Martín Pérez was dealing Friday night.
Until he wasn't.
The Red Sox pitcher threw two 1-2-3 innings before getting tagged for five runs in the third in Boston's eventual 10-2 loss to the Washington Nationals at Fenway Park.
Pérez seemed to lose the fire out of nowhere, and he explained what happened after the game.
"I think in the third inning I was throwing too much pitches around the zone and getting behind the count. I have a blister on my finger, too. It was bothering me a little bit ... especially with the breaking pitch," Perez told reporters during his Zoom postgame press conference. "I feel it when I finish the pitches."
Perez, however, seems confident he will be OK to pitch in five days.
"Turn the page," he said. "I know what I can do and I've been doing good. And I'm just gonna prepare for my next start."
Here are some other notes from Friday's Red Sox-Nationals game:
-- Rafael Devers collected his 100th career double in the loss. And he made some history while doing so.
First, here's the two-bagger:
Second, here's where Devers stands among the greats:
-- Nathan Eovaldi was supposed to start Wednesday, and while a calf cramp had pushed that outing to Sunday, it's now seems like he won't pitch the finale against Washington.
Manager Ron Roenicke said after the game the Red Sox will push Eovaldi back "a bit farther." And even though this is the best the right-hander has felt, he's still not 100 percent.
-- Max Scherzer was brilliant on the mound, striking out 11 without walking a batter.
And that put him in the history books.
-- The Red Sox look to stop their two-game skid Saturday with Game 2 against the Nationals at 7:30 p.m. ET.
