The rain returned to Fenway Park on Friday, and along with it, another win for the Boston Red Sox.
The Sox won their fifth consecutive game with a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Eduardo Rodriguez continued to pitch well for Boston, and Seattle helped him out with some unforced errors in the inclement weather.
With the win, the Sox improved to 26-21, while the Mariners dropped to 21-28.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Sloppy.
Two of the Red Sox’s runs came on a wild pitch and passed ball in the bottom of the sixth inning. Oh, and it rained again. A lot.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Boston scored those two runs in the sixth. It had a 1-0 lead heading into the frame, and Seattle’s two unforced errors gave the Sox some breathing room.
ON THE BUMP
— Rodriguez didn’t have the strikeout numbers Drew Pomeranz had in his gem of an outing Thursday night, but the Red Sox left-hander found plenty of other ways to get the Mariners out. Rodriguez pitched six scoreless innings and allowed only five hits with three walks and four strikeouts. He finished with 112 pitches, 67 of which were strikes.
He ran into some early trouble in the top of the second by walking Kyle Seager and allowing a single to Danny Valencia. However, Valencia was gunned down by Jackie Bradley Jr. trying to stretch it into a double, and Rodriguez got the next two batters out on a lineout and strikeout to end the threat.
The Mariners actually had at least one baserunner in each inning Rodriguez pitched, but they never came around to score.
— Heath Hembree pitched a 1-2-3 seventh.
— Matt Barnes allowed a leadoff single in the eighth, but he got the next three batters to retire the side.
— Craig Kimbrel didn’t strike anyone out, but he did have a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn the save.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second innings thanks to a Josh Rutledge RBI groundout. Hanley Ramirez scored on the play.
— After struggling with runners in scoring position earlier in the game, the Red Sox had a bit more luck in the bottom of the sixth thanks to the wet weather. Rutledge led off the inning with a single, and Bradley and Deven Marrero later both walked to load the bases. And with the rain coming down hard during Betts’ next at-bat, Yovani Gallardo threw a wild pitch, which Rutledge scored on. Gallardo then walked Betts to load the bases again, which spelled the end of his night.
Dan Altavilla came on in relief, and Bradley almost immediately scored Boston’s third run on a passed ball. Xander Bogaerts followed Andrew Benintendi’s strikeout with another walk to load the bases, but Ramirez ended the frame with a flyout to left field.
— Mitch Moreland, Benintendi and Betts were the only Sox players without hits.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Oops.
Phew.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox will continue their homestand with a Saturday afternoon matchup against the Seattle Mariners. Left-hander Brian Johnson is scheduled to get the start for Boston opposite Seattle right-hander Rob Whalen. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
