E-Rod sidesteps surgery, not DL
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
Twenty-four hours after Eduardo Rodriguez sprained his ankle in a collision at first base, the first word trickled in about the severity of the sprain.
It sounds bad, but not as bad could be.
“There’s some serious damage in the ankle,” said Red Sox manager it Alex Cora after the club’s 5-2 win over Toronto. “No surgery required. He’s going to have a book for two weeks, and then we will reevaluate to see where he’s at.”
Cora said “it sounds promising” that Rodriguez will not need ligament surgery.
He also said the ballclub is “optimistic” that Rodriguez will be able to pitch again this season.
But those two weeks of rest bring the Sox right up to the trading deadline. Buckle up for speculation about how hard they will push to acquire another starter. It’s difficult to imagine them saying they are content with what they’ve got now, but it’s too early to say.
Rodriguez is just as curious as everyone else to find out how quickly he will heal.
“I mean, they just told me there’s ligament damage and it’s going to be two weeks, something like that,” said Rodriguez, who went on the disabled list before the game. “We’re going to check it in two weeks and see if we were able to take care of it.”
Rodriguez indicated he did not believe that this injury rivaled the severity of his right knee problem that required offseason surgery, costing him much of spring training and the early portion of the season.
“I don’t think it is going to be the same,” he said. “Just wait a couple of weeks and see how it is.”
After looking again at the collision where Lourdes Gurriel Jr. rolled over his right foot, Rodriguez feels the outcome might be a fortunate one.
“The way I feel, I didn’t feel like it was that bad, but when I saw the video I thought it was probably worse than the way I feel,” said Rodriguez. “I feel lucky it wasn’t as bad as it looked on video. It could have been worse.”
X-man sequel a big hit
In his first at-bat after hitting Saturday’s walkoff grand slam in the 10th inning, Xander Bogaerts hit a solo home run to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. It’s the first time in his career he hit homers in consecutive plate appearances.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Bogaerts became the first player to homer in his first plate appearance after a walkoff grand slam since Alex Rodriguez in April of 2007. The last Sox player to do it was Jim Rice in July 1984.
Bogaerts has four homers and 20 RBI over his last 11 games. He passed last year’s RBI total with 64 RBI . . . .
Brock Holt’s RBI single later in the first built a 2-0 lead, but starter Brian Johnson (42⁄3 innings, two hits, four walks, five strikeouts) gave up a tworun homer to Teoscar Hernandez in the third to tie the game.
But that was the end of the road for the Jays’ offense. Five Red Sox relievers combined for 41⁄3 scoreless innings in which they did not walk anyone, allowed six hits and struck out six.
JBJ knocks ’em in
Jackie Bradley Jr.’s RBI double in the fifth was the game-winner, with Bogaerts and Holt also adding RBI to provide the cushion.
“Ending on a win is always good,” said Bradley. “Hopefully we’ll build some momentum going into the break and once we get back, continue.”
Bradley now has RBI in his last three games and nine total over his last 10 games. He’s now had 10 gametying or go-ahead RBI this season.
“The way Jackie’s swinging the bat right now, he’s not only hitting the ball solid, he’s putting in quality atbats, which is very important,” said Cora. “The walk a few days ago, before the grand slam, today driving the ball off the wall. You can see the last month and a half, two months, he’s been a good hitter, good big league hitter, and that’s what we expected.”
Holt is batting .337 (29-for-86) with runners on base this season.
Heady numbers
The Red Sox are the fifth team since 1961 to win as many as 68 games in their first 98 of the season. The average number of total wins of the previous four teams come the end of their seasons was 109.
They are the 20th team since 1900 to win 68 in their first 98. More than half (11) went on to win the World Series, while 17 won the pennant . . . .
The Red Sox are 32-13 against the AL East this season, 18-5 at Fenway. … They have won eight straight day games and 18 of their past 20.