G55: Red Sox 7, Rays 1

Rays    - 000 000 010 - 1  7  0
Red Sox - 003 220 00x - 7 11  0

Rubby De La Rosa (7-4-0-0-8, 105), filling in for the injured and ineffective Clay Buchholz, was nothing short of superb in his first major league appearance of the season.

Brock Holt and Jackie Bradley each hit two-run home runs, and Grady Sizemore and Jonathan Herrera (3-for-4) both scored twice, as the Red Sox won their sixth straight game.

RDLR (acquired in 2012's famous Punto Trade with the Dodgers) was dominant, allowing two singles with two outs in the second and a double with two gone in the third. Then he retired 11 straight Rays before a one-out single in the seventh, which was promptly erased on a double play. Alex Wilson pitched the final two innings.

Jason Collette, ESPNBoston:

De La Rosa had one of the best outings of the season by a Boston pitcher. He induced 17 swings and misses by Tampa Bay batters, which trailed only the 20 swings and misses John Lackey had against Atlanta on May 28. While his fastball hit triple-digits at one point, it was his changeup that was most impressive on the evening. According to BrooksBaseball.net, De La Rosa threw the pitch 30 times, enticing 20 swings and generating 11 empty swings.

The first four Boston batters in the third inning reached base against Jake Odorizzi (3.1-6-5-1-6, 84) and three of them scored. Herrera grounded a single to center before Holt blasted his first career home run into the Red Sox bullpen. Xander Bogaerts walked and A.J. Pierzynski singled to right. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and XB scored on Mike Carp's sacrifice fly to center.

In the fourth, Sizemore singled and stole second. He went to third as Jackie Bradley grounded out to second and scored on Herrera's bunt single up the first base line. Odorizzi gloved the ball, but missed a swipe tag of Herrera. He tried to toss the ball to James Loney at first, but the first baseman couldn't catch it. That was the end of Odorizzi's night. Cesar Ramos struck out Holt, but another wild pitch put Herrera on second. Bogaerts was walked intentionally and Pierzynski followed with an RBI-single to center.

Ramos got the first two outs in the fifth, but then ran into trouble. Sizemore lined a single to center and came around as Bradley went deep into the Boston bullpen. It was his first homer of the season. Herrera and Holt followed with singles, but Ramos retired Bogaerts on a fly to right.

Wilson's first batter in the eighth, Kevin Kiermaier, hit a deep drive to left center. Bradley tracked the ball to the wall and leapt, but the ball caromed off the wall just beyond his glove and struck him in the face. He dropped to the track and Kiermaier circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run. Bradley seemed alright, though, and stayed in the game.

Rays starting catcher Ali Solis had to leave the game in the third under similar circumstances. He was batting when De La Rosa's 0-2 pitch in the dirt bounced up and struck him on the bridge of the nose. After a long delay, he walked off the field. Jose Molina finished the at-bat and caught the rest of the game.

Jake Odorizzi / Rubby De La Rosa

Holt, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Pierzynski, C
Ortiz, DH
Carp, 1B
Gomes, LF
Sizemore, RF
Bradley, CF
Herrera, 2B

The war continues!

RDLR, who had a 3.04 ERA in 10 Pawtucket starts:

I've been working on keeping my ball down, throwing strikes, working with my offspeeds, mix it up a little bit, making the hitter confused. It's worked. I'm happy with the results, a lot of ground balls. I made a lot of adjustments this year compared to last year. This year, I feel like my arm is completely loose. I feel I can get through my pitches, throw the ball anywhere.

Over his last 13 games, Xander Bogaerts is hitting .434, with a 1.143 OPS. ... He has had three hits in each of his last three games, going 9-for-14.

Dustin Pedroia left last night's game with a right hand contusion. ... Ryan Lavarnway will need surgery on his left wrist. ... On this date in 1970, the Red Sox lost to the White Sox 22-13.