Rodriguez wins 18th, still has chance at 20

BOSTON — A year after t heir record- setting, World Series championship season, the Boston Red Sox are looking for meaning wherever they can find it.

Long ago finished in the AL East race and on the verge of wild-card elimination as well, the defending champs managed to keep alive Eduardo Rodriguez’s chances of a 20-win season, barely saving his 18th victory while beating the San Francisco Giants 5-4 on Thursday.

“There was a lot of talk about that,” said manager Alex Cora, who led the team two 108 wins and the title in his first season on the bench. “We set the rotation for him to get as many wins as possible. If we didn’t win this one, we probably make an adjustment but he’s still got a shot.”

After entering the season as the No. 5 starter behind ace Chris Sale, Cy Young winners David Price and Rick Porcello and World Series hero Nathan Eovaldi, Rodriguez (18-6) has established himself as Boston’s best pitcher in an otherwise forgettable season.

He struck out10 over six innings of two-hit ball, walking two and allowing one unearned run to reach 191 1/3 innings pitched and 199 strikeouts for the season — both career highs, by far. He is scheduled to start again on Tuesday against Texas and then again against the Orioles on the final day of the season.

“He’s been a model of consistency,” said Brandon Workman, who pitched into and out of a basesloaded jam in the ninth for his 15th save. “He’s close to 20 wins and he’s close to 200 innings pitched. That’s two good benchmarks for him to reach.”

Xander Bogaerts had a pair of RBI singles to drive in three runs, and Rafael Devers had two RBIs for Boston, which would be eliminated from the wildcard race with one more loss or Tampa Bay win.

Mike Yastrzemski, the grandson of Red Sox Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, was supposed to get the day off “to take it all in,” but manager Bruce Bochy sent him up as a pinchhitter in the eighth. He singled and scored as the Giants cut a four-run deficit to 5-3.

He came up again in the ninth after Workman loaded the bases with nobody out, then struck out Brandon Crawford.