The Red Sox have started the second half just as they ended the first, rolling to their fourth straight series win with a 5-2 victory over the Yankees in NY.
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2007 Ryan Garko hit a game-tying pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning and singled home the winning run in the 11th to give Cleveland a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Wright originally was slated to pitch Saturday, but Red Sox manager John Farrell called him at 3 p.m. Thursday and asked him to start the second-half opener.
NEW YORK (AP) – The big-name Boston Red Sox got a lift from their unheralded Venezuelan battery to win their season-high sixth straight game.
Rodriguez, who turns 41 later this month, made just his second start of the month Friday. Carlos Beltran had a two-run single, and Brian McCann hit an RBI grounder as first baseman Hanley Ramirez bounced his throw to second, eliminating the possibility of an inning-ending double play.
Rodriguez is hitting. 220 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in 186 at-bats, including. The one hit was a ball that would have been an out if it traveled in a different direction towards Wright.
Wright improved to 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA in five career appearances against NY.
Now Boston hopes Eduardo Rodriguez has fixed his flaws during a two-week stint in the minor leagues.
“Now, I’m not thinking about the tipping stuff”, Rodriguez said. Or maybe they just want to milk the business side as much as they can. Rodriguez had previously struggled throwing to Leon, posting an 8.03 ERA in five starts, but the duo cruised early on a steady diet of fastballs and sliders. That came back to haunt them in the sixth.
Sabathia went 5.1 innings, giving up five runs on nine hits while striking out two. Boston chipped away at the big lefty by reaching base mostly on soft, well-placed contact and a couple of NY errors until Leon’s homer.
As for his latest foray at first base, “I think it’s a mental test for him”, Girardi said. Brad Ziegler and Ross followed with an inning apiece, and Koji Uehara finished the four-hitter for his fifth save, his third since closer Craig Kimbrel hurt a knee.
Sandy Leon could not remember the last time he put so much force into a swing and drove it over 400 feet.
While it won’t be surprising if Wright and Porcello don’t duplicate their first-half successes, Boston’s 2016 fate rests in the high-priced left arm of Price, who whittled his ERA down to 4.34 with a nice outing the day before the break. “As soon as he squared it up, I don’t think there was any doubt where it might land”.
Bradley Jr. led the Sox with three hits and two runs scored on the day.
The Red Sox also expect to activate Junichi Tazawa from the disabled list Tuesday and bring Joe Kelly up from Triple-A Pawtucket soon.
Following a 5-2 stinker on Saturday, Girardi admitted the enormity of avoiding a sweep at home to kick off a 10-game homestand, one that includes a four-game series with the first-place Baltimore Orioles on Monday.
Matt Barnes relieved Rodriguez to open the eighth and allowed a solo homer to Chase Headley before recording the next three outs.
Clay Buchholz has been moved to the Boston bullpen to clear space in the rotation for newly acquired All-Star Drew Pomeranz.
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“The Red Sox know that they need to reinforce the middle of the lineup…” Rodriguez also saw his season ERA drop to 7.18 from 8.59.
