Braves 4 - 2 Red Sox
Final
  for this game

Red Sox and Braves open set at Fenway Park

Jun 15, 2015 - 2:11 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Rick Porcello will try to avoid a fifth straight losing start on Monday night when the Boston Red Sox play the first of four straight meetings with the Atlanta Braves.

The Red Sox will host the first two games of this set before heading to Atlanta for a pair of games.

Porcello has posted a 7.30 earned run average over his personal losing streak and was tagged for five runs on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings on Wednesday in Baltimore. He didn't walk a batter and struck out five, but was still handed a 5-2 defeat. That dropped Porcello to 4-6 on the year with a 5.26 earned run average.

"It's frustrating, trust me. I'm doing everything I can to go out there and put up a zero and it just didn't happen," Porcello lamented.

The righty has faced the Braves once before and got a win after getting charged with three runs, five hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings.

Porcello hasn't been alone in his struggles on the mound. Boston scored 19 runs over a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays, but allowed 31 in getting swept. That pushed the Red Sox's overall losing streak to six in a row.

Eduardo Rodriguez got rocked Sunday after breezing through his first three major league starts. The left-hander gave up nine runs on eight hits with three walks over 4 2/3 innings.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Rodriguez was the first pitcher in baseball history to go at least six innings while allowing no more than one run or three hits in each of his first three big league games.

David Ortiz hit a three-run homer for the Red Sox, while Hanley Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia had one RBI apiece.

"We're not in a good place right now as a team, but it's not because we're not giving effort," Boston manager John Farrell said. "We're not executing completely."

The Braves also failed to execute over nine full innings on Sunday against the New York Mets. They led 5-1 and 8-3 during the early portions of the game, but ended up losing 10-8 for their third setback in four games.

Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz allowed six runs -- five earned -- on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Jace Peterson went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and three runs scored. Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe also had three hits each, with Johnson driving in a pair of runs.

"I thought we were swinging the bats pretty well as a team," Peterson said.

Despite making a quick relief appearance on Saturday, Williams Perez will start tonight for the Braves.

Perez won his start versus San Diego on Wednesday, holding the Padres to an unearned run on four hits and two walks over seven innings with five strikeouts. He then picked up a save versus the New York Mets on Saturday, but needed only nine pitches in the 11th frame.

The 24-year-old righty picked up the first save of his career and is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA over eight games total with five starts. The rookie faces Boston for the first time.

The Red Sox have won six in a row and 10 of the last 12 meetings with the Braves, winning all four encounters last season.






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