Verdugo, Red Sox beat Marlins 5-2 in rain-shortened game

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Verdugo hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, J.D. Martinez drove in two runs with a double and the Boston Red Sox beat the Miami Marlins 5-2 Friday night in a game that was called after 5 1/2 innings because of rain.

A drizzle at the onset grew into a downpour, with puddles forming throughout the infield despite the grounds crew's efforts.

“As players we knew. We saw the field. We were out there. We knew that there was no way we were going to keep going with this game. It just was getting dangerous,” Verdugo said.

With a delay clearly on the way, Verdugo said the Red Sox wanted to be the ones who broke the tie — just in case the game couldn't continue in those conditions.

"I don’t know how the infielders were actually able to throw the ball, either. It felt like every ball I would get was just waterlogged," Verdugo said. “I was kind of lucky I was in the outfield. The infield started getting muddy and pretty bad.”

Adam Ottavino slogged through a soggy top of the sixth before umpires suspended play. After a delay of 1 hour, 25 minutes, the game was called, with Ottavino awarded his second save.

It was the second straight game the Red Sox have had to sit through a delay. Boston’s home game Wednesday night against Atlanta was also interrupted because of rain, and the delay lasted almost three hours before the Red Sox finished off a 9-5 win over the Atlanta Braves early Thursday.

With the weekend series the only visit to Boston for the Marlins this season, the clubs tried to squeeze in the opener despite the ominous forecast for Friday night and another Saturday that wasn’t any better.

Martín Pérez (3-2) pitched five innings and got the win, holding Miami to two runs on five hits and struck out four.

“Every pitch was hard in these conditions to...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Verdugo-Red-Sox-beat-Marlins-5-2-in-16211750.php