Red Sox take opener from Cardinals

St. Louis — Mookie Betts hasn't felt great about his performances lately, even if the results for the Boston Red Sox right fielder look just fine.

Betts homered and drove in two runs to back six quality innings by Eduardo Rodriguez and the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 on Tuesday night in the opener of a two-game interleague series.

"I feel OK," Betts said. "I had a good first at-bat and then not really another good one after that. So I'm just trying to put it all together."

Betts went 1 for 5 and is batting .371 (13 for 35) with five homers and five doubles over his last eight games. He won AL player of the week Monday, but still says he is searching for better rhythm.

"I just feel like I'm not really consistent yet," Betts said. "I have a good game and then a couple bad ones. That's part of the game. It's going to take a while."

Jackie Bradley Jr. had two of Boston's six hits, including a home run, and Rodriguez (2-1) allowed three runs and five hits. Rodriguez walked two, struck out five and threw a season-high 110 pitches.

"Overall he was solid," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "We played a strong game, I think, in every phase here tonight. Particularly some very good defensive plays."

Betts began the game with his seventh homer and 10th career leadoff shot, tying Jacoby Ellsbury for the franchise record. Bradley added a solo homer in the second for a 2-0 lead.