The Boston Red Sox continue to win when Eduardo Rodriguez is on the mound.
The pitcher gave up two earned runs on six hits while striking out seven over 5 2/3 innings of work in Boston’s 8-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. He was pulled after just 89 pitches, but he had done enough to earn his sixth win of the season in his 100th career start.
The Red Sox have found ways to win in Rodriguez’s start even when he isn’t pitching well. They’re 9-3 when the southpaw starts — something that manager Alex Cora says “just happens” when he was asked how his squad is able to come up victorious during his starts.
“There’s no explanation,” he said on NESN’s Red Sox postgame coverage. “… It just happens. I think it’s the nature of this game. Some guys get the run support, others don’t. But I don’t think there’s an explanation there.”
Tuesday also marked the sixth straight start Rodriguez has pitched at least five innings after starting the season on a shaky note. The southpaw had three appearances that went into the fifth inning or beyond.
Rodriguez has been consistent of late and if he can continue his strong stretch and if the Red Sox can continue to win in his starts, it only will spell bad news for opponents.
Here are some other notes from Tuesday’s Red Sox-Royals game:
— J.D. Martinez hit a triple in the sixth inning, his first since Sept. 2018.
The slugger went 3-for-5 on the night with two runs and an RBI.
— Brock Holt extended his hitting streak to six games with a go-ahead RBI-double in the sixth. He’s batting .400 with two doubles, four RBIs and five runs since he returned from the injured list.
“I’m healthy and I’m feeling good,” Holt told NESN’s Guerin Austin after the game. “… I’m trying to help out however I can.”
— Eduardo Nuñez pinch-hit for Holt and hit a three-run home run to left.
Both Holt and Nuñez combined for three hits and four RBIs from the six spot.
— The offense recorded a total of 10 hits in the win.
“We crushed balls tonight,” Cora said on NESN’s postgame coverage.
— Billy Hamilton learned the hard way that running on Jackie Bradley Jr. is a bad idea. The Royals outfielder tried to tag up to second base on a fly out, but Bradley threw him out to end the fifth.
— Brandon Workman tossed yet another scoreless inning.
