The last time that Jameson Taillon faced the Red Sox, he twirled seven innings of beauty, holding the Red Sox to eight base runners, and keeping the Sox to a nice round zero in the runs column. Compounded with Eduardo Rodriguez’s recent struggles against... well, everybody, this game had a somewhat foreboding feeling for some fans. Even though Taillon has struggled mightily this season, his May was slightly better than his April, compiling a 4.45 ERA in 30 1⁄3 innings.
Taillon was going to need help, and he sure got it. In the first inning, with Alex Verdugo at second, and Xander Bogaerts at the plate, a ground ball barely stayed fair down the third base line.