Looking to return some consistency to a starting rotation lacking it top to bottom, Eduardo Rodriguez came out and threw five solid innings in Detroit on Friday to help the Red Sox maintain an early lead.
In a rain-shortened outing, as storms rolled through southern Michigan late Friday evening, Rodriguez gave up just one run on four hits in five innings, limiting hard contact to keep the Tigers at bay in one of his better starts of the season to pick up his ninth win in a 9-6 victory.
The sole blemish of the day came in the fourth, when Rodriguez gave up back-to-back hits with two outs, including a double into the left field corner to bring home Detroit’s only run, though a slow move to the ball from J.D. Martinez — filling in for Andrew Benintendi — allowed Brandon Dixon to sneak under the tag.
While Rodriguez has had more than his fair share of help over the last two seasons, Friday’s win was all his own, as just three runs were enough for him to take a two-run lead into the sixth, when the rain started falling at Comerica. Jaimer Candelario’s fourth-inning double was the only solid contact any Tiger managed all evening, and Rodriguez struck out four in his five innings of work.
Rodriguez’s ERA dropped to 4.65 as he continues to bounce back from a tough start to the year.
The Red Sox took a 3-1 lead into the rain delay, and put up six more runs after the long wait to pull out a 9-6 win.
Devers belts 16th homer of the season
Rafael Devers stayed scorching Detroit, slicing one the other way that just snuck over the left field wall for his 16th homer of the year and his fourth in four games since the Red Sox returned from London.
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