If someone said in mid-July that the Boston Red Sox would have a chance to finish at or above .500, there’s a good chance no one would believe them. But that was then.
The Red Sox are now the winners of four straight after a 5-1 win against the New York Yankees on Monday night, and they’ve allowed just one run in their last 38 innings going back to the eighth inning of Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. And while reaching .500 is far from the ideal goal in late September, it’s better to go out on a high note than sputter toward the finish line.
And Eduardo Rodriguez ended his season on a personal high note Monday. The 22-year-old lefty pitched six innings of one-run ball, striking out five and walking one. He pitched himself out of jams with the poise of a veteran to beat the Yankees for the third time this season. It was an overall youth movement Monday, with Travis Shaw, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Deven Marrero hitting home runs to lift Rodriguez to to victory.
The 2015 season likely won’t be one to remember, but the Red Sox are making a good case to pay close attention next year.
Here are some more notes from Monday’s win.
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— Jackie Bradley Jr. was back in left field with Rusney Castillo nursing a strained quad, and he went right back to work. The outfielder made one nice grab to rob Chase Headley of a hit in the third and later making a leaping catch to steal a hit from John Ryan Murphy in the sixth.
— Marrero’s homer was the first of his major league career. Boston’s No. 9 prospect now is batting .286 (10-for-35) in 19 games for the Red Sox this season.
— Hanley Ramirez was given permission to get an early jump on his rehab with his trainer in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., rather than travel on the Red Sox’s final road trip.
“We thought it would be a good thing to get him started as soon as possible,” interim manager Torey Lovullo said, per The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham.
— While this has nothing to do with baseball, the Red Sox apparently are staying at the same hotel as President Barack Obama, and Lovullo really wants to meet him.
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— Rodriguez wanted one more inning — Lovullo said Sunday he’d be limited to six — and he got down on his knees to plead his case. Unintentionally, though.
The left-hander tripped down the dugout stairs while he asked to stay out, giving the Red Sox a good laugh.
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That’s quite a way to go out in your last start.
Thumbnail photo via Gregory J. Fisher/USA TODAY Sports Images
