Martinez helps Red Sox end slide with 6-0 win over Orioles

BALTIMORE (AP) — J.D. Martinez homered and drove in three runs to back a dominant pitching performance by Nathan Eovaldi, and the Boston Red Sox broke a four-game skid and bolstered their playoff hopes by beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-0 Wednesday night.

Hunter Renfroe also went deep for the Red Sox, who failed to score three runs in any game during their losing streak. Although Boston didn't completely recover its offensive mojo, the 13-hit attack was more than enough to get past the last-place Orioles.

The Red Sox entered trailing the Yankees by two games for the top AL wild card and holding a half-game edge over Seattle for the second slot. Toronto was also in the mix, one game behind Boston.

Martinez hit his 28th homer in the second inning for a 1-0 lead, and the Red Sox used a broken-bat single and an error to tack on two unearned runs in the sixth.

Eovaldi (11-9) took it from there, limiting Baltimore to four hits and striking out seven over six innings. The right-hander was 0-2 in his previous eight starts, including a loss Friday night in which he yielded seven runs to the Yankees.

Boston had seven hits after five innings with only one run to show for it against rookie Zac Lowther, who yielded 10 runs and 12 hits over his previous two starts against the Red Sox.

Lowther (1-3) was pulled after Rafael Devers cracked his bat on a leadoff single in the sixth. Xander Bogaerts subsequently reached on an error by third baseman Kelvin Gutiérrez before Martinez smacked a two-run double.

Alex Verdugo added a two-run single in the eighth, and Renfroe hit his 30th homer in the ninth.

LANDSLIDE MVP

CF Cedric Mullins was honored before the game as the 2021 Orioles MVP after receiving every first-place vote from a panel of media that covers the team on a regular basis....

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Martinez-helps-Red-Sox-end-slide-with-6-0-win-16497970.php