BOSTON — In a sign of just how far south Rex Sox pitching has traveled this season, prior to Sunday a starter hadn’t recorded a win since June 26.
But on the tail end of one of the most painful months in memory, rookie Josh Winckowski, with the help of an explosive fifth inning, left the mound with credit for Sunday’s 7-2 win over Milwaukee.
The right-hander boosted his record to 4-5 after giving up two runs on seven hits in five innings. And the Red Sox lineup, the object of non-stop rumors leading up to Tuesday’s trade deadline, pushed him over the top.
Xander Bogaerts triggered the fifth inning outburst with a two-run, two-out double, J.D. Martinez, in what has been speculated could be his last game as a Red Sox player at Fenway, followed with an RBI double, in turn followed by RBI doubles from Christian Vazquez and Alex Verdugo off Brewers starter Aaron Ashby.
None of the runs were earned, stemming from a two-out error by second baseman Kolten Wong.
