Marlins 8, Red Sox 4: J.D. Martinez breaks slump, Alex Verdugo collects three hits in loss

There are 10 games left in this dismal Red Sox season, and they can’t finish fast enough.

The Red Sox were behind early and couldn’t get on track in an 8-4 loss to the Marlins in Miami. Here were the takeaways as they dropped to 18-32:

Starting pitching woes return

A night after Tanner Houck’s dazzling debut provided hope for the Red Sox starting rotation, Mike Kickham proved it would be just a glimmer. The 30-year-old journeyman earned a second start after striking out eight in four innings over the Rays, but took a big step back Wednesday, giving up six runs on seven hits, including two homers, in just 2⅔ innings.

Garrett Cooper’s two-run homer in the first put the Marlins up 2-0, but the real damage came in the third, after the Red Sox cut the lead in half. Kickham served up two doubles before Jorge Alfaro smashed a no-doubt, two-run blast to right that put the Marlins up 6-1 and ended Kickham’s night. The Red Sox couldn’t recover.

With Kickham’s performance, the Red Sox’ starters ERA dropped to 6.22, which is the second-highest in the majors. It was also the 18th time in the Red Sox’ 50 games that a starter lasted three or innings or fewer, tied with the Tigers for most in MLB.

J.D. Martinez ends cold stretch

It’s been a miserable season, to put it lightly, for J.D. Martinez. But the designated hitter finally got out of his funk on Wednesday night.

After hitting a sacrifice fly in the third to bring the Red Sox within one, Martinez lifted a two-run homer on an opposite field shot to right in the seventh, which made it an 8-4 game. Martinez had been mired in a 1-for-31 slump, and had even dropped below the Mendoza line at .199 before the blast, which was just his fifth of the season to go along with 22 RBIs.

Martinez hasn’t had many reasons to smile this season, but after the homer, NESN cameras caught him taking a ride in a ball cart in the dugout, with teammates pushing him along, as he grinned ear to ear.

“To see him have the power to get a ball out – oppo here, you’ve got to kill it to get a home run,” Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said. “That’s really good to see. And following it with a base hit. I thought good swings all night from him. Same thing. I know he’s been working hard and he’s in that cage all the time, hitting extra on the field. We just hope, we hope he follows it up tomorrow with another good one.”

All three of Martinez’s batted balls on Wednesday were hit to the opposite field, which is a key to his production.

“I think that’s important for him,” Roenicke said. “I know when he’s going well, that’s what he’s doing a lot of. Then with the off-speed, he catches it out front to pull it. When he’s going well, his slot to right-center is big for him.
“That’s what he works on all the time. So, you see it in the game, you hope it can continue, and he gets locked in and we see that good hitter again.”

Alex Verdugo continues to bring energy

The Red Sox may be well out of the playoff race, but Alex Verdugo continues to put in a full effort in every night. That showed in the first at-bat of the game, when he hustled out an infield single as he slid into first base. That jump started a 3-for-4 night for the outfielder as he hit a double and reached base four times and scored two runs.

With his performance, he improved his season average to .318, which leads the team, with an .884 OPS. He’s consistently impressed in his first season with the Red Sox, and hasn’t given in to any pressure that might have come when he was traded by the Dodgers for Mookie Betts.

“He is a good player. When we got him, we knew he was a really good hitter,” Roenicke said. “I know some of the coaches with L.A., and they told me that. They told me he was a good defender also. So, this is a good player. I know there was probably some pressure coming in, trying to take over for Mookie. And I think if we had fans in the stands, I think they would really enjoy this guy with the energy, the emotions that he has out there.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/33HwKoO