Conditions were less-than-ideal Friday night when the Miami Marlins came to Fenway Park to take on the Boston Red Sox. However, the game was played, resulting in a six-inning Red Sox win. The two teams will hope for better weather in upcoming games as the forecast does not look promising.
Pitching
The Miami Marlins had rookie Cody Poteet on the mound. The 26-year-old was coming off a seven-inning performance in which he boasted no earned runs and only three hits. However, the rookie got rocked in Fenway, giving up five runs on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Despite the stat sheet, the Marlins shouldn’t worry as the rookie was playing in the most difficult weather conditions.
For Boston, Martin Perez was on the bump. After having an atrocious start to the season, the 30-year-old had brought his ERA down from a once 5.93 to a 3.55 ERA. Perez struggled early in the second as he gave up a two-run homer to Jorge Alfaro. Perez would then redeem himself by pitching lights out the rest of the game. In total, Perez went five innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs with four strikeouts.
Offense
The Marlins offense has been hung out dry for a lot of games this year. In fact, they average 3.93 runs per game which is currently 23rd in the league. However, Miami got Starling Marte back, which would for sure boost the offense. And in his first at-bat since returning from the IL, Marte doubled to left-center. In the second inning, catcher Jorge Alfaro got a cutter that stayed right out over the plate, sending it way out to the power alley in right field for a two-run shot.
Down 2-0, J.D. Martinez ripped one into the corner in left field, allowing two runs to score and tying the game with one swing. The Red Sox weren’t done yet. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Alex Verdugo had two in scoring position with one out. Verdugo jumped on the first pitch, hitting a hanging curveball that carried up and over the fence in right field, giving the Red Sox a 5-2 lead. Fast-forwarding to the middle of the sixth inning, the tarp finally came out. And after way too long of a delay, the game was called.
Up Next
The Marlins will play Game 2 of the three-game series against the Red Sox on Saturday, May 29th, at 4:10 PM EST. Rookie Trevor Rogers will take the bump for Miami, while Nathan Eovaldi will get the ball for Boston.