Things were going so well for Eduardo Rodriguez on Saturday.
The Boston Red Sox southpaw was cruising through five innings, holding the Toronto Blue Jays scoreless while posting 1-2-3 innings in the third, fourth and fifth. He also was pretty efficient with his pitches — something he has struggled with this season.
But his outing came to a screeching halt with one out in the sixth after Lourdes Gurriel Jr. grounded a ball to the right side of the infield that first baseman Blake Swihart chased down. Rodriguez went to cover the bag and the throw was a touch behind him, and with Gurriel diving into first, Rodriguez jumped up but landed on him and went to the ground.
Both players got attention from their respective teams’ medical staff. Gurriel stayed in the game, but Rodriguez tried planting like he was throwing off the mound and decided he was in too much pain to go on.
He was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain, with the X-Rays coming back negative as the Sox won 6-2 in extra innings on Xander Bogaerts’ walk-off grand slam.
After the game, Sox manager Alex Cora gave a less-than-promising update on Rodriguez, who missed most of last season and the beginning of this campaign with a right knee injury.
“Actually I was just talking to (head trainer Brad Pearson), it looks bad, “Cora said after the game, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “So we’ll see, we’ll wait, but yeah it looks bad. He’s moving around, which is encouraging, but obviously we’ve got to go through the tests and all that and see what happens.”
Rodriguez has been rolling the season, owning an 11-3 record with a 3.44 ERA.
Here are some other notes from Saturday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
— Although things took an unfortunate turn with Rodriguez, plus the Sox coughing up their one-run lead an inning later, it was a happy ending at Fenway Park on Saturday.
With the bases loaded in the 10th inning, Bogaerts blasted a walk-off grand slam to straightaway center field to give the Sox the victory.
Blue Jays: "We'd rather face Xander instead of J.D."
Xander: "You sure?" pic.twitter.com/F0oARMfiEV— NESN (@NESN) July 14, 2018
It was a fitting ending to a victory the shortstop played a huge role in. With the Sox down by one in the ninth, Bogaerts led off the frame with a double, and scored the next at-bat on a two-bagger from Jackie Bradley Jr.
Bogaerts has hit well periodically throughout the season, and he’s in the midst of one of those hot stretches now. In his last 10 games, he owns a .378 average with a trio of doubles and as many home runs, with 18 RBIs and 10 runs scored.
At 25-years-old, Bogaerts is showing just how dangerous of a bat he can be in the middle of the order.
— Boston’s lone run up until the ninth inning came from, of course, J.D. Martinez.
The Sox slugger entered the game with a share of the MLB lead for home runs with Jose Ramirez at 28, but Martinez smacked his 29th dinger of the season in the fourth inning to reclaim the league lead.
Life's guarantees:
— Death
— Taxes
— J.D. Martinez hitting dingers pic.twitter.com/d7EBHeiKsJ— NESN (@NESN) July 14, 2018
— Mookie Betts had another solid game, going 3-for-4 as he extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
— As exciting as the Red Sox have been and with how many games they have won this season, it’s hard to believe Bogaerts’ walk-off was just the second of the campaign. Hanley Ramirez’s single against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 5 was the only other walk-off the Sox have had this season.
And how long has it been since the Sox’s last walk-off grand slam?
Xander Bogaerts is the first Red Sox player to hit a walk-off grand slam since Rico Brogna on August 14, 2000 vs. Tampa Bay.
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) July 14, 2018
There’s a name from the past.
