Martinez lifts Red Sox past Rays
J.D. Martinez homered and drove in four runs, including an RBI double in the ninth inning following Tampa Bay’s curious decision to put a position player on the mound, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Rays 9-4 Monday night.
Eduardo Rodriguez (12-4) allowed two hits over seven scoreless innings to win his sixth straight decision. He limited the sputtering Rays to a pair of infield singles and four walks before being replaced by Nathan Eovaldi, who returned from a threemonth stint on the injured list to pitch for the first time since April 17.
Eovaldi, who had surgery to remove a loose body in his right elbow, labored through two-thirds of an inning, losing the shutout on Travis d’arnaud’s RBI double. Austin Meadows also doubled home a run, and Yandy Diaz added an RBI single off the right-hander.
Despite cutting the lead to five, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash sent out rookie infielder Mike Brosseau to pitch the ninth. Brosseau, who started the game at second base, allowed doubles to Xander Bogaerts and Martinez. He was the fifth player to pitch for the Rays in the game.
Major League Baseball and the players union agreed in March on a rule change for 2020 prohibiting position players from pitching through the ninth inning unless the player’s team is winning or losing by six or more runs.
BREWERS’ ALL-STAR WOODRUFF COULD MISS SIX WEEKS: All-star pitcher Brandon Woodruff could miss up to six weeks with a left oblique strain, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Monday. The right-hander allowed four runs in three innings against Arizona on Sunday before exiting after throwing two pitches in the fourth. He underwent an MRI and was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday. Righthanded reliever Burch Smith was recalled from Triple-a San Antonio. Woodruff (11-3, 3.75 ERA) has been the most effective starter for the Brewers, who entered Monday’s game at 53-48 and two games behind the Cubs in the Central Division. Milwaukee is 16-4 in games he started.
WHITE SOX HOST FIRST MLB GAME WITH POLE-TO-POLE NETTING: The Chicago White Sox became the first team in the major leagues to extend protective netting from foul pole to foul pole, starting Monday night against the Miami Marlins. The extra netting at Guaranteed Rate Field was in place for Chicago’s first home game since the All-star break. The White Sox announced the safety measure last month, a week after a foul ball at the park sent a woman to the hospital with her head bleeding. On Sunday in Cleveland, another fan was hurt by a foul. Indians star Francisco Lindor said he was told his line drive put a 3-yearold boy in the hospital.