Before the Boston Red Sox returned to Fenway Park from Detroit, their clubhouse was fumigated due to the rampant flu bug that has plagued the team during the first week of the season.
The illness has landed Red Sox reliever Robbie Ross Jr. on the disabled list and caused Mookie Betts (three games) and Hanley Ramirez (four games) to miss time as well.
But while the Red Sox have gained national attention for the quick-spreading illness, they aren’t the only team that has dealt with the flu bug, and Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter made note of that prior to Tuesday’s game at Fenway Park, according to The Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato.
“I don’t know where we are with the flu today,” Showalter said, per Mastrodonato. “Everybody in the league has had that issue. I’ve had it and it’s a different strain, I’ll tell you. It lingers for a long time. Some of them seem to be a little more noteworthy, it seems like, but our guys have fought their way through it. I know we’ve got a lot of guys that aren’t 100 percent with it, but so do a lot of clubs. So nobody really wants to hear somebody else complain about it. Our guys have done a good job not broadcasting it to the world.”
Red Sox manager John Farrell said the team wasn’t seeking pity for their run-in with the illness.
“There’s a stomach flu, there’s a full-blown flu and there’s a respiratory, cold, head, all that stuff,” Farrell said. “We’ve got a little bit of a MASH unit. But, I mean, the one thing I will say that not anyone has made an excuse. We’ve got to go out and play. No one outside of our walls cares about what we’re going through and we don’t care what others are going through. We’ve got to take care of ourselves and get guys back healthy and we’re getting close to that point.”
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— Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who was placed on the disabled list Monday, is being fitted for a knee brace, and there is no timetable for his return. Bradley did tell reporters that he “feels great” prior to the game, according to WEEI’s Ryan Hannable.
— Drew Pomeranz picked up the win and now is 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA in his last four season-opening starts.
— Christian Vazquez became the first Red Sox hitter to reach base safely in his first seven plate appearances of a season since Ted Cox in 1977.
— With his double in the second inning, Mitch Moreland has doubled in five straight games and leads the major leagues with six doubles.
— Dustin Pedroia went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and now owns a seven-game hitting streak. He became the first Red Sox hitter to record a hit in the first seven games of the season since J.D. Drew in 2007.
— Betts went 2-for-5 on Tuesday, and now hasn’t struck out in 96 regular-season plate appearances. That is the longest streak in the majors since Norichika Aoki in 2015, and the longest streak by a Red Sox hitter since Wade Boggs in 1991.
— Down in Pawtucket, catcher Blake Swihart hit his first home run of the season for the PawSox. Swihart also drove in runs in his next two at-bats to give him three RBIs on the night.
Thumbnail photo via Evan Habeeb/USA TODAY Sports Images
