 8.79 ERA in through April 11, Sox starters have a 3.06 ERA over their past 26 games.

Ten of the Sox’ past 15 wins have been decided by at least four runs. They only had one such game in their

first 24. And the team that had the second-worst run differential in baseball in mid-April has outscored

opponents, 123-67, since then. The plus-56 differential is the highest in baseball since April 19.

“That sounds good,” Moreland said. “It’s nice to kind of get back above that mark, but at the same time,

that’s obviously not the end all. We’re going to continue to work hard and keep doing the small things that

we’ve been working on, trying to get better day in, day out. We’ve played well the last few weeks. We’ve

just got to continue to add to that.”

Seventh heaven at last for Eduardo Rodriguez

Nora Princiotti

Eduardo Rodriguez, like the Red Sox as a whole, got off on the wrong foot against the Mariners back in

March. It was fitting, then, that his best start this season also came against Seattle, in the game that put the

Sox above .500 for the first time in 2019.

Rodriguez pitched seven shutout innings, the first time he finished the seventh inning of a game since Sept.

23, 2017, in a 14-1 Red Sox win. He gave up only five hits on 103 pitches, 68 of them strikes, with one

walk and five strikeouts, and was effective using pitches he’d shied away from earlier in the year .

“I had everything working tonight,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think my velocity was like I wanted, but the

other pitches were great, so I was usuing more of my cutter and my changeup and everything worked pretty

good.”

Rodriguez’s changeup was nasty. He got eight swings and misses on that pitch, six of them from the fourth

inning on. Earlier in the start, he was mostly getting outs via weak contact.

Rodriguez (4-2, 4.53 ERA) opened the game by throwing seven strikes in a row, and didn’t allow a runner

until the third inning.

He got key outs to end innings, striking out Mitch Haniger swinging with a runner on second to finish the

third, and getting Braden Bishop swinging with a runner on third to end the seventh.

“He was great — getting people out in the zone, good changeup, good fastball command, good cutter,” said

manager Alex Cora. “He’s been very consistent, and in different ways, too. He makes adjustments. You can

see it. There’s a lot of confidence there for him to go seven.”

Rodriguez pitched like he trusted his gameplan, something that couldn’t be said about his start in Seattle

during the first series of the season. Then, Rodriguez only pitched 4⅓ innings and gave up five earned runs

in a 6-5 loss, seeming to shy away from his changeup against lefties and from using his cutter inside to

push righties away from the plate.

Rodriguez was sharp doing both those things on Friday at Fenway. In doing so, he shaved nearly a point off

his ERA. Rodriguez has a 0.69 ERA in two May starts. Rodriguez had a 12.38 ERA after his first two starts

this season, but has a 2.78 ERA his last six.

The Red Sox have won each of his last six starts.

Rodriguez said he’d already felt like he’d found some consistency by “trusting what I have,” but built on

that Friday with the added bonus of pitching deeper into a game than he had in more than a year.

“That’s something I’d have in the back of my mind all the time,” Rodriguez said, “every time I go up there

and see my pitch count, but today was pretty good.”

That carrot of finishing the seventh gave Rodriguez some energy later in the game, even when the Red Sox

had given him a big cushion.

“That was great. I know a lot of people in the dugout were very happy with that. Obviously that helps us

out,” Cora said. “We’ve been throwing the ball well as a unit.”

White House trip behind them, Red Sox ready to play ball

Julian Benbow

Nothing about the Red Sox’ day off Thursday was normal, but as an organization, manager Alex Cora said

it was all expected.

While half the team paid a visit to the White House to be honored by President Donald Trump for their

2018 World Series victory, the other half — including Cora — chose not to attend.

The decisions — and the reasons behind them — were a looming question from the time the Sox won the

championship in October and were only magnified as the trip grew closer.

For his part, Cora spent the day with his family. He made it clear that his decision not to go to the White

House was another instance of using his voice to ensure that his native Puerto Rico, still recovering from

the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, wasn’t forgotten. But he reiterated his reasoning when asked

about it again the day after as the Sox prepared for their series opener against the Seattle Mariners.

“That’s the route we decided and we’re [respecting] everything and we’re fine with it. Back to play

baseball today,” Cora said. “We knew the day was going to be like that. In my world, I decided not to go

for my reasons. If you read what I said — not only the headline, don’t read the headline, read what I said —

the government has helped, but we still have a long way to go. That’s our reality. Just to throw that out

there. But it was a good day for me. I was with the kids. Hung out with them.”

The Sox went 5-2 on their seven-game road trip, capping it with a 2-1, 12-inning win over the Orioles on

Wednesday that put them at 19-19 as the Mariners came into Fenway for the first time. The Sox started the

season in Seattle and lost three of four.

“Like I said on Wednesday, that was a great testament of us as a team,” Cora said. “We played well, it was

a grind, and we ended up winning. Now today, ironic enough, we’re playing .500 baseball against Seattle.

It’s not Opening Day, but hopefully from now on it’s just baseball and we go from there.”

Sox reliever Matt Barnes called the White House experience an honor.

“I thought it was awesome,” Barnes said. “It was a humbling experience to be able to go there. I enjoyed it.

I thought it was an honor. I’m glad that I was able to be there.”

He also pointed to how valuable it was to visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“Any time that we have the opportunity to go visit them and try and provide any sort of help or smiles or

just interact with them,” Barnes said, “it’s truly a rewarding experience for us and it was an honor to be

there.

“It’s awesome. I was talking to one of the guys and he said when he got fully healthy and he was able to get

back at it, he wanted to try out for the national soccer amputee team. So when you talk to them, it really is

an amazing experience.”

Despite the attention that came with each player’s individual decisions to attend the White House

ceremony, Cora said he was proud of the team’s ability to remain unified on the field.

“Things work for a reason,” Cora said. “We didn’t play well at the beginning, we’re playing well now. I

think that was the last celebration since Oct. 28, so let’s play good baseball so we can have some

celebrations in the offseason.”

Price on mend

Starter David Price has been making continual improvement since going on the injured list May 6

(retroactive to May 3) with left elbow tendinitis.

He played catch Friday after throwing in Baltimore while the Sox were there and will meet with Cora to set

a course of action going forward.

“It seems like he’s in a good place,” Cora said. “So we’ll sit down. David’s a guy that I trust, as far as he

knows himself and he knows what he needs to do to compete at that level. So we’ll see how he reacts at

that level and how he feels and talk to him. Obviously, we want to throw a bullpen or two in between and

go from there.”

Off days on Monday and Thursday also play a part in how the team will handle their plans for Price. Price

can come off the IL Thursday.

Busy weekend for Pedroia

Wet conditions earlier in the week spoiled plans to see how second baseman Dustin Pedroia would respond

to playing three straight games on his rehab assignment with Double A Portland.

But Pedroia will try again this weekend while the Sea Dogs are in Trenton to play the Thunder. Pedroia

traveled to Trenton on Friday and is scheduled to play three games from Saturday to Monday.

In five rehab games, Pedroia is 4 for 16 with an RBI, two strikeouts, no walks, and no extra-base hits.

Cora said he exchanged texts with Pedroia Thursday.

“He feels fine,” Cora said. “He’s actually very happy with the swing. I don’t know the numbers or

whatever, but he feels like he’s been able to catch up with some fastballs. Actually, there’s more velo in

Double A than Triple A. In Double A, there’s guys that throw harder, there’s better stuff. But he feels good.

Defensively, he’s fine. He’s moving around. He’s been running the bases, too. Went from first to third the

other day, he’s been reacting well to it. No setbacks. The goal is for him to play three in a row.”

Collecting for a cause

Led by Tiffany Price, the Red Sox wives are taking on the issue of affordable housing by partnering with

Habitat For Humanity Greater Boston to build homes throughout the season, plus raise $30,000 for the

nonprofit organization. The wives will collect donations at the Fenway gates starting Saturday from the

time they open through the second inning. Construction of the first of six houses will start this month on

Balina Place in Dorchester. The last will begin in September . . . After being shut down with a shoulder

injury just as he was recovering from a scratched right cornea, utilityman Brock Holt is set to restart his

rehab assignment as soon as Sunday . . . Lefthander Brian Johnson, on the injured list since April 6 with

left elbow inflammation, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday. “He’s doing great,” Cora

said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be an up and down or a simulated game. It’s a day game [Saturday], so

we’ll find a slot with him and do that and after that we’ll decide what we’re going to do with him, too” . . .

The Sox still haven’t announced a starter for Sunday. They have options with Hector Velazquez, Ryan

Weber, and Josh Smith . . . Tzu-Wei Lin, on the IL since May 4 with a left knee sprain, is with the team

getting treatment . . . The Mariners announced a series of roster moves prior to Friday’s game. Infielders

J.P. Crawford and Shed Long were recalled from Triple A Tacoma. Infielder Dylan Moore was placed on

the 10-day IL with a right wrist contusion. Righthanded pitcher Chasen Bradford was optioned to Tacoma .

. . Mariners manager Scott Servais is attending his daughter’s graduation. Bench coach Manny Acta served

as manager.

No early struggles for speedy Jarren Duran in Salem

Alex Speier

In college, Jarren Duran didn’t have a profile that jumped off the page. In less than a year of pro ball, that’s

changed.

Taken in the seventh round of the 2018 draft, Duran put himself on the prospect map in his pro debut. In 67

games between short-season Lowell and Single A Greenville, he hit .357/.394/.516 with 24 steals. In just

37 games with the Spinners, he set a franchise record with 10 triples before moving up. It was an

astounding debut.

“Even to me it was shocking,” acknowledged Duran. “I was like, ‘I wonder when these [hits] are going to

dry out?’ It was too good to be true.”

(Narrator: “It was not too good to be true.”)

If anything, Duran has been even better this year against more advanced competition in the Carolina

League. He owns a .395 average with High A Salem — the top average in all of minor league baseball —

with a .449 OBP, .516 slugging mark, and 13 steals in 30 games. Though he’s played fewer than 100 games

as a pro, he looks like a potential everyday, top-of-the-order hitter — a profile that few would have put on

him coming out of college.

In three years at Long Beach State, Duran proved a steady contributor, hitting .295/.377/.374 with 49 steals

in 168 games while playing solid defense at second base. Yet starting in the fall of his junior season, Red

Sox area scout Justin Horowitz saw a player whose tools and athleticism vastly exceeded his stat line.

Duran’s skill set starts with speed. It would be an understatement to call him fast. He has a Jacoby Ellsbury

gear on the bases, one that he relishes using.

Though somewhat reserved upon an initial introduction, Duran did not shy from his enthusiasm for that

attribute of his game.

“I like to embarrass some people by using my speed,” he said this spring.

Horowitz heard about Duran’s speed before he watched him in a scrimmage, but was unprepared for what

he saw on a single with Duran on first.

“When he rounded second base, I was watching the baseball in the outfield and I just saw this blur flash in

front of my field of vision. It took my attention, like, ‘Wow, that is electric speed,’ ” said Horowitz. “That’s

exciting stuff, man. It doesn’t happen every day.”

But Duran’s offensive profile wasn’t limited to that of a speedster who beats out grounders to the left side.

Horowitz saw a player who consistently drilled line drives to all fields, showed good hand-eye

coordination, and kept the barrel in the zone for an extended period.

“It was weird to see his numbers, that there was just no real power production from a performance

standpoint,” said Horowitz, who noted that Duran played in a Long Beach home park (Blair Field)

renowned for suppressing the power of the Dirtbags. “But when he squared it up, he had pretty incredible

bat life. It would jump, it was loud, all those old-school scouting adjectives.”

The scout also was convinced that Duran had untapped defensive value. While he was a solid second

baseman, Horowitz said, “His speed was kind of bottled up at second base.”

Last year, the Sox gave Duran time in right field, but this year, he moved to center, with strong early

returns.

“He’s still learning the outfield, but the speed is an element that allows him to do a lot of things that most

guys can’t,” said Red Sox roving outfield instructor Darren Fenster. “He has a great sense of the type of

player that he is. He isn’t trying to do anything that he really is not supposed to be doing, really shooting

the gaps, letting his legs do a lot of the work. He’s a very, very exciting young player.”

For now, Red Sox farm director Ben Crockett believes that Duran is at a level that is a good fit for his skills

and experience. In seeing Carolina League opponents for a second and third time, he is seeing different

pitch sequences than those he attacked in his first time.

If he sustains anything like this consistent impact in High A during his first full pro season, he will put

himself in consideration for a promotion to Double A Portland.

“To hit the ground running as fast as he has is impressive,” said Crockett. “I think [Salem is] the right place

for him right now, but we’re always evaluating.”

And to date, the evaluations are filled with raves.

“Every day I wake up and it’s exciting to see the box score and the game report, the impact that he’s

making in every facet of the game,” said Horowitz. “He’s exceeding my expectations.

“I thought he could be a really interesting super-utility type that could play any of three outfield positions,

be a super athlete, handle second base if we needed him to. Obviously, I hope Jarren continues to prove me

wrong.”

Three up

■ Righthander Mike Shawaryn has a 2.79 ERA in seven starts in Pawtucket. Though he’s striking out a

relatively modest 6.6 batters per nine innings, he has expanded his arsenal beyond four-

seamer/slider/changeup to incorporate more two-seamers, while also varying the shape of his breaking ball

to get more weak contact. After allowing 1.5 homers per nine last year with the PawSox, he’s yielded 0.6

per nine innings this year.

■ Triston Casas , the 2018 first-rounder, is already displaying the all-fields power that drew the Red Sox

to him out of high school. The 19-year-old is hitting .252/.322/.505 with six homers in 30 games at Single

A Greenville.

■ Eduard Bazardo , 24, has been dominant in Salem, with a 1.21 ERA and a 25-to-5 strikeout-to-walk rate

through 22⅓ innings. The slight righthander features both a curve and slider, multiple swing-and-miss

weapons, on top of a low- to mid-90s fastball.

Three down

■ Portland second baseman Brett Netzer is off to a rough start, with a .252/.292/.336 line, a 26.3 percent

strikeout rate, and just a 4.4 percent walk rate — surprising numbers for one of the system’s reputed better

pure hitters.

■ Double A reliever Durbin Feltman , a 2018 third-rounder, is enduring a severe loss of control. He has

allowed five hits (including a homer) and walked nine batters in his last three innings, striking out just one.

For now, he’ll continue to pitch roughly every three days.

■ While lefthander Jay Groome’s recovery from Tommy John surgery almost a year ago is projected to

fall within a normal 12- to 18-month timetable, it won’t be at the shorter end of that range. Groome is still

throwing on flat ground and has yet to progress to a mound. It remains possible that he’ll see action in

minor league games this season.

* The Boston Herald

Red Sox move above .500 with rout of Mariners

Michael Silverman

The Red Sox season began in Seattle with a 12-4 mauling at the hands of the Mariners, a tone-setter for

three losses in the opening series and an awful 6-13 start.

Friday night at Fenway Park, the Red Sox began to exact revenge, the sweetest form taking shape in their

record spilling over .500 for the first time this season at 20-19.

The 14-1 victory against the M’s felt more one-sided than the score looked, with three different Red Sox

launching home runs (Mitch Moreland’s three-run shot in the third, solo shots from Rafael Devers in the

fourth and Andrew Benintendi in the sixth). On the night, they had 15 hits.

In addition, Eduardo Rodriguez delivered his best start yet, lasting seven scoreless innings, with just five

hits allowed, one walk and five strikeouts on 103 pitches. In his past six starts, the Red Sox are 6-0 and

Rodriguez is 4-0 with a 2.78 ERA. On the season, he is 4-2 with a 4.53 ERA.

“That’s the first goal — we didn’t play well, so we needed to get back to .500,” manager Alex Cora said.

“We did it without playing our best baseball I think. We still can do better. Now the goal is to get to five

over .500, and so on and so on. That’s how you do it. You can’t start looking at 10 or 20. It’s by stages.

We’ll try to get to five over .500 as soon as possible and then go from there.”

Rodriguez made his outing look like a stroll most of the time. Twice he had a runner at third base and twice

he went to his trusty changeup, getting a groundout from Tim Beckham to end the fourth and a swinging

strikeout by Braden Bishop to finish the seventh.

“I had everything working tonight,” Rodriguez said. “I see my velocity was kind of not what I wanted but

the other pitches were great so I was using more of my cutter and my changeup and everything worked

pretty good.

“I think that’s the first time in like two years I went seven innings so it’s something I’ve had in the back of

my mind all the time every time I go out there an see my pitch count but today was pretty good.”

Rodriguez and Seattle starter Erik Swanson began sharply, but only Rodriguez stayed that way. Jackie

Bradley Jr. led off the the third inning with an opposite-field double and two outs later, Mookie Betts

singled him in for the first run of the game.

After another single, Moreland came up and jumped all over a Swanson fastball left over the heart of the

plate, sending it into the center field bleachers for a 4-0 lead.

Devers led off the next inning with a home run to up the lead to 5-0. In the fifth, Benintendi led off with a

single before Moreland doubled him in for his team-leading 28th RBI. Moreland also leads the team in

home runs with 11.

Moreland’s second hit of the game began the call to the Mariners bullpen. Before the inning ended, Devers

singled in Moreland and the Red Sox were ahead 7-0.

With two outs in the sixth, Benintendi hit his fifth home run of the season and second in as many games.

His 12th-inning home run in Baltimore in the last game of the road trip on Wednesday was the game-

winner.

Seven of the Red Sox’ runs were knocked in with two outs.

“I know it’s hard to do, but good teams do that — we have a good team,” Cora said. “Like I’ve been saying

all along, since we went to Tampa, we feel that we’re putting good at-bats, we’re walking a lot more, we’re

controlling the strike zone. It was just a matter of getting that big hit. I know in Baltimore we struggled two

games, but it feels like we’re getting close to who we are.”

The Red Sox added a couple of runs in the seventh inning off a Xander Bogaerts RBI double and Michael

Chavis’ groundout to make it 10-0.

Moreland said there is more work to be done.

“It’s nice to kind of get back above that mark (of .500),” Moreland said. “At the same time, it’s obviously

not the end-all. We’re going to continue to work hard and continue to do the small things that we’ve been

working on trying to get better day in and day out, we’ve played well the last few weeks, we’ve got to

continue to add to that.”

White House visit behind them, Red Sox hold trip and those who skipped it in high regard

Michael Silverman

Matt Barnes came back from an “awesome” White House visit Thursday with equal regard for those who

joined him and those who didn’t.

“We live in a free country for a reason — anybody’s decision to go or not go is their decision and I totally

back my teammates in whatever decision they made,” Barnes said before Friday’s homestand opener

against the Seattle Mariners “I think that’s that. Guys who wanted to go, went and guys who didn’t, didn’t.

It’s 100 percent their decision.”

Manager Alex Cora was one teammate who stayed away, spending the off day with his infant twins.

Besides Hector Velazquez, who said he was not attending because of President Trump’s track record of

disparaging remarks about his native Mexico, Cora was the sole Red Sox who skipped the event for an

explicit reason. Cora believes the federal government had not done enough for his native Puerto Rico after

Hurricane Maria.

Cora reiterated some of his views as he explained how he spent his day.

“We knew the day was going to be like that,” the manager said. “In my world I decided not to go, for my

reasons. I’ll go back — if you read what I said, not the headline, don’t read the headline, read what I said: I

know the government has helped, but we still have a long ways to go. That’s our reality. Just to throw that

out there.”

Back to the off day.

“But it was a good day for me,” Cora said. “I was with the kids, hung out with them. It’s been, what, 10

days without them. We knew it was going to be like that. I’m just glad, like I said on Wednesday, that was

a great testament of us as a team. We played well, it was a grind and we ended up winning, and today ironic

enough we’re playing .500 baseball against Seattle. Hopefully from now on it’s just baseball and we go

from there.”

Cora was asked if he noticed the Red Sox’ name was misspelled as “Red Socks” in a White House calendar

listing.

He smiled.

“Somebody sent me that, yeah,” Cora said.

What did you make of it?

“Somebody made a mistake,” he said.

Before the trip, Barnes’ teammates stressed that the differences in opinions on the team were not divsive.

That the players who skipped were players of color was not mentioned.

“Something all of us in here should be really proud of — got some guys going, some guys not, but that

doesn’t change the way we feel about each other in here,” starter Rick Porcello said. “We’ve still got each

others’ backs. That’s it. More than anything, I’m pretty proud that none of that stuff is going to get in

between what we’ve got going on with us.”

Xander Bogaerts, one of the players who skipped the ceremony, agreed with Porcello.

“We’re all grown men,” the shortstop said. “I know we have a few kids here but in the end I think everyone

is over 21. If you don’t have the right answer, you either talk to your family about stuff. There are a lot

guys in here with good knowledge who can give you advice. Everyone’s grown, everyone’s different,

you’ve got to respect everyone’s opinions and decisions. As long as it’s positive and not try to influence

people and do the wrong stuff, I think everyone’s decisions should be respected.”

Barnes said the visit to Walter Reed Military Medical Center before the White House was an important

one.

“It puts everything in perspective, it really does,” he said. “You can sit here and argue and talk about

whatever you want, somebody had a bad game or you have a losing season or you don’t make the

postseason — that sucks, it really does. But when you go there and experience what these people have

really gone through, that truly is life and death. What they’ve done for this country and continue to do for

this country puts everything in complete perspective.”

David Price’s recovery from tendinitis on track

Michael Silverman

David Price‘s recovery from what sounds like a mild case of elbow tendinitis is progressing quickly.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was not ready Friday to declare a return date for Price, who is eligible to come

off the injured list for the next home series, which begins Tuesday against the Rockies.

“He feels a lot better. He threw in Baltimore, he threw already today, it seems like he’s in a good place,”

Cora said. “We’ll sit down with David. He’s a guy that I trust as far as he knows himself, and he knows

what he needs to do to be ready to compete at that level. We’ll see how he reacts today, how he feels, and

talk to him.

“Obviously we want him to throw in between whenever, a bullpen or two, and go from there. We’ll sit

down with him and we’ll listen to what he has to say, how he feels, and be smart. But we’ve got two days

off coming, too, on Monday and Thursday, so that plays into what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Cora mentioned the two off days, next Monday and Thursday, but left out who arrives for the following

home series. The Houston Astros, the cream of the AL West and the team the Red Sox beat to reach the

World Series, play here next Friday through Saturday.

It would make a great deal of sense for the Red Sox to wait until that series before activating Price.

RED HOT SOX

The Red Sox have won 14 of their past 20 games. Since April 19, they have a plus-56 run differential (123-

67). …

The 11 home runs by Mitch Moreland are the most by a Red Sox first baseman before June since Mo

Vaughn in 1998, when he hit 15 homers. … Rafael Devers has 15 RBI in his past 15 games. … Andrew

Benintendi has seven RBI in his past eight. …

With the win in the bag early, Cora turned to hapless Tyler Thornburg for relief in the eighth inning when

the score was 10-0. Thornburg marred the clean sheet. No Mariners hitter was able to single off of

Thornburg, but one tripled and another doubled for the run.

Thornburg has allowed at least one run in each of his past five outings and in seven of his past nine. His

ERA rests at 8.54.

PEDROIA BUSY

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia is expected to play three games in a row beginning Saturday with the

Portland Sea Dogs.

“I texted with him yesterday, he feels fine, he’s actually very happy with the swing,” Cora said. “He feels

like he’s been able to catch up with some fastballs. Actually there’s more (velocity) in Double A than

Triple A. Triple A is more (offspeed pitches). … But he feels good. Defensively he’s fine. He’s moving

well. He’s been running the bases, too. He went first to third the other day and he’s been reacting well to it.

No setbacks.” …

Brock Holt (shoulder) worked out with the team Friday. Assuming he feels fine Saturday, he likely will be

sent out on a rehab assignment early next week. Both Pawtucket and Portland are on the road Sunday, and

the PawSox are off Monday. …

Brian Johnson (elbow) is “doing great, he’s feeling good,” Cora said. The lefty is scheduled to throw an up-

and-down session or simulated game on Saturday. A rehab assignment is on the horizon.

TO BE ANNOUNCED

The Red Sox have yet to name a starter for Sunday’s game. Candidates are Hector Velazquez, Josh Smith,

Ryan Weber and “others,” Cora said. …

The Red Sox began this homestand with a series against the Mariners, the same team that spanked them in

the season-opening series, 3-1.

“They were hitting the ball out of the ballpark, especially against our starters. They’re still doing that,”

Cora said. “Obviously there are some injuries there, it’s a different offense compared to last year.”

The Mariners led the American League and were second in the majors with 152 extra-base hits. They have

been struggling lately, having lost 12 of their past 19 games.

“It seems like in every series, they have a big offensive output,” Cora said. “They put up 10, then they play

some good games, they lose them, and then they score 10 again. The most important thing about them is to

avoid the big innings.

“As you guys know, the first 11 games of the season, when teams scored against us, it was three, four, five.

It was hard to stop. That hasn’t happened to us in a while. I know they’re playing .500 baseball, but still

they have a good team, they have a good offense. They know what they’re doing over there.”

AIR JACKIE

Cora was still excited about the game-saving catch Jackie Bradley Jr. made in Baltimore in the 11th inning

to steal a home run from Trey Mancini.

“Honestly, the catch was great, but you’ve got to see the jump,” Cora said “The jump was amazing. When

he hit it, I said that’s an out. I didn’t know the ball was going to take off like that. But the jump was

amazing. He was actually playing straight out, maybe opposite field, and as soon as he hit it, it was

amazing. And then to be able to control the ball, because that ball seems like it was coming out of the

glove. It was a great catch.”

* The Providence Journal

Red Sox 14, Mariners 1: Boston opens home stand with rout

Bill Koch

BOSTON --- These were the Red Sox at full power on Friday night at Fenway Park.

Eduardo Rodriguez was masterful on the mound. The offense produced from the top of the order to the

bottom. The runaway train that tore its way through the big leagues last season appears to be approaching

the tracks yet again.

Mitch Moreland’s three-run homer in the bottom of third inning touched off what was a rout of the

Mariners. Boston’s 14-1 victory was the antithesis of the season’s opening series, as Seattle claimed three

out of four games against a Red Sox team that suffered through something resembling a World Series

hangover. Boston is over the .500 mark for the first time this campaign at a modest 20-19.

“We still can do better,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “The goal is to get to five over .500 and so on

and so on. That’s how you do it.”

Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi added solo shots to right as the Red Sox pounded out 15 hits and

scored seven times with two outs. Boston plated at least one run in each of its last six at-bats, fueling the

ninth victory in their last 11 games.

“It’s always nice to get rolling like that and put up crooked numbers,” Moreland said. “It seemed like we

had something going on every inning. Everybody was doing their part.”

This was the longest outing for Rodriguez since he turned in 7 2/3 scoreless frames in a 5-0 shutout of

Cincinnati on Sept. 23, 2017. He fell just two outs shy of that effort in this one, scattering five hits and

striking out five against a lone walk. The last of Rodriguez’s 103 pitches was a changeup dipping down and

away from Braden Bishop, inducing one of the 14 swings-and-misses by the Mariners against the left-

hander.

“I had everything working tonight,” Rodriguez said. “My velocity wasn’t I wanted, but my other pitches

were great. I was using my cutter and my changeup and everything worked pretty good.”

The Red Sox have won all four of Rodriguez’s home starts to date, and he’s been strong in three of them.

Only a wobble against Oakland in a 9-4 victory on April 29 has spoiled what would otherwise be an

outstanding pitching line. Rodriguez has combined to allow just 10 hits and strike out 20 in his other 19 2/3

innings.

“He was great,” Cora said. “Getting people out in the zone, good changeup, good fastball command, good

cutter – he’s been very consistent, and in different ways, too. He makes adjustments.

“You can see there’s a lot of confidence there. For him to go seven, that’s great. I know a lot of people in

the dugout were very happy with that and obviously that helped us out.”

Mookie Betts opened the floodgates with an RBI single up the middle in the third. It was the first of three

straight hits, as J.D. Martinez singled to right center and Moreland crushed a first-pitch fastball from Erik

Swanson over the Red Sox bullpen to make it 4-0.

“Definitely playing more like we want to,” Moreland said. “Continuing to get guys on and create those

situations to have those bigger innings – that’s definitely helping us.”

Devers cracked a leadoff homer to the visiting bullpen in the fourth and Moreland was at it again in the

fifth when he sliced an RBI double to the corner in left, chasing Andrew Benintendi all the way around

from first to make it 6-0. That was curtains for Swanson and Anthony Swarzak promptly allowed back-to-

back singles to Xander Bogaerts and Devers, with the latter driving in Moreland for the first of two extra

points.

Benintendi’s two-out homer to the visiting bullpen in the sixth pinned an earned run on Swarzak and Zac

Rosscup was touched for two more in the seventh. Steve Pearce and Bogaerts knocked back-to-back

doubles and Michael Chavis bounced an RBI grounder to short, as Boston reached double figures for the

third time this season.

“That’s what it takes,” Cora said. “Good teams – with two strikes, with two outs – can do that. We believe

we can do that.”

* MassLive.com

Boston Red Sox climb over .500 for first time in 2019 behind Mitch Moreland’s 3-run homer,

Eduardo Rodriguez’s 7 shutout innings

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — Mitch Moreland, Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi all homered to help the Red Sox

finally climb over .500 for the first time in 2019.

Boston beat Seattle 14-1 here at Fenway Park on Friday.

The Red Sox improved to 20-19 after starting out the season 11-17. They have won nine of their past 11

games.

Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez tossed 7 shutout innings, allowing five hits and one walk while striking

out five. It marked Rodriguez’s first start of at least seven innings since Sept. 23, 2017, when he pitched 7.2

scoreless innings at Cincinnati.

Moreland and Devers each drove in four runs.

Moreland already has 11 home runs in 35 games this season. His career high for home runs in a season is

23, which he did both in 2013 and ’15.

His third inning three-run blast put the Red Sox ahead 4-0 after Mookie Betts’ RBI single made it 1-0.

Moreland crushed a 92.7 mph fastball from Mariners starting pitcher Erik Swanson 436 feet to center field.

It traveled off his bat with a 108.9 mph exit velocity, per Baseball Savant.

Devers’ solo homer during the fourth inning made it 5-0. He connected on a changeup from Swanson and

sent it 397 feet to right field.

Moreland added a two-out RBI double to the opposite field during the fifth inning, giving Boston a 6-0

lead. Devers followed with an RBI single to right field to make it 7-0.

Benintendi added a 393-foot home run to right field in the sixth inning. That put Boston ahead 8-0.

Devers stroked a two-run double in the eighth, making it 14-1.

Thornburg’s ERA increases to 8.04

Tyler Thornburg allowed one run on a triple and double during the eighth.

The right-handed reliever has allowed at least one earned run in eight of his 14 outings this season.

He has allowed at least one earned run in five straight outings. He has allowed at least one earned run in

seven of his past nine outings.

Brock Holt: Boston Red Sox utility player possibly will begin rehab assignment with Pawtucket on

Sunday

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — Boston Red Sox utility player Brock Holt likely will begin a rehab assignment Sunday for

Triple-A Pawtucket if he reacts well to the work he does at Fenway Park on Friday.

Manager Alex Cora said the Red Sox will wait to see how Holt feels Saturday before making any decisions.

The Red Sox initially placed Holt on the injured list April 6 because of a scratched cornea. But he was

returned from his latest rehab assignment with Pawtucket after experiencing shoulder inflammation. He has

been returned from two rehab assignments without being activated.

Johnson “feeling great”

Lefty Brian Johnson, who the Red Sox placed on the injured list April 6 because of left elbow

inflammation, likely will throw another bullpen session Saturday, Cora said.

“He’s feeling great,” Cora said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be an up-and-down or a simulated game.

Obviously it’s a day game tomorrow. We’ll find a slot with him. Do that. And after that, we’ll decide what

we’re going to do with him, too.”

David Price injury: Boston Red Sox lefty continues throwing, ‘feels a lot better,’ Alex Cora says

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — David Price (elbow) played catch again Friday here at Fenway Park, manager Alex Cora said.

“We’ll meet probably later on today to see what’s next as far as when he throws a bullpen and where we go

after that,” Cora said.

The Red Sox placed Price on the 10-day injured list with elbow tendinitis Monday (retroactive to May 3).

Price played catch Wednesday in Baltimore after throwing on flat ground Tuesday.

“He feels a lot better,” Cora said. "He threw in Baltimore. He threw already today. So it seems like he’s in a

good place. We’ll sit down. David is a guy that I trust as far as like he knows himself and he knows what he

needs to do to be ready to compete at that level. So see how he reacts today, how he feels and talk to him.

Obviously we want him to throw a bullpen or two and then go from there.

“We’ll listen to what he has to say, how he feels and be smart about it," Cora added.

Price possibly could avoid a rehab assignment, Cora said Wednesday.

The Red Sox have Monday and Thursday off. With Nathan Eovaldi already on the injured list, the Red Sox

at least will avoid a spot starter for Price this coming week because of the days off.

“That plays into what we’re trying to accomplish,” Cora said about the two off days.

Boston Red Sox considering starting pitcher candidates for Sunday beyond Ryan Weber, Hector

Velazquez, Josh Smith

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — Ryan Weber, Josh Smith and Hector Velazquez all are candidates to start for the Boston Red

Sox on Sunday.

“And others,” manager Alex Cora said Friday here at Fenway Park.

Cora has yet to name a starter. He also wouldn’t name the other options he’s considering beyond Weber,

Smith and Velazquez.

Mike Shawaryn should be a strong candidate to start for Boston with both David Price and Nathan Eovaldi

on the injured list. But the righty started for Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday and so he would be

unavailable Sunday. Shawaryn is 1-2 with a 2.79 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and .224 batting average against in

seven starts for Pawtucket.

Darwinzon Hernandez also isn’t a candidate. He’s pitching for Double-A Portland on Friday.

Velazquez has a 4.03 ERA in 11 outings (five starts).

Smith allowed four runs (all on a grand slam) in 3.1 innings in his only start so far for Boston (Monday vs.

Baltimore).

Weber has appeared in just one major league game this season. He hurled 4 scoreless innings in the same

game Smith started. He allowed three hits and no walks while striking out four. He had a 5.04 ERA in five

starts for Pawtucket before being promoted.

Dustin Pedroia injury: Boston Red Sox 2B to play three straight games on rehab assignment with

Portland beginning Saturday

Christopher Smith

BOSTON — Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (knee) is traveling to Trenton on Friday to join

Double-A Portland there this weekend. He has today off. He’ll play three straight games for the Sea Dogs

on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

He’s 4-for-16 (.250) with an RBI in five games on his rehab assignment so far, all with Portland.

“He feels fine," manager Alex Cora said. "He’s actually very happy with the swing. ... He feels like he’s

been able to catch up with some fastballs. Actually, there’s more velo in Double A than in Triple A. Triple

A there’s more pitchability. In Double A there’s guys that throw harder. There’s better stuff. He feels good.

Defensively, he’s fine. He’s moving well. He’s been running the bases, too. Going from first to third the

other day and he’s been reacting well to it. No setbacks.”

Could the Red Sox activate him from the injured list if all goes well after those three straight starts?

“We’ll sit down and talk to him,” Cora said. “We’ll go from there.”

Boston placed Pedroia on the injured list April 9 because of left knee inflammation. He has appeared in just

nine games for the Red Sox since the start of the 2018 season after undergoing surgery on his left knee.

The plan is for Pedroia to push himself so he’s ready to be an everyday player when he returns to Boston.

* RedSox.com

Red Sox over .500: 'We’re going to be better'

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- It was mostly dreary in Boston on Friday but about an hour before game time, the skies

suddenly brightened and the weather turned pleasant.

Perhaps it was a symbol of sorts for the Red Sox, who considered this opener of their three-game series

against the Mariners a fresh start to their season. By romping over Seattle, 14-1, the defending World

Series champions at last got above .500 (20-19) for the first time in 2019.

And it was not lost on anyone that the win that got them over that threshold was against the same team they

opened the season against in unsavory fashion, losing three out of four in Seattle. Whatever happened

before happened. The Red Sox are now ready to turn their backs on their early-season struggles and morph

back into who they thought they were before the season began.

“I mean, that’s the first goal. We didn’t play well, so we needed to get back to .500,” said Red Sox manager

Alex Cora. “We did it without playing our best baseball, I think. We still can do better. Now the goal is to

get to five over .500, and so on and so on. That’s how you do it. You can’t start looking at 10 or 20 [games

over]. It’s by stages. We’ll try to get to five over .500 as soon as possible and then go from there.”

In truth, the reversal of fortune has been going on for a while but it’s hard to notice while a team remains

below .500. Now, you can officially take notice. The Sox have won nine of their last 11 and 14 of their last

20 games.

“It’s great,” said center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.. “I think it kind of shows where we’ve come. Started off

kind of slow and we’re taking things back up. I think that’s how seasons go. We were able to kind of grow

and make adjustments. We’ve been playing some pretty good ball lately.”

Though nobody is watching the standings too closely in the second week of May, the Red Sox are suddenly

just four games back -- the first time they’ve been that close to first place in the division since April 4.

“It sounds good. It’s nice to kind of get back above that [.500] mark,” said first baseman Mitch Moreland.

“At the same time, it’s obviously not the end-all. We’re going to continue to work hard and continue to do

the small things that we’ve been working on trying to get better day in and day out. We’ve played well the

last few weeks; we’ve got to continue to add to that.”

Some of the reasons for the turnaround were on full display Friday.

Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez was magnificent over seven innings, holding the Mariners to five hits and no runs

while walking one and striking out five. This looked nothing like the Rodriguez who got walloped by the

Mariners in the third game of the season. As a matter of fact, this was the first time E-Rod has gone a full

seven innings since Sept. 23, 2017.

“I think that’s the first time in like two years I went seven innings, so it’s something I’ve had in the back of

my mind all the time every time I go out there and see my pitch count,” said Rodriguez. “But today was

pretty good.”

After posting a 12.38 ERA in his first two starts, Rodriguez has a 2.78 ERA in his last six. Most important

is the fact the Red Sox have won all six of those games.

“Fastball command, good cutter. He’s been very consistent, and in different ways, too,” said Cora. “He

makes adjustments. You can see it. There’s a lot of confidence there for him to go seven. That was great. I

know a lot of people in the dugout were very happy with that. Obviously that helps us out. We’ve been

throwing the ball well as a unit.”

The offense -- which had sputtered for much of April -- is back at full throttle. They got a three-run homer

from Moreland (projected to have traveled 436 feet to right-center field) and solo rockets from Rafael

Devers and Andrew Benintendi.

“Since we went to Tampa Bay [April 19-21], we feel that we’re putting good at-bats, we’re walking a lot

more, we’re controlling the strike zone,” said Cora. “It was just a matter of getting that big hit. I know in

Baltimore we struggled two games, but it feels like we’re getting close to who we are.”

Finally, the Red Sox can say that what they are is a team that is above .500.

“We know who we are, we know how we can play and like I say, it’s a big relief for us that now we go

over .500 and then we start playing better,” said Rodriguez. “We know how we [can] play and we’re going

to be better than this.”

Pedroia set to play 3 straight games in Double-A

Ian Browne

BOSTON -- How are things going for Dustin Pedroia on his latest Minor League rehab assignment?

Pretty well so far. Pedroia will give his problematic left knee a big test starting on Saturday, when he is set

to play three straight days for Double-A Portland. If Pedroia has no setbacks after playing the three days,

the Red Sox will map out what is next for him.

The second baseman went 4-for-16 in the five games he played with Portland from May 2-9.

“I texted with him yesterday. He feels fine,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He’s actually very happy

with the swing. I don’t know the numbers, whatever, but he feels like he’s been able to catch up with some

fastballs. Actually, there’s more velo in Double-A than Triple-A.

“In Double-A, there’s guys that throw harder with better stuff. But he feels good. Defensively he’s fine.

He’s moving well. He’s been running the bases too. He went first to third the other day and he’s been

reacting well to it. No setbacks.”

After playing just three games last season following major surgery on his knee, Pedroia was activated for

Boston’s home opener this season on April 9. He played just six games before suffering a setback. Pedroia

has been hitting with a specially-fitted brace while with Portland and the hope is that it will alleviate some

of the discomfort he was feeling in his knee.

Price check

Lefty David Price played catch for the third time in the last four days, and there’s still a chance he can

return to the rotation at some point next week. Price was placed on the injured list earlier this week with

tendinitis in his left elbow, retroactive to May 3.

“He feels a lot better,” Cora said. “It seems like he's in a good place. We'll sit down with David. He's a guy

that I trust as far as he knows himself, and he knows what he needs to do to be ready to compete at that

level. We'll see how he reacts today, how he feels, and talk to him.”

At some point before he is activated, Price will have to throw off the mound.

“Obviously we want him to throw in between whenever, a bullpen or two, and go from there,” Cora said.

“We'll sit down with him and we'll listen to what he has to say, how he feels, and be smart. But we've got

two days off coming, too, on Monday and Thursday, so that plays into what we're trying to accomplish.”

Worth noting

• Brock Holt, who is coming back from a scratched cornea in his right eye and a right shoulder

impingement, could start a Minor League rehab assignment at some point this weekend.

• Lefty Brian Johnson is also closing in on a rehab assignment. The swingman will throw a bullpen session

prior to Saturday afternoon’s game against the Mariners. Johnson was placed on the injured list April 6

with inflammation in his left shoulder.

* NBC Sports Boston

Red Sox are headed back to first place, and we know the exact day it's going to happen

John Tomase

BOSTON -- If you're looking to take a family trip to the mid-Atlantic next month, may I suggest June 16 in

Baltimore?

I've consulted the spirits of the Ouija board and interpreted the swirls of the crystal ball, and in those

divinations have determined the day the Red Sox will reclaim first place.

We felt cautious optimism as the Sox turned a corner in late April, but now they're in full rampage mode.

On Friday night, they opened a homestand against the Mariners with an overpowering 14-1 victory that

featured three home runs among 15 hits and provided yet another reminder that the 2018 World Series

champions have not, in fact, left the building.

The victory boosted the Sox over .500 for the first time since 2018, and even with a couple of injuries

hamstringing their starting rotation, it feels like they're only just getting started. They pulled within four

games of Tampa Bay, which not only lost to the Yankees, but saw right-handed revelation Tyler Glasnow

depart with forearm soreness. Tampa Bay and New York (a half game out of first) shouldn't get too

comfortable, because that lead is going to disintegrate like a polar ice cap over the next month.

Remember how hard it was to score runs or create separation in April? Those Red Sox are gone. Remember

how the rotation gave them no chance for about three weeks? Those Red Sox are gone, too. Remember the

somber clubhouse and nervous urgency as the losses mounted?

Gone, gone, gone. All gone.

That the victory came at the expense of the Mariners felt even more poetic, because Seattle opened the

season by taking three of four from the defending champs, who left the Emerald City feeling about as good

as a tossed salmon thudding to the pavement in Pike Place Market.

The no-name Mariners opened 13-2 before dropping to 20-21 on Friday. The star-laden Red Sox,

meanwhile, started 3-9 and now sit at 20-19. Those two ships aren't simply passing in the night -- one is

capsizing in the other's wake.

"We didn't play well, so we needed to get back to .500," said manager Alex Cora. "We did it without

playing our best baseball, I think. We still can do better. Now the goal is to get to five over .500, and so on

and so on. That's how you do it. You can't start looking at 10 or 20. It's by stages. We'll try to get to five

over .500 as soon as possible and then go from there."

Cora is right that the Red Sox aren't all the way back. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Steve Pearce haven't started

hitting. The offense seems to come in waves. Injuries to David Price and Nathan Eovaldi have thinned the

rotation. The bullpen remains a work in progress.

Tom Werner after White House visit: No racial divide in Sox clubhouse

Still, the Red Sox are taking care of business the old-fashioned way via the blunt object. Mitch Moreland,

Rafael Devers, and Andrew Benintendi homered to start the onslaught. The Red Sox kept pouring on runs

into the late innings, with even Bradley and Pearce contributing doubles.

"It seemed like we had something going in every inning," Moreland said. "Everybody did their part."

It's not just the offense, though. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez continued a quiet run of dominance,

tossing seven shutout innings and striking out five. After posting a 12.38 ERA in his first two starts,

Rodriguez is at 2.78 since, and he's doing it in tantalizing fashion, by missing bats in the strike zone.

This is more like it. No one expected the Red Sox to win 108 games again, but 95-100 felt reasonable.

They're suddenly that kind of team again, especially with ace Chris Sale coming off a 14-strikeout gem,

Rodriguez realizing his considerable talent, and David Price pointing towards a return soon.

"We know who we are, we know how we play, and we're going to be better than this," Rodriguez

guaranteed.

Happy 20th anniversary, Nomar's big night

The Red Sox gave the rest of baseball a head start. It was the sporting thing to do. But now that they're

approaching a dead sprint, the gap is closing and first place feels inevitable.

Baltimore. June 16. Book it.

* Bostonsportsjournal.com

With shellacking of Mariners, Red Sox finally claim a winning record

Sean McAdam

There was, correctly, no back-slapping or anything remotely self-congratulatory for the Red Sox after they

finished off a 14-1 win over the Seattle Mariners that finally sent them over the .500 mark for the first time.

And why would there be?

If anything, it’s something of an embarrassment that it took the Red Sox almost exactly one-quarter of the

season to achieve a winning record. So much more had been expected of the defending world champions

and no one could have forecast that it would take just over six weeks to have a record reflecting more wins

than losses.

This isn’t where the Red Sox were trying to go. But all things considered, it’s not a bad place from which to

start.

And that was the overriding feeling at Fenway on Friday.

The day was fraught with symbolism. The team was returning home from a road trip to begin a lengthy

homestand, having reached the break-even point at the end of their just-concluded road trip. Not

insignificantly, the Sox also had their visit to the White House behind them, and with it, an escape from all

the questions about who was going to the ceremony and who was not.

And in a bit of symmetry, the opponents for the start of the homestand were the Seattle Mariners, the very

team which helped start the Red Sox rolling downhill in the first series of the season, winning three-of-four,

scoring 34 runs and belting 11 homers in the process.

Ever since, the Red Sox have been desperate to pull themselves out of the ditch they had dug for

themselves, while the Mariners have been regressing. After starting the year 13-2, the Mariners have gone

just 7-19 and the 14-1 beating they absorbed from the Red Sox sent them below .500 for the first time this

season.

It was if the Red Sox and Mariners were passing each other at Fenway, two teams headed in opposite

directions.

The Red Sox, of course, can’t concern themselves with the Mariners’ plight. They’re too focused on

continuing their own turnaround.

“That’s the first goal,” said Alex Cora of the team finally getting on the plus side. “We didn’t play well (in

the first couple of weeks), so we needed to get back to .500. We did it without playing our best baseball.

We still can be better.”

Mostly, the improvement has come on the mound, a fact that might be easy to ignore on a night in which

they totaled 14 runs. But unlike the first few weeks, when their starters were being shelled nightly and

yielding home runs at a dizzying pace, the rotation — even with two significant injuries — has righted

itself.

Since April 12, covering a span of 26 games, Red Sox’ starting pitchers have an ERA of 3.08. Day after

day, the team is, at the very least, being given a chance to win thanks to work of the starters, which was

hardly the case as the team stumbled to its 6-13 start. In those 26 games, Red Sox starting pitching has

allowed three runs or fewer in 23 of those.

Accordingly, with their lineup, scoring four or more runs per night isn’t a tough ask. This month, the team

leads the AL in runs scored and home runs.

They pounded out 14 runs Friday, getting contributions up and down the lineup.

“It seemed like we had something going every innings,” noted Mitch Moreland who had a homer and two

doubles, good for four RBI, “and everyone was doing their part.”

The arrival of warmer weather promises more offensive outbursts.

There’s the old baseball adage that while you can’t win a pennant in the first month, you can sometimes

lose it, and for a time, it appeared that the Red Sox were intent on proving that point. When they left New

York, having been swept by the Yankees in a two-game series last month, they found themselves tied for

last and a full eight games off the lead in the division.

Since then, they’ve made a steady climb in the standings and now sit just four games out of first.

Again, no parades will be thrown for getting above water. But it beats where they were.

“We’re definitely playing more like we want to,” said Moreland. “(Having a winning record) sounds good.

It’s nice to kind of get back above that mark. But at the same time, that’s obviously not the be-all, end-all.

We’re going to continue to work hard and keep doing the small things that we’ve been working on, trying

to get better day-in, day-out.

“We’ve played well the last few weeks. We’ve got to continue to add to that.”

BSJ Game Report: Red Sox 14, Mariners 1- Returning home, Sox keep winning

Sean McAdam

Rodriguez keeps rolling: For the sixth straight game, the Red Sox won a start made by Eduardo Rodriguez.

In those six starts, Rodriguez has allowed more than three earned runs just once and in that span, he’s

fashioned a 2.78 ERA and has gone four straight starts without allowing a homer. Rodriguez gave up just

five hits — four of them singles — and didn’t issue a walk until the leadoff man in his final inning of work.

He also continued to show some efficiency, getting through seven innings on 103 pitches. “I think that’s the

first time I’ve gone seven innings in two years,” said Rodriguez. “That’s something in the back of my mind

every time I go out there.” Alex Cora praised Rodriguez’s outing as “great. He was getting people out in

the zone, had a good changeup, good fastball command, good cutter. He’s been very consistent, and in

different ways, too.”

Moreland continues to mash: From the second game of the season, Mitch Moreland has been the Red Sox’

top run producer and that continues, six weeks into the season. Moreland delivered the big blow Friday,

smashing a three-run homer over the Red Sox bullpen in right-center in the third to push the Sox out to a 4-

0 lead. He later added two more doubles — both to left field, tellingly — driving in another run and scoring

two more. Of his 25 hits, 17 have been for extra bases, a development for which he has no logical

explanation. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that,” said Moreland. “I don’t have anything for you. I just go up

there and try to put a good swing on a pitch. I’m good with it, but I wish I could get a few more (hits). But

I’ll take what I’m getting.” Moreland’s 11 homers are the most by a Red Sox first baseman before June

since Mo Vaughn hit 15 in 1998.

Ball starts to fly in warmer weather: It didn’t feel like summer at Fenway, but it certainly was warmer than

it’s been most nights and you could tell that as balls flew all over the ballpark. The Sox pounded out 15 hits

including three homers and five doubles. Then again, home or away, the Red Sox have been scoring runs in

bunches of late. Friday’s win marked the seventh time in the last 11 games that they’ve scored six or more

runs in a game and the second time in the last six that they’ve scored in double digits. Of the first seven

runs the Sox scored Friday, six came after two were out and a number of them came with two strikes, an

indication that the lineup is having focused at-bats and sticking to a game plan. “It’s hard to do, but good

teams do that,” said Cora.

TURNING POINT

Given how well Rodriguez was pitching early, it was obvious that the Red Sox weren’t going to need much

support, so with a 1-0 lead, when Moreland cranked a three-run homer to right in the bottom of the third

inning, the game was essentially over.

TWO UP

Xander Bogaerts: After going hitless in his first two trips, Bogaerts singled in the fifth and doubled home a

run in the seventh.

Steve Pearce: Pearce was hitting .111 and hitless in his last 11 at-bats when he pinch-hit for Moreland in

the seventh and slammed a double off the wall in left.

TWO DOWN

Michael Chavis: Chavis remains in his first big league slump, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. He’s now

hitless in his last 16 at-bats.

Tyler Thornburg: The Sox trying to find spots for Thornburg to work through things, and he keeps getting

hit hard. Pitching the eighth, he allowed a triple and double to two of the first three hitters he faced. He’s

allowed runs in seven of his last nine appearances.

QUOTE OF NOTE

“It feels like we’re getting close to who we are.” Alex Cora.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

The Sox’ streak of not allowing a walk came to an end at 18 innings when Eduardo Rodriguez walked Jay

Bruce.

The homer by Rafael Devers was his first at home this season.

Andrew Benintendi has knocked in seven runs in his last eight games.

Mitch Moreland has homered in each of his last three home games.

UP NEXT

The Red Sox and Mariners play the middle game in their three-game series with RHP Rick Porcello (2-3,

5.11) vs. RHP Felix Hernandez (1-3, 5.20) at 1:05 p.m.

* The Athletic

At last, Eduardo Rodriguez scratches his seventh-inning itch

Jen McCaffrey

When Eduardo Rodriguez returned to the dugout on Friday night after striking out Braden Bishop with two

on and two out in the seventh, he was greeted with an extra hearty round of applause from his teammates

and coaches.

For the first time since Sept. 23, 2017 — a span of 31 starts and four relief appearances in the regular

season — Rodriguez pitched seven full innings.

It had almost become the elephant in the dugout every time the lefty took the mound. He never could quite

make it seven full innings.

“Some in the dugout might say he graduated,” pitching coach Dana LeVangie said with a smirk after

Boston’s 14-1 walloping of the Seattle Mariners.

“Last year, I was throwing 5 2/3 (innings) all the time,” Rodriguez said. “(My teammates) always were

like, ‘Hey good job today, you went 5 2/3 again, when are you going to go six, when are you going to go

seven?’ Tonight, I just got in the dugout and said, ‘Thank God, finally,’ and everybody was like, ‘Hey

finally, you got through seven, welcome, welcome.’”

In spring training, the Red Sox pegged this season as one that would be a turning point for Rodriguez.

Finally healthy and entering his fifth season in the majors, this would be the year he’d pull it all together.

But when the year began, it looked like more of the same — if not worse — as Rodriguez pitched 4 1/3 and

3 2/3 innings, respectively, in his first two starts. The rotation as a whole struggled mightily in those first

two weeks. It wasn’t until Rodriguez tossed 6 2/3 innings against the Orioles at home on April 12, that the

rotation found an anchor.

Even in that April start, though, Rodriguez couldn’t finish off the elusive seventh inning. He’d pitched 6

2/3 scoreless to that point, and with a runner on second, instead of closing the door, he gave up a home run,

forcing manager Alex Cora to turn to Matt Barnes to finish off the frame.

He found himself thinking ahead rather than remaining in the moment.

“It’s happened to me before where I was worried about ‘OK, got to get the guys out, get out of this inning,

they’re going to take me out after this,” Rodriguez said of his mindset. “So in that moment (on Friday), I’m

just thinking get this guy out.”

After a leadoff walk in the seventh on Friday, Rodriguez got a strikeout and flyout before allowing a single

to put runners on the corners. Last month, that was the moment when he faltered and exited the game, but

not this time. Though the Red Sox were ahead 8-0 by that point and a run or two wouldn’t have affected the

score much, Rodriguez buckled down and got the final batter to strike out swinging on a changeup.

He finished with five hits allowed over seven scoreless innings, with one walk and five strikeouts. He threw

103 pitches, 68 of them strikes, and got 14 swings and misses.

Part of what has generally stopped Rodriguez from pitching deeper into games has been his lack of

efficiency. On Friday, however, he kept his pitch count in check, needing fewer than 20 pitches in six of his

seven innings. He put batters away when ahead in the count more often than not and when he did allow

hits, he limited the damage. Four of the five hits he allowed were singles.

“He was great – getting people out in the zone, good changeup, good fastball command, good cutter,” Cora

said. “He’s been very consistent, and in different ways, too. He makes adjustments. You can see it. There’s

a lot of confidence there for him to go seven. That was great. I know a lot of people in the dugout were very

happy with that.”

That 6 2/3-inning start against the Orioles last month gave the Red Sox their first win by a starting pitcher

this season. So it was fitting that Rodriguez’s performance on Friday helped the Red Sox get over .500 (20-

19) for the first time this year.

The Red Sox offense gave Rodriguez ample cushion, allowing him to be aggressive on the mound and

attack hitters more than if he were clinging to a one-run lead.

The pitcher has now thrown six innings or more in four of his eight starts, including three of his last four.

Just as important, the Red Sox have won each of the last six times he’s taken the mound.

“He’s been in the league a long time, he’s done this a lot,” LeVangie said. “There are going to be days it

doesn’t work out so well, he might have a bad day, whatever, but I think he can be this guy consistently

every five days.”

* The Seattle Times

Mariners fall below .500 for the first time this season after loss to Red Sox

Ryan Divish

BOSTON — It was a fitting result to culminate the Mariners’ steady fall to below .500 for the first time

this season.

On an unremarkable road trip where they’ve won just twice in eight games, including their most recent

loss, a 14-1 drubbing by the Red Sox on Friday night, they’ve lost more games than they’ve won this

season, giving them a record of 20-21.

And from about the third inning on, it was apparent that they weren’t going to win this game.

Rookie right-hander Erik Swanson struggled in his first visit to the hitter-friendly confines of Fenway Park,

his replacement Anthony Swarzak, who was trying to pitch his way back into relevance in the bullpen, was

just as ineffective as were the relievers that followed. The Mariners’ offense registered just one late run

after the game was all but decided.

“I’m confident that these guys will come out tomorrow and put this game behind them,” said Manny Acta,

who was serving as Mariners manager with Scott Servais away from the team for his daughter’s graduation.

“Like mama always said, ‘You’ll have days like this.'”

But mama didn’t say how many more days the Mariners will have like this. They’ve already had plenty in

this digression to mediocrity.

For people outside of the Mariners’ clubhouse, below .500 was a place that was expected of the 2019 team.

The organization made the offseason plan of taking a “step back” this season in order to build for the

future.

General manager Jerry Dipoto made a slew of trades this offseason to cull the roster of aging veterans and

experienced players who were bloating the payroll. In return, he got plenty of prospects, including

Swanson, to build for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. But beyond the removal of stalwarts such as Robinson

Cano, Jean Segura, Nelson Cruz and James Paxton, it was also the conscious decision to invest minimally

in the bullpen and the periphery of the roster, two reasons why the team wasn’t expected to succeed.

That group defied those expectations to start the season, hitting and homering its way to a 13-2 record as

fans and outside media thought that there might be something more to these Mariners. While internally they

knew a regression to a realistic mean was coming, this fall wasn’t gradual. They were slapped in the face

with a six-game losing streak after the torrid run. What followed was the markings of a .500 team at best —

win a few in row, lose a few in row, never falling too much in any one direction … well, until this road trip.

Since that 13-2 start, the Mariners have gone 7-19 over their last 26 games. The hitting and run scoring

normalized. The errors, which total 43, continued and couldn’t be hidden by the offense and the pieced-

together bullpen has been anywhere from ineffective to abysmal.

That’s not to say the Mariners are destined to remain under .500. The fluctuations of a baseball season say

that they’ll have a chance to get back to a winning record. They’ve shown the ability rip off a winning

streak, particularly against lesser or equal teams.

Even though the Red Sox (20-19) finally got over .500 with the win, the Mariners are not their equal

despite taking three of four from them in the first home series of the season. The reason for the step-back

plan was the understanding that the Mariners’ roster wouldn’t be at Boston or Houston or New York’s

level.

When this road trip ends, they will have two games against the Oakland A’s and four against the Minnesota

Twins, teams that don’t fall into the classification of being easily beatable.

Swanson was one of the key pitchers acquired in the step-back trades this offseason, coming to Seattle

along with lefty Justus Sheffield and outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams in the trade that sent James

Paxton to New York.

After flirting with a no-hitter versus the Indians in his previous start, Swanson didn’t have quite the same

pinpoint command with his off-speed pitches, leaving his fastball vulnerable to Red Sox hitters. He pitched

4 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

“He came out with a very good fastball, but the second time through the order he could just not put hitters

away,” Acta said. “Seven out of the first eight runs were with two outs, and we gave up six straight hits

with two strikes. We couldn’t put hitters away.”

It was an outing reminiscent to two starts ago against the Rangers when Swanson struggled in the same

capacity. A more seasoned pitcher might be able to make a quick in-game adjustment, but Swanson was

making just his fifth big-league start.

“At this level, you have to execute,” Acta said. “And this is a learning process for him.”

Swanson had no trouble identifying what went wrong.

“It was the same thing as a couple of week ago,” Swanson said. “The fastball was there, and I just couldn’t

finish them.”

After giving up a leadoff double to Jackie Bradley Jr. to start the third inning, Swanson looked like he

could get out of it unscathed. But with two outs, Mookie Betts was able to bounce a ground ball up the

middle on a 96 mph fastball off the outside part of the plate for an RBI single to extend the inning.

“I was happy with the pitch,” Swanson said. “He put a good swing on it, and it caught the barrel and put it

up the middle. It happens in this game.”

J.D. Martinez followed with a single to right, and Mitch Moreland clobbered a first-pitch fastball over the

wall in deep right-center for a three-run homer and a 4-0 lead.

Swanson gave up a leadoff homer to Rafael Devers in fourth inning on a misplaced 2-2 change-up that

made it 5-0.

He never got out of the fifth inning. Moreland ended his night by smoking a change-up into left-center for

an RBI double.

“There were a few pitches, especially with my change-ups that I have to get lower,” he said. “I caught too

much of the plate with it.”

Swarzak entered and gave up back-to-back singles to allow another run charged to Swanson to score. He

also allowed a solo homer to Andrew Benintendi in the sixth inning. It was the sixth homer Swarzak has

allowed in his last seven games.

Lefty Zac Rosscup and right-hander Mike Wright combined to give up six runs in the final two innings.

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The Mariners’ lone run came in the eighth inning. Domingo Santana notched his third hit of the night with

a triple and scored on Edwin Encarnacion’s double to left-center.

Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez pitched seven shutout innings, allowing five hits with five strikeouts to

improve to 4-2. Normally, Rodriguez will have wandering command to the point where hitters are

rewarded for waiting him out. But he didn’t have that issue against the Mariners. Of his 103 pitches, 68

were strikes.

“When 65 percent of your pitches are strikes and you have his stuff, you are going to have success,” Acta

said. “He really kept us off balance with his change-up.”

* Associated Press

Red Sox beat Mariners 14-1, over .500 for first time

BOSTON -- The Red Sox have been among baseball's hottest-hitting teams in May. It's gotten the

defending World Series champions above .500 for the first time this season.

Mitch Moreland hit a three-run home run, Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi each added a solo homer,

and Boston rolled to a 14-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

The Red Sox (20-19) have won nine of 11, scoring 80 runs during the stretch and outscoring opponents 66-

25 this month. Seven of their runs Friday came with two outs.

"I know it's hard to do, but good teams do that. We really believe we have a good team," manager Alex

Cora said. "I feel like we're getting closer to who we are."

Seattle (20-21) lost for the 10th time in 12 games and is under .500 for the first time since the end of the

2017 season. The club started this year 13-2.

Eduardo Rodriguez (4-2) pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out five to pick up

his third win in four starts. It was the first time Rodriguez lasted seven innings in a start since Sept. 23,

2017, at Cincinnati. The Red Sox have won each of Rodriguez's last six starts.

"I had everything working tonight," Rodriguez said. "It's the first time I went seven innings in like two

years, so it's something I'm having in my mind every time I go out there and see my pitch count. But today

was pretty good."

Rookie Erik Swanson (1-4) took the loss, allowing seven hits and seven runs over 4 2/3 innings.

"It is a learning process for him," said bench coach Manny Acta, filling in for manager Scott Servais, who

was attending his daughter's graduation. "We like him a lot. He had good stuff at the beginning, but they

caught up to him."

It marked the latest rough outing for a Mariners' pitching staff that has given up 11 or more runs four times

in 12 games.

The Red Sox did the brunt of their damage in the third inning.

Jackie Bradley Jr. led off with a double down the left field line and scored on Mookie Betts' two-out single

up the middle.

J.D. Martinez moved Betts over to third base with a single, and Moreland cleared the bases with his looping

blast that landed just over Boston's bullpen in center. It was Moreland's 11th home run of the season.

Devers led off the fourth inning with a line-drive homer over the Mariners' bullpen in right field.

Moreland added an RBI double in the fifth.

Boston scored in all but two innings.

Cora said getting back to .500 was just the first goal the team had after starting the season 2-8.

"We did it without playing our best baseball," he said. "I think we still can do better."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Mariners: Placed IF Dylan Moore on the 10-day injured list with a right wrist bruise. Moore was injured

after being hit by a pitch Wednesday against the Yankees. ... Scans on the right wrist of 2B Dee Gordon

revealed no fractures. He is day-to-day. He was forced to leave Seattle's game against the Yankees on

Thursday after getting hit by a pitch from J.A. Happ.

Red Sox: Cora said left-hander David Price (left elbow tendinitis) continues to throw, "feels a lot better"

and "seems like he's in a good place." The plan is for him to get in a few bullpen sessions before a decision

is made on his next step. ... Cora said he texted with 2B Dustin Pedroia (left knee irritation), who is

travelling with Double-A Portland. Cora said next for Pedroia is to see how he reacts to playing three

straight games. ... Utility man Brock Holt (scratched cornea) was with the team Friday and could soon

begin a rehab assignment.

`BACK TO BASEBALL'

Cora said there was no uneasiness in the clubhouse a day after several members of the team decided not to

attend a celebration at the White House for Boston's World Series championship.

"That's the route we decided, and we respect everything and we're fine with it. Back to baseball today,"

Cora said. "In my world, I decided not to go for my reasons. I know the government has helped. We still

have a long way to go. That's our reality."

UP NEXT

Mariners: Felix Hernandez (1-3, 5.20 ERA) gets the ball for Saturday's matchup with Boston. He is coming

off a start against the Yankees on May 6 in which he allowed three home runs in seven batters.

Red Sox. Rick Porcello (2-3, 5.11 ERA) is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in his last four starts. He has held

opponents to a .202 batting average with 25 strikeouts during that stretch.