MIAMI — Drew Thorpe was about as good as he could be Friday.
The rookie right-hander, making his third strong start in a row and fourth in five outings this season, opened the Sox series against the Marlins with six scoreless innings of one-hit ball. He had given up two hits, both softly hit.
Acquired in the trade with the Padres for Dylan Cease, Thorpe has had one bad start — his second when he gave up eight runs to the Diamondbacks in 3 1/3 innings on June 16 — but hasn't allowed more than two runs in the others and completed six or more innings for the third straight time.
Nicky Lopez had a pair of RBI doubles and Martin Maldonado had one giving the Sox a 3-0 lead.
The Sox (25-64) were trying to win their first road series opener of the season.
Adrenaline rush for Burger
Jake Burger had a different feeling coming to the ballpark Friday. Almost a year ago, he was traded by the Sox to the Marlins, who went to the postseason with Burger contributing an .860 OPS and nine homers in 53 games down the stretch.
“I definitely felt the adrenaline coming to the field,” Burger said Friday, mentioning close ties with Gavin Sheets in particular and Andrew Vaughn and Andrew Benintendi. He saw them for the first time since the trade.
The Marlins were 30-54 and Burger had a .606 OPS with eight homers in 65 games, his most recent an 0-for-5 with five strikeouts in a 6-5 loss to the Red Sox Thursday.
The Sox traded Burger for left-handed pitching prospect Jake Eder. They drafted Burger in the first round in 2017 and saw him through two Achilles injuries and anxiety issues.
“Obviously, sticking with me throughout my injuries and what not, I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the organization because of that,” Burger said. “A lot of great memories over there. I’ll always be fond of my time in Chicago.”
A Cardinals fan growing up in Missouri, Burger said playing for manager Skip Schumaker, a former Cardinal who has been rumored to be on the Sox’ radar as a future managerial candidate, has been “awesome.”
“You got a lot of guys here, [coaches] John Mabry, Jon Jay, I grew up watching,” Burger said. “This organization has been nothing but awesome for me.”
Grifol to umpires: be better
Manager Pedro Grifol said he has data to prove Luis Robert Jr. has been the victim of too many missed ball-strike calls and he wants umpires to know it.
“That’s unfortunate because he’s one of the more dynamic players in the leaguem” Grifol said. “He’s a nice guy that doesn’t really show emotion and I hope that’s not the cause of it.”
Grifol would like to see Robert express his disdain for missed calls.
“I want everybody to bear down on Louie’s strike zone, I really do, because every day there’s two or three balls that are called strikes that are either putting him in a hole or not giving him a chance to do what he’s capable of doing.
“He’s a nice guy. Everybody is human. Umpires are human, they make mistakes and that’s OK, and sometimes when you show emotion to them, it’s almost like ‘hey wake up and let’s focus a little more on what’s happening here’ and he doesn’t do that. He’s just a quiet kid who goes about his business the right way.”
Robert singled twice, walked, reached on a fielder's choice and stole two bases.
Moncada set for rehab assignment
Third baseman Yoan Moncada will begin a rehab assignment in Arizona Tuesday. He’ll DH at first and then expand to playing third with a targeted return in late July.
Moncada suffered a left adductor strain running out a ground ball April 10 in Cleveland.
*Mike Clevinger is slated for a rehab start for Charlotte Saturday.
