BOSTON (AP) — Alex Verdugo hit a three-run homer, 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.
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 getting 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.
Rookie Cody Poteet (2-1) took his first loss. Poteet pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on four hits and two walks. Poteet also struck out six.
Jorge Alfaro hit a two-run homer for the Marlins in the second. Martinez hit a two-run double to tie it in the third, then Verdugo broke the tie in the fifth with a shot that cleared the Marlins’ bullpen.
DOUBLE DEVERS
The interleague series features two members of the Devers family going head-to-head. Boston third baseman Rafael Devers faced his younger cousin, José Devers, a rookie infielder with the Marlins, for the first time in their careers.
Rafael, 24, batted fifth for the Red Sox and gave his 21-year-old cousin a grin when he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the second. But it was José who had the last laugh after Rafael struck out on three pitches. The younger Devers flashed an even bigger grin as his older cousin walked back to the dugout after missing badly on an 0-2 fastball.
Boston manager Alex Cora said Rafael Devers provided a scouting report on his younger cousin.
“Raffy said he flies, so we’ve got to be ready for that,” Cora said before the game.
OPEN UP!
The game was the last before Massachusetts lifted COVID-19 restrictions and capacity limits. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Saturday’s game — weather permitting.
WELCOME BACK
Former Boston catcher Sandy León, who played five seasons for the Red Sox and helped the club win the 2018 World Series with, received a warm welcome back from fans when the video monitors showed some highlights of his Red Sox years, then a live shot of him in the Marlins’ dugout after the first inning.
“He was huge for us,” Cora said before the game.
León stepped in as DH after Adam Duvall was a late scratch from the lineup with soreness on his left side.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Marlins: OF Starling Marté was reinstated from the injured list after missing 34 games with a broken rib and started in center field. Marté hit a one-out double to center with one out in the first in his first at-bat since April 18. … The Marlins also placed SS Miguel on the 10-day IL with a dislocated left index finger and optioned 1B Lewin Diaz to Triple-A Jacksonville.
Red Sox: Recalled RHP Colten Brewer from Triple-A Worcester. Brewer, who hasn’t pitched in the majors this season, made four relief appearances for the WooSox, allowing four runs on four hits over four innings.
UP NEXT:
Marlins: LHP Trevor Rogers (6-2, 1.75 ERA) leads Miami in victories. Rogers held Philadelphia to one run over five innings Monday but did not figure in the decision of the Marlins’ 9-6 win.
Red Sox: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (5-2, 4.39) returns for his first start since his streak of 68 straight innings without a homer ended when the Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins went deep last Saturday in Philadelphia.
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