Boston left hander Eduardo Rodriguez gets set to throw a pitch at Fenway Park earlier this season against the Tampa Bay Rays. Rodriguez pitched seven innings to help lead the Red Sox over the Dodgers Friday night. Photo by Delaney Gardner
Rafael Devers, Christian Vazquez, and Xander Bogaerts homered and Eduardo Rodriguez had another solid start Friday night, as the Boston Red Sox beat the best team in baseball the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1 at Fenway Park. The game was the start of a three game weekend interleague series, and a rematch of the 2018 World Series won by Boston 4 games to 1. The Sox have now five straight games.
Devers started the night off well for Boston (50-41), with a two out solo homer to left center in the first inning off Los Angeles starter Kenta Maeda. Alex Verdugo tied the score for the Dodgers with his solo homer off Rodriguez in the top of the second. The homer was his 10th, but was all the offense mustered by the visitors. Vazquez provided the game winner with his 15th homerun, another solo shot into the monster seats in the bottom of the second. Devers scored Betts on a double in the sixth to extend the lead to 3-1, and Brock Holt added an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh. Then the rain came.
After a one hour rain delay, Boston continued to add on in the bottom of the seventh. Betts hit a sacrifice fly to score Michael Chavis, and then Bogaerts capped off the scoring with a three run homer to left.
Devers and Vazquez had a pair of hits each to lead the offense. Rodriguez (10-4) allowed just one run on five hits, with two walks and 10 strikeouts in 7.0 innings. Boston is now 10-0 this season when Rodriguez pitches at least six innings. Alex Verdugo led Los Angeles (60-33) with two hits. Maeda (7-6) took the pitching loss allowing three runs on four hits in 5.2 innings.
Game two of the series is Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. Boston sends Chris Sale to the hill, to be opposed by Ross Stripling for LA.
