Seven innings. Chew on that stat for a second. It was a sweet and long-awaited one for both Nathan Eovaldi and the Red Sox on Thursday night at Camden Yards.
In leading his team to a 7-1 victory in the opener of a four-game series against the Orioles, Eovaldi became the first Boston starter to go seven innings this season. This, in the team's 26th game of the season.
Not only did Eovaldi provide length, but he was also excellent, holding Baltimore to five hits and a run while walking one and striking out six. Of Eovaldi's season-high 97 pitches, 64 were for strikes.
This was the first time Eovaldi recorded as many as 21 outs in a start in over two years -- the last such occasion occurring on Aug. 4, 2018, when he was masterful in eight shutout innings against the Yankees just days after he had been acquired by the Red Sox.
"I know Nate has been after me to let him go longer, so I didn't have to think about it today," said Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke. "Great job with all of his pitches. His pitch count was fantastic throughout the games. He really didn't have any stressful innings we were worried about. And just mixed his pitches well and located well, so great job there."
The only mini-bump Eovaldi hit was in the first inning, when he gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases with two outs. On the 22nd pitch of the frame, Eovaldi induced a grounder to second by Pat Valaika. You could make the case that was Eovaldi's biggest pitch of the night.
"I saw him after the first inning down in the dugout, he was real frustrated with himself," said Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts. "I could see it in his face. I mean, he wants to compete and he knows he wants to put up zeros for us and keep us as long in the game as possible. He went out there and he settled down, and he went to being the Nate that we all know."
So what was the issue in the first?
"I felt off mechanically," Eovaldi said. "I can't tell you what it was, whether I was dipping too low with my legs or if I was too quick, because it was the start of the game. The first inning I felt a little off, and then I was able to slow down."
If Boston can at least start getting some distance from its No. 1 starter, it will ease a bullpen that has been overworked this season.
"I saw Nate Eovaldi give us a really tough time," said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. "That was an unbelievable start. That was Nate being really, really good, throwing every pitch for a strike: The fastball, the cutter, the split, the breaking ball and being on for seven innings."
For most of the night, the Red Sox stayed mostly quiet on offense, generating a two-run rally in the second and then a solo homer from Bogaerts in the third.
Boston erupted for four runs in the ninth to break it open, getting an RBI single by Bogaerts and a towering three-run homer to center by the red-hot Mitch Moreland.
It turns out the three-run shot by Moreland, his seventh homer of the season, was as much a rarity as Eovaldi's seven-inning performance. It was the first three-run homer by a Boston hitter this season, though they did get a grand slam by J.D. Martinez in a loss on Aug. 12.
Though the Red Sox still have a long way to go to climb out of their 8-18 start, they've looked much more in sync in this modest two-game winning streak than at any other point this season.
"The stress-free games are really nice for us," said Roenicke. "The staff loves them. Hopefully we'll have a few more of those. I think that with hopefully the pitching staff getting a little straightened out, with the offense starting to swing a lot better, hopefully we can have more games like this."
Despite their record, the Red Sox are staying positive, which is easier to do after nights like Thursday.
"Tonight is real nice, you know? We had a lot of guys do some good things," Bogaerts said. "We have a lot of guys that are swinging the bat real well. Obviously, [Rafael] Devers is coming around. And Mitch, man. Mitch is putting us on his back and its real nice and fun to see. And why not just go out there and continue to have fun and put up wins together and see where this takes us? It's never too late, bro. It's never too late."