Red Sox start strong in series against Marlins thanks to Kutter Crawford

The right-hander pitched six strong innings on Tuesday night as the Sox beat the Marlins 8-3 in front of 14,676 spectators.

In his first career start against the Marlins and his first appearance at loanDepot Park, Crawford allowed one run on three hits and recorded seven strikeouts without a walk.

It was the 12th time in 17 starts that Crawford went six or more innings. He did so just six times in 23 starts last year.

“It was really good. The stuff was good; he threw a lot of strikes; the fastball had momentum,” Cora said. “He gave us enough.”

Crawford could have gone even further, as his last start ended due to rain after just 38 pitches and 1⅓ innings. But with the goal of keeping his innings under control throughout the season, Cora decided six was enough that night.

“We have to be careful,” said Cora.

Crawford (4-7) struck out the first eight Marlins with 31 consecutive pitches. No. 9 hitter Nick Fortes ended that run with a single to center.

Crawford retired the next four batters before Jake Burger homered on an 0-2 pitch early in the fifth inning. Burger was ready for a sweeper from Crawford, but the pitch stayed over the plate.

It was a blip. Crawford retired six of the last seven batters he faced, three of them by strikeout, to cap a strong outing that saw his earned run average fall to 3.47.

Crawford grew up in Okeechobee, Florida, about two hours away. He left behind 27 tickets for family and friends. Every beginning is important, but this one came with a little extra motivation.

“It was a fun night,” said Crawford, who next faces the Yankees on Sunday night.

The Sox began their six-game road trip with plenty of offense, scoring 13 hits against three Marlins pitchers, including home runs by Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran.

After arriving in South Florida on Sunday night, the Sox hadn’t played for over a day and a half. That can spell trouble, but they were ready to work.

“Sometimes you worry that you’ll be sluggish after a day off, but that wasn’t the case,” Cora said.

The Sox took a 2-0 lead after four batters against 24-year-old right-hander Vallente Bellozo, who was making his second career start.

Tyler O’Neill hit a single and got to third base on a double to center field by Wilyer Abreu that nearly cleared the wall. Rafael Devers followed with a hard hit to right that bounced off the glove of Burger at first base and led to a two-run single.

Masataka Yoshida singled with two outs to extend the inning, but Bellozo struck out Enmanuel Valdez to end the 26-pitch first inning.

The Sox remained silent until the fourth inning, when the last players in the batting order extended their lead.

Yoshida and Valdez hit singles. Rafaela then capped a seven-pitch at-bat by hitting a hanging changeup to left field for his ninth home run and a 5-0 lead.

Rafaela threw a foul ball four pitches in a row before making the changeup and not missing.

The Sox extended their lead to 7-1 in the seventh inning on singles by O’Neill, Devers, Connor Wong and Yoshida against Declan Cronin. Duran added a 433-foot solo hit to center in the eighth inning.

Duran has 100 hits, including 10 home runs and 10 triples, in 348 at-bats. Last season, he had eight home runs and two triples in 332 at-bats.

Tuesday was also his third consecutive game with a home run.

“I just hit the ball well. I’m not trying to do anything different,” Duran said. “I’m just trying to get on base and create havoc.”

Duran even sprints to first base on his sure home runs and seems disappointed when he falls into a run.

For the Sox, it was their first series at LoanDepot Park since Sept. 15-17, 2020, when they won two of three games in an empty ballpark during the pandemic.

Peter Abraham can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @PeteAbe.