Eduardo Rodriguez matched his season high with 10 strikeouts over seven strong innings to lead the Boston Red Sox past the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1 on Friday night.

Rodriguez (10-4) gave up just one run on five hits and two walks as the Red Sox took the first of three games between last year's World Series opponents. Boston won that best-of-seven series four games to one.

Xander Bogaerts slugged a three-run home run, and Rafael Devers and Christian Vazquez added solo shots as the Red Sox won their fifth straight game.

Alex Verdugo homered and had two of the Dodgers' five hits. Los Angeles dropped its fourth straight.

Trailing 3-1 entering the seventh inning, the Dodgers put two on with one out against Rodriguez to get the go-ahead run to the plate. But the southpaw escaped the jam with a strikeout and a groundout to end his outing.

Bogaerts' three-run shot capped a five-run bottom of the seventh for the Red Sox. The rally was sandwiched around a one-hour rain delay.

Devers lofted a first-inning pitch from Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda the opposite way that carried into left field and over the Green Monster for a 1-0 Red Sox lead. The blast was Devers' 17th of the season and fifth in seven games this month.

Verdugo answered for Los Angeles with a solo shot in the top of the second, but Vazquez put Boston back on top, 2-1, when he went yard in the bottom of the frame.

From there, Rodriguez and Maeda exchanged zeroes, combining to retire 14 straight hitters from the second through the fourth, nine on strikeouts. Boston finally broke the scoreless drought when Mookie Betts doubled to lead off the sixth and Devers doubled him home.

Maeda (7-6) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out seven.

The game marked the return of Corey Seager, David Freese and A.J. Pollock to the Dodgers' lineup after stints on the injured list. The trio combined to go 1-for-11, with Pollock singling for the sole hit.

--Field Level Media