Eovaldi Shuts Down Twins in Red Sox Debut, Cruises to 3-0 Win
Nathan Eovaldi’s debut in a Boston Red Sox uniform went about as well as you could’ve asked for. The righty tossed seven shutout innings on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, en route to a 3-0 win as the Sox took the series.
Eovaldi struck out five and allowed just four hits over his seven dominant frames in his first start since the Red Sox acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays last Wednesday. He probably could’ve gone even further if Alex Cora wanted him to; it took just 82 pitches for Eovaldi to get through seven.
Here’s a look at his first strikeout as a member of the Red Sox, getting Brian Dozier to bite on a 3-2 slider to end the first inning.
Eovaldi also got a little help in the third inning from center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who ran down a deep fly ball to center field and lunged to snag it just before rolling into the wall. NESN color commentator Jerry Remy described the catch as one of the best he’s ever seen.
Check out Bradley’s spectacular play below:
No Red Sox homered on Sunday, but J.D. Martinez drove in all three runs with a pair of hits. He doubled in the second inning to put the Red Sox up 2-0, then tacked on an extra score with a line drive single in the fourth.
Craig Kimbrel closed things out for his 33rd save of the season, but it wasn’t a perfect effort. He hit Jorge Polanco with a pitch, then threw a wild pitch to send Polanco to second base. But he got Dozier to line out to Red Sox shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin, who doubled off Polanco at second base to end the ballgame.
The Red Sox ended up taking three out of four games against the Twins to kick off their current 10-game homestand, which concludes with four against the New York Yankees starting Thursday.
Up Next: The Red Sox (74-33) take on the Philadelphia Phillies (58-47) in a quick two-game set starting on Monday. David Price (11-6, 4.17 ERA) takes on Aaron Nola (12-3, 2.42 ERA) in the series opener.
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