Here are tonight's Talking Points after the Marlins beat the Red Sox, 14-6. Check out the game story here.
BATTER OF THE GAME: JT Realmuto
JT Realmuto drove in the first run of the Red Sox infamous 6th inning . . . and then he drove in the final four of the inning. Yes, the Sox allowed 10 runs to score in the 6th inning, and Realmuto was responsible for five of them. He doubled in a run and then blasted a grand slam to cap off the damage. He also tripled and drove in a run in the 2nd inning to give the Marlins a 2-1 lead. Strong day from the Marlins catcher. Should come with an asterisk though - (off Red Sox pitchers*).
STARTERS REPORT: Blink. Blink, blink. Depending on the inning, Eduardo Rodriguez was either in command, or out of sorts. But when you judge the overall performance, it was bad. Rodriguez put his team down 1-0 right away with a solo shot to Dee Gordon. After they tied it up, he allowed three runs to put the Sox down again. After the Sox tied it up again in the 5th, he allowed four straight hits in the 6th and was knocked out of the game. His relievers didn't do him any favors, allowing the inherited runners to score. Final line: 5.0-plus innings, eight runs, nine hits, one walk, two strikeouts. Ouch.
Adam Conley started for the Marlins and allowed an absolute monster home run to David Ortiz in the first inning. He allowed four runs in total on eight hits and a walk with three strikeouts, and didn't get out of the fifth inning.
BIG PLAY: I have to choose just one? If we're being honest, there were a number of big hits by the Marlins on Wednesday, hence the 14 runs scored. The JT Realmuto grand slam to cap off the 6th inning was the biggest. That gave the Marlins 10 runs in one inning, which is the most the Sox have allowed in a single inning since June 8, 1994. That was a long time ago.
WHAT I LIKED: David Ortiz
David Ortiz was the only positive to come out of this game. He blasted two home runs on the day, the first of which went so far that there weren't even any fans in the upper-deck row that the ball landed in. The two home runs give Ortiz 491 for his career, and it's pretty clear that his chase for 500 is going to be one of the main stories around this team for the remainder of the season.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The bullpen
There isn't a single relief pitcher currently on the Red Sox roster that can be depended on. No matter who the Sox bring in, your first thought has to be, "Oh no, not him!" Such is life for the 2015 Red Sox, who have the worst pitching staff assembled in the history of life. Seriously, former Sox catcher David Ross was better in relief.
WHAT'S NEXT: Well, the Sox can't lose on Thursday, so that's a positive. They have Thursday off before returning to Fenway Park to begin a 10-game homestand in which the Mariners, Indians, and Royals come to town. Joe Kelly gets the Friday start.