Boston pitcher Nathan Eovaldi was perfect through four innings against the Miami Marlins on Thursday, and finished with seven strikeouts in five innings. Gaston De Cardenas/Associated Press
MIAMI — Nathan Eovaldi pitched five shutout innings and struck out seven, and the Miami Marlins stumbled in their playoff run with a 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox 5-3 Thursday.
Rafael Devers had a three-run homer, Kevin Plawecki hit a two-run single and Alex Verdugo had three hits for the Red Sox.
Seeking its first postseason appearance since winning the 2003 World Series, Miami is second in the NL East. The Marlins fell three games behind division-leading Atlanta, which was idle.
Eovaldi (3-2) didn’t allow a hit until Garrett Cooper’s leadoff double in the fifth. Miguel Rojas singled, but Eovaldi struck out Jazz Chisholm and Chad Wallach, then retired Corey Dickerson on a groundout.
“If he would have had an easier fifth inning, he probably would have gone back out for the sixth,” Boston Manager Ron Roenicke said. “His pitch count was really low but I thought he did a great job. We know he competes. He located pitches well.”
A 30-year-old right-hander who was with the Marlins from 2012-14, Eovaldi was lifted after 76 pitches in his second appearance since returning Sept. 12 following a stint on the injured list caused by a strained right calf.
“Good effort from him and good results,” Roenicke said.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless eighth, and Matt Barnes got three straight outs for his eighth save in 11 chances.
Jose Ureña allowed two runs, five hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts.
Plawecki hit a two-run single in the sixth on the ninth pitch of an at-bat, chasing Ureña with a hard grounder past diving third baseman Brian Anderson. Boston had been hitless in 13 straight at-bats against the Marlins with runners in scoring position.
“I try not let the moment get too big for me,” Plawecki said. “Just control my breath, control the moment and get a pitch I’m trying to hit. I’ve been seeing the ball so much better this year.”
Devers hit his 11th homer in the seventh, a drive off Johan Quezada.
Miami closed in the bottom half on pinch-hitter Jorge Alfaro’s RBI single, Chad Wallach’s run-scoring double and Starling Marte’s RBI groundout.
“Obviously, that happened pretty fast, kind of a little bounce back right there and made the rest of the game where you needed a base runner and anything can happen at any time,” Miami Manager Don Mattingly said.
Alfaro homered twice in Wednesday’s game, then left after taking a foul ball off his helmet. He was tested for a possible concussion following the game, Mattingly said.
PATIENCE
Plawecki is making the most of his opportunities as the backup to starting catcher Christian Vázquez. After hitting .222 and .210 the previous two seasons with Cleveland and the New York Mets, Plawecki is batting .317 with a .793 OPS.
“I’ve made a lot of adjustments in my swing, one in particular this last offseason,” Plawecki said. “It’s been a long road keep trying to figure out a swing I felt comfortable and that allowed me to have results. Right now the way I’ve been swinging it this year, even in spring training, it felt good from the get-go.”
HEATING UP
Verdugo went 6 for 9 in the last two games against the Marlins. He hit .500 in the series and also made a sliding catch of a Miguel Rojas sinking fly ball.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Boston lefty Eduardo Rodríguez (heart inflammation caused by COVID-19) returned to Boston this week for additional tests. Rodríguez hasn’t pitched this season. … Marlins infielder Jon Berti (cut right finger) had stitches removed and is working out at the alternate training site.
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