BOSTON — The Red Sox showed up for one game, at least.
The Red Sox split their doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, earning a 6-3 win in the first game before suffering a 2-0 loss in the second game at Fenway Park. There were both positives and negatives to Boston’s split, which came on the heels of a 1-0 win in Tuesday’s series opener, but the Game 2 defeat definitely left a lot to be desired after a lively and fruitful effort in Game 1.
The teams will battle one more time Thursday, with Steven Wright toeing the rubber for Boston. But before shifting gears, let’s go over some notes from Wednesday’s so-so twin bill.
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— The Baltimore Orioles might rue the day they traded Eduardo Rodriguez to the Red Sox in exchange for Andrew Miller at the 2014 Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline.
Miller made a major impact down the stretch with Baltimore last season, but the veteran reliever since has signed with the New York Yankees and Rodriguez is just getting going in Boston. And the early returns on Rodriguez, who tossed another gem in the first game Wednesday, have been sensational.
Rodriguez is 9-4 with a 1.97 ERA in 18 starts in the Red Sox organization since being acquired from the O’s. Most importantly, he’s 2-0 as a major leaguer, allowing only one run on five hits over 14 2/3 innings (0.61 ERA) while striking out 14 and walking four. Opponents are hitting .102 (5-for-49) against Rodriguez in his two big league outings.
“Last year, I was just surprised when they told me, ‘You’re going to be traded. You’re going to Boston now,’ ” Rodriguez recalled Wednesday. “But look at where I am right now. Now I am going to say thanks to them for trading me here.”
Red Sox manager John Farrell made it perfectly clear Rodriguez is staying in Boston’s rotation.
— Rick Porcello equaled Rodriguez in the nightcap, except the right-hander came away a loser because the Red Sox’s offense couldn’t do anything against Twins starter Trevor May.
Porcello recorded perfect innings in the third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth.
“He got better as the night went along,” Farrell said. “Eight quality innings of work. In the second inning, he left a couple of pitches up that they were able to bunch together with a walk for their two runs and then, like I said, became much more efficient as he went.”
— Xander Bogaerts is hitting .343 (24-for-70) over his last 22 games dating back to May 11. The power hasn’t quite been there — he has two home runs in 51 games — but he’s using all fields very effectively.
“He’s been progressing all year,” Red Sox hitting coach Chili Davis recently told MassLive.com. “Just listening to him, his confidence is real high. He knows what he wants to swing at at the plate. And he works his ass off. He does. And he listens and he tries to apply things. And he tries to take it into the game and use it, which you don’t find that in a lot of players old or young.”
— Dustin Pedroia, who went 5-for-9 in the two games, is hitting .329 (47-for-143) over his last 36 games dating back to April 26. He’s hitting .360 (18-for-50) in 12 games since moving into the leadoff spot.
Pedroia scored the 743rd and 744th runs of his career Wednesday, moving him ahead of Manny Ramirez for 11th-most in Red Sox history.
— Carlos Peguero, making his first start with the Red Sox, had one of Boston’s two hits in the second game. It was his first hit with the Sox and it snapped an 0-for-19 stretch.
Peguero likely won’t be with Boston much longer, though. The Red Sox acquired outfielder Alejandro De Aza from the Orioles on Wednesday, and he’ll probably replace Peguero on the active roster.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
