The Boston Red Sox Thursday, May 20, 2021 * The Boston Globe Five-run first inning helps Red Sox top Blue Jays, extend AL East lead Peter Abraham DUNEDIN, Fla. — The Red Sox learned to play the wind at a new course on Wednesday night. A day after they were shut out by the Toronto Blue Jays, many of the Sox hitters spent batting practice adjusting their swings trying to take advantage — or, in some cases, avoid — the gusty wind that blows from left to right at TD Ballpark. With Rogers Centre in Toronto unavailable because of coronavirus protocols, the Jays stayed at their spring training ballpark for the first two months of the season. As is typical of smaller parks on the Gulf Coast of Florida, the wind plays a major factor in the game. The first-place Sox made it work for them by scoring five runs on six hits in the first inning. That led to a 7-3 victory. Kiké Hernández led the game off with a low line-drive single to left field. Then Alex Verdugo launched a pitch that caught a gust and landed on the roof of the home clubhouse far beyond the fence in right. Then J.D. Martinez homered the same way. “It was a good approach,” Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Overall, offensively, it was a good night. “You don’t make excuses, right? You’ve got to play where they tell you to play.” The Sox finished with 13 hits, four of them home runs. Garrett Richards pitched into the seventh inning for the win before a crowd of 1,581 that included many Sox fans. For the first time since Aug. 7, 2005, the Sox opened the game with five consecutive hits. It was Tony Graffanino, Edgar Renteria, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Kevin Millar in 2005 before the immortal Roberto Petagine finally made an out against Minnesota’s Joe Mays in a game the Sox went on to win, 11-7. Cora started at third base in that game and was 0 for 4. This time it was Hernández, Verdugo, Martinez, Xander Bogaerts (single), and Rafael Devers (RBI double) off Ross Stripling. Christian Vazquez then put the ball in play on an 0-and-2 count, driving in Bogaerts from third with a groundout to second base. “That was a big at-bat that people don’t realize how important it was” Cora said. Bobby Dalbec added an RBI double as the Sox built a lead that held up. The six hits in the first were one more than the Sox had in the entire game on Tuesday, snapping a 13-inning scoreless streak. The Sox sent nine men to the plate in the inning as Stripling threw 27 pitches. Hernández then led off the second with a home run that sliced through the wind and easily cleared the fence in left field. “Getting a five-run lead in the first inning makes things a little bit easier,” said Hernández, who finished 3 for 5 in his second game back from the injured list. Stripling (0-3) lasted only 3 2/3 innings. The bountiful run support should have made it an easy night for Richards. He allowed two runs over 6 2/3 innings, throwing a season-high 99 pitches. But it wasn’t that simple. Richards allowed seven hits, walked four, and threw two wild pitches. “Today wasn’t great in my eyes,” Richards said. The Jays grounded into three double plays and were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position with Richards on the mound. Richards struck out the first two hitters in the seventh before Reese McGuire singled. Garrett Whitlock replaced him and allowed a home run to Marcus Semien that cut the lead to 6-3. Richards (4-2) dropped his earned run average to 3.72. He is 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA over the last five starts following adjustments to improve his delivery. The Sox got a run back when Vázquez homered to left center off Jeremy Beasley in the eighth. It was his third of the season, the first since April 7. The Sox are 13-6 on the road, the best record in the majors by percentage. “We’ve got a very good team,” Richards said. “A lot of us have been saying that since the beginning, even in spring training when everybody kind of had us [written] off or, hey, we’re not going to be that good. “Before I even signed here I looked at the roster. That was a no-brainer for me. This is a great team. We’ve jelled really well together.” Once a roster doubt, Nick Pivetta has become the best arm in the Red Sox’ rotation Peter Abraham DUNEDIN, Fla. — The Red Sox will send their best starter to the mound on Thursday night in the final game of their series against the Blue Jays. It’s righthander Nick Pivetta, who had to earn a spot in spring training but has been a standout since. The Sox are 7-1 in his starts with Pivetta going 5-0 with a 3.16 earned run average. He has worked at least five innings in all but one start and allowed three or fewer earned runs seven times. The 28-year-old Pivetta was 2-0 in two starts at the end of last season. But he’s improved his mix of pitches this season, using his slider effectively. “Obviously what he did last year was eye-opening. But the way he’s doing it this year is a lot different and his stuff is a lot better than last year,” manager Alex Cora said Wednesday. Earlier this season, the Sox considered splitting up Nate Eovaldi and Eduardo Rodriguez to lessen the potential load on their relievers. But Pivetta and Garrett Richards have pitched well enough to table that idea. “Now it’s like, ‘OK, we’ll keep it like this.’ I think what Nick has done is give us balance. His stuff is a lot better than what I thought,” Cora said. Pivetta was 19-30 with a 5.50 ERA over parts of four seasons with the Phillies. He’s 7-0 with a 2.91 ERA in 10 starts for the Sox. “I don’t want to say he’s on a mission or trying to prove people wrong. But he wants to show that he belongs,” Cora said. Cora got a feel for how emotional Pivetta can be when he came off the field during a spring training game pumped up about a strikeout. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” the manager said. “You work hard to get to this point. He cares about winning. He cares about giving us a chance to win. He’s into it.” Santana soon? The Sox appear likely to add utility player Danny Santana to the roster in the next day or two. The 30-year- old switch hitter played in his eighth minor league game on Wednesday, starting at DH for Triple A Worcester and going 2 for 4. Santana is 12 of 30 with six extra-base hits in the minors and is physically ready to return — he had shoulder surgery last year and was sidelined with an infected right foot in spring training after being signed to a minor league contract. With three interleague games coming up in Philadelphia, Santana would be particularly useful given his defensive versatility. He has played first, second, third, short, center, and left while in the minors this season. “He’s done a good job and we can’t hide that,” Cora said. “He’s a guy that we’ve liked.” Santana’s addition would require both a 26-man roster and 40-man roster move. As Santana moves closer to the roster, infielder Christian Arroyo took batting practice with Worcester and is getting close to starting a rehab assignment. Arroyo has not played since May 6 when he was hit on the left hand by a pitch for the second time in 12 days and came away with a deep bruise that left him unable to grip the bat. “He’s in a good place,” said Cora, who texted with Arroyo on Wednesday. “He feels good right now.” Lat strain for Bazardo Righthanded reliever Eduard Bazardo, who has pitched in two games for the Sox, left Tuesday’s game at Worcester with what the team is calling a lat strain. Bazardo entered the game in the ninth inning and threw five pitches before coming out. The Sox are still working to determine the severity of the injury. As one of three WooSox relievers on the 40-man roster [along with righthanders Colten Brewer and Brandon Brennan], Bazardo was a primary source of bullpen depth, given the quality of his pitch mix and the team’s ability to shuttle him between Triple A and the majors. Also on Tuesday, Double A righthander Thaddeus Ward, who was ranked the No. 10 Red Sox prospect by Baseball America entering this season, was placed on the seven-day injured list with a right elbow strain. As with Bazardo, the Sox are still working to determine the extent of his injury. Two Triple A starters — righthanders Tanner Houck (sore flexor muscle) and Connor Seabold (elbow inflammation) — remain on the injured list. Both are now throwing as they continue to rehab what were considered relatively minor injuries. Hope springs eternal Eduardo Rodriguez and Martín Pérez were on the field working on their base running before batting practice. Pérez is the scheduled starter in Philadelphia on Friday and Rodriguez on Sunday, which means they will have to hit.