'Attacking the zone,' Eovaldi racks up 7 K's

Finish strong.

It has become a theme for the Red Sox in the home stretch of a disappointing season, and Nathan Eovaldi embodied it on Thursday afternoon at Marlins Park.

So, too, did Rafael Devers.

With Eovaldi firing five sparkling innings (two hits, no runs, no walks, seven strikeouts) and Devers extending his hitting streak to 10 games with two knocks -- including a mammoth three-run homer -- the Red Sox downed the Marlins, 5-3.

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It was a good way to end a nine-game road trip against three playoff contenders (Phillies, Rays and Marlins) in which the Red Sox finished 5-4.

"Yeah, I really like the effort. What they're doing, how they're preparing, I think, is outstanding," said Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke. "That means a lot to us, and the kind of effort they're putting out."

Boston now comes home for six games against the Yankees and Orioles, then it will finish the 2020 season with three games in Atlanta.

There will be individuals to watch with an eye towards 2021 as the season winds down.

Eovaldi, who has two years left on his contract, provides reason for encouragement. He has been lights-out in his two starts since coming off the injured list, allowing one run over eight innings.

"I feel like I'm attacking the zone a lot better these last couple outings," Eovaldi said. "Throwing the ball in, mixing in all my pitches. I'm not just relying on the fastball. I feel like I can throw the fastball in, away, up in the zone, and then I got my offspeed pitches following that.

"I feel like the curveball's been really good this year. It's been one of my most consistent pitches, and the splitter's the last couple games have been really good for me. So going into the offseason, it's just going to be -- main goal of course is staying healthy, but enjoying the offseason and being ready to go for next year as well."

The plan is for Eovaldi to make one more start in the regular season during next week's home series against the Orioles.

Despite the shortened 60-game season -- and the fact Eovaldi missed three weeks with the nagging right calf injury -- he feels he has gained the momentum he needed heading into an important 2021 season.

"I feel like this has been one of my better seasons," said Eovaldi. "My walks are down, I feel like I'm having a few more strikeouts than I normally do. I know I had that one bad start against the Yankees, but I feel like I've been able to go five, six innings out there every time."

As for Devers, there is no doubt how big a part of the future he is for the Red Sox. And he just keeps mashing, making his rough start to the season a distant memory. The left-handed-hitting slugger is 19-for-41 with five homers, 14 RBIs with a 1.441 OPS during his hitting streak.

"Raffy is just unbelievable," said Roenicke. "Gifted hands with tremendous power to all fields. We know he chases a lot. He is a good bad-ball hitter, but when he gets a little bit closer to that zone, he's a really scary hitter."

Alex Verdugo is another big bright spot for the Red Sox, both this season and going forward.

In his last 70 at-bats, the energetic outfielder is hitting .386 while scoring 17 times and proving that he is more than capable of leading off -- if that's where Boston wants to keep him. Verdugo had three hits in each of the last two games, and he forms a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the order with Devers.

"Alex is super selective, he doesn't chase much, he's inside the ball, he can slap it if he just needs to get a base hit," said Roenicke. "You saw today he kind of reached out one-handed it and hit the ball to center."

Over these last nine games, Roenicke can already tell his players won't short-change him from an effort or focus standpoint.

"That's what we appreciate the most," Roenicke said. "These guys are still playing as hard as they did on Opening Day. It tells a lot about the player, what's important to them. To be able to play the game just as hard now as when we played the first game, I think that's pretty impressive. It says a lot about the individuals and it says a lot about the group."