The Red Sox offense was due for a night like this.
Coming in ice cold after managing only five runs over their previous 28 innings, the Red Sox lineup took out its frustrations on Luis Castillo, clobbering the talented Seattle Mariners starter for seven runs, six extra-base hits and three towering home runs.
The end result was an emphatic and badly needed 9-4 win, breaking the Red Sox four-game losing streak and putting the club in position for a series win ahead of the upcoming west coast road trip.
The Red Sox wasted no time going after the two-time all-star, tagging him for four runs right out of the chute. Alex Verdugo led off the first by legging out an infield grounder, Masataka Yoshida immediately drove him in with an RBI triple, and Justin Turner and Triston Casas provided the exclamation marks, going deep for a two-run homer and solo shot, respectively.
Things took a turn in the fourth when Nick Pivetta endured a similar mid-game meltdown as Tanner Houck on Monday. After largely cruising through the first 3.2 innings, Pivetta gave up a single to Eugenio Suárez, walked Cal Raleigh and then the floodgates opened. Teoscar Hernandez delivered a two-run triple that got underneath the glove of the diving Jarren Duran, and immediately afterwards Taylor Trammell took Pivetta deep for a game-tying two-run home run.
Pivetta ultimately allowed five straight two-out baserunners, the latter three for extra bases, but the Mariners never took the lead. Boston quickly seized the momentum back with three runs in the fifth to pull back in front, and to his credit Pivetta ultimately came back out and gave the Red Sox the length they needed.
“He was good early on, he kind of ran out of gas in that inning,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He gave us enough, 5.1 (innings), four runs, when we’re swinging the bat well that’s good enough for us.”
The fact that Boston did so much damage against Castillo was particularly impressive, as he came into the game with a 2.70 ERA and had been as reliable as any pitcher in the American League. He would up allowing a season-high seven runs (five earned) over five innings, giving up six hits, two walks and three homers while striking out six.
“He’s got some all-star caliber stuff and I thought we did a great job grinding him down and making him work and taking advantage of some mistakes,” Turner said.
Yoshida powered the offense by going 2 for 5 with three RBI and two runs scored, Turner was 2 for 5 with the two-run home run, and Duran was 2 for 4 with a solo home run and an RBI single, bouncing back after starting off with two strikeouts and the missed catch attempt that led to the two-run triple.
The bullpen also rebounded after a tough couple of days. Ryan Sherriff and Justin Garza both pitched scoreless innings in their Red Sox debut, and in between them Josh Winckowski posted 1.2 scoreless innings.
The Red Sox (23-20) wrap up the series and the homestand against Seattle (21-21) on Wednesday, with Brayan Bello (2-1, 5.01 ERA) set to take the mound against Seattle’s Marco Gonzales (3-0, 4.42). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford both enjoyed strong performances in their rehab outings Tuesday night in Worcester’s 9-4 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Whitlock got the start and allowed one run over four innings, scattering five hits with no walks while striking out four. He threw 49 pitches, 35 for strikes, and the only blemish on his day came on a solo home run by Jake Cave.
Crawford’s line wound up being remarkably similar, as also allowed only one run on a solo shot by Jordan Qsar over three innings of work. He gave up three hits, walked no one and had four strikeouts while throwing 41 pitches, 26 for strikes.
In all likelihood Crawford will now be activated ahead of this weekend’s series in San Diego, while Whitlock is expected to make at least one more rehab start on Sunday.