Boston Red Sox vs Miami Marlins Box Score on Sep 17, 2020

Nathan Eovaldi pitched five scoreless innings against his former team as the Boston Red Sox defeated the host Miami Marlins 5-3 on Thursday afternoon.

Kevin Plawecki snapped a scoreless tie with a two-run single in the sixth, and Rafael Devers hit a three-run homer in the seventh to lead Boston's offense. Teammate Alex Verdugo went 3-for-5 for the game and 7-for-14 in the three-game series as Boston (19-32) won two of the contests.

Eovaldi (3-2), who went 13-27 in parts of three seasons (2012-14) with the Marlins, beat Miami for the first time in four tries. He allowed two hits and no walks, striking out seven.

Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his eighth save of the season.

Jose Urena (0-2) took the loss as he allowed two runs, five hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings for Miami (25-23). He struck out six.

The Marlins had a pair of injury scares. Starling Marte was hit on his right hand by an 87-mph splitter in the first inning. In the second, Boston's Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a line drive that struck Urena on the back of his right leg. Both stayed in the game.

Miami escaped scoreboard damage in the first inning as Boston had runners on the corners with no outs. Urena struck out Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez and got Plawecki on a foul pop.

Boston escaped an identical threat in the fifth. Miami had runners on the corners with none out before Eovaldi struck out Jazz Chisholm and Chad Wallach and got Corey Dickerson to ground out on a close play that withstood a video review.

The Red Sox finally broke through with two runs in the sixth. Boston loaded the bases with two outs on singles by Verdugo and Bogaerts -- the latter beating a shift by hitting through a huge hole at second base -- and a walk to Martinez.

That set things up for Plawecki, who failed on his first attempt with a runner in scoring position. This time, he fell behind 1-2 and then won a nine-pitch duel with Urena by rocketing a two-run single to left that came with a 107-mph exit velocity.

Devers' homer to right in the seventh was a massive shot -- 423 feet -- and it gave Boston a 5-0 lead.

Miami got on the board with three runs in the seventh. Pinch-hitter Jorge Alfaro hit a run-scoring single, Wallach added an RBI double and Marte contributed an RBI groundout.

--Field Level Media