Tag: fenway park

Kiké Hernández, Connor Wong both homer as Red Sox avoid sweep with 8-2 win over Reds; Chris Sale leaves game with shoulder soreness

Behind a six-run eighth inning, the Red Sox avoided a sweep at the hands of the Reds on Thursday night. Boston salvaged the series and put an end to a three-game losing streak by defeating Cincinnati by a final score of 8-2 at Fenway Park to improve to 29-27 on the season.

Chris Sale, making his 11th start of the year for the Sox, came out firing out of the gate. Facing the Reds for the first time in his career, the veteran left-hander struck out six of the first eight batters he faced over two scoreless innings before running into some trouble in the top of the third.

With one out and the bases empty, Sale surrendered back-to-back doubles to Curt Casali and Kevin Newman, allowing the Reds to open the scoring. Though he managed to strand Newman in the third, Sale once again gave up back-to-back doubles to Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson to lead off the fourth.

That sequence of events put runners at second and third for Stuart Fairchild, who flew out to Alex Verdugo in right field. Steer attempted to tag up from third on the play, but he was instead gunned down by Verdugo, who made an accurate throw to home and picked up his fourth outfield assist of the season after the Reds unsuccessfully challenged the call on the field.

With two outs and Nick Senzel at the plate, Sale fell behind in the count at 3-1, which prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora and assistant athletic trainer Masai Takahashi to pay him a visit on the mound. The lefty talked his way into staying in the game, but he then walked Senzel on six pitches and was removed from the contest after being visited by Cora and Takahashi yet again.

Sale, who was later diagnosed with left shoulder soreness, will undergo an MRI on Friday to determine just how severe the issue is. The 34-year-old left the mound on Thursday having allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of work. He threw 59 pitches (40 strikes) and did not factor into the decision.

Justin Garza took over for Sale out of the Boston bullpen and recorded the final out in the top of the fourth. The Red Sox lineup then got to Reds starter Hunter Greene in the bottom half of the frame after the talented righty had fanned seven of the first 10 Boston hitters he faced.

Rafael Devers led things off by lofting a 348-foot fly ball that center fielder Jose Barrero lost in the lights. Devers, who was credited with a double after moving up to second, then came into the score the tying run on a groundball RBI single off the bat of Justin Turner.

Following three scoreless innings of relief from Garza, Josh Winckowski, and Nick Pivetta, the Red Sox broke the 1-1 tie in the bottom of the seventh. With new reliever Ian Gibaut in the game for the Reds, Enrique Hernandez crushed a go-ahead, 411-foot solo shot over the Green Monster for his fifth home run of the year.

Hernandez’s 103.5 mph blast gave Boston its first lead of the night at 2-1, but Cincinnati wasted no time in retaliating. Chris Martin, who did not yield a single run in eight May appearances, got the call for the eighth inning and immediately lost the lead by serving up a leadoff double to Newman and a game-tying single to Matt McLain.

Martin avoided any further damage by inducing a 5-4-3 double play and a flyout, paving the way for the Red Sox to get back to work in the latter half of the eighth. After Verdugo drew a leadoff walk off Reds righty Kevin Herget, Devers immediately drove him in by lacing a 106.5 mph go-ahead RBI double into the triangle.

Following a Turner single, the Reds elected to intentionally walk Jarren Duran. Herget then balked with the bases loaded to put the Sox up, 4-2. Hernandez tacked on two more with a two-run single through the right side of the infield before Connor Wong broke it open by depositing a 401-foot two-run homer into the first row of Monster seats.

Wong’s sixth big fly of the season gave the Red Sox a commanding 8-2 lead going into the final frame. Kenley Jansen then slammed the door on the Reds in a non-save opportunity by working his way around a two-out walk in an otherwise clean top of the ninth.

Next up: Rays in for four

After picking up their first home win against a National League Central opponent this season, the Red Sox will next welcome the division rival Rays into town for a four-game weekend series beginning Friday night. The set includes a scheduled day-night doubleheader on Saturday.

In Friday’s series opener, Garrett Whitlock will get the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Tyler Glasnow for Tampa Bay. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Connor Wong and Enrique Hernandez: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

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James Paxton’s 8 strikeouts not enough as Red Sox blow late lead in 5-4 loss to Reds; Masataka Yoshida, Enmanuel Valdez homer

For the second night in a row, the Red Sox fell short of a comeback win over the Reds in the process of suffering their second straight one-run loss and their third straight loss overall.

Despite receiving a strong performance from James Paxton and leading after six innings, Boston fell to Cincinnati by a final score of 5-4 at Fenway Park on Wednesday to drop back to one game of .500 at 28-27 on the season.

With right-hander Luke Weaver starting for the Reds, the Red Sox opened the scoring when Masataka Yoshida belted a 359-foot solo shot down the right field line to lead off the bottom half of the second inning. Yoshida’s seventh home run of the year, and first since May 4, left his bat at 97.8 mph.

An inning later, Connor Wong extended his hitting streak to seven by reaching base on a one-out single. He then moved up to second on an Alex Verdugo groundout before coming into score on an opposite-field RBI double from Rafael Devers. The run-scoring knock was the 200th two-base hit of Devers’ career, but he was left at second as Justin Turner grounded out to end the third.

Boston would maintain a two-run lead through four innings. Paxton, who to that point had experienced very little turbulence in his fourth start of the season for the Sox, then ran into some trouble in the fifth. After recording the first two outs of the frame via strikeout, the veteran left-hander issued a four-pitch walk to Jose Barrero.

Luke Maile, Cincinnati’s No. 9 hitter, wasted no time in making Paxton pay for the free pass by driving in Barrero all the way from first on a towering RBI double off the Green Monster. Maile then advanced to third on a Kevin Newman single, but Paxton stranded the runners on the corners by fanning the final batter he faced in Matt McLain.

All told, Paxton allowed just the one earned run on four hits and one walk to go along with eight strikeouts over five solid innings of work. The 34-year-old finished with exactly 100 pitches (68 strikes) and induced 22 swings-and-misses, the most of any big-league pitcher on Wednesday. He also lowered his ERA on the season to 4.26.

With Paxton’s night done, the Red Sox got that run right back in the bottom of the fifth when rookie Enmanuel Valdez took Weaver 356 feet over the Green Monster for his fourth homer of the year. The 99.1 mph blast put Boston back up, 3-1, going into the sixth.

Kutter Crawford received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Making his first appearance since tweaking his right ankle in Arizona this past Saturday, Crawford immediately issued back-to-back walks out of the gate. The righty then retired Tyler Stephenson and the pinch-hitting Jake Fraley on a pair of flyouts, but he could not escape the jam entirely.

Instead, Crawford extended the inning by giving up an RBI single to Nick Senzel that cut Boston’s lead down to one at 3-2. Josh Winckowski came on to record the final out of the sixth but he, too, was not his usual self in the top of the seventh.

After Maile reached on a Devers throwing error to lead off the inning, Newman and McClain delivered back-to-back singles to fill the bases with no outs. Winckowski then got Jonathan India to ground into a a 6-4-3 double play, but it was enough to allow the pinch-running Will Benson to score from third to knot things up at three runs apiece.

Just moments after they tied the game, Spencer Steer gave the Reds their first lead of the night by crushing a go-ahead, two-run home run into the Monster seats off Winckowski, who was ultimately charged with a blown save as well as the losing decision.

Trailing 5-3 now, the Red Sox had a golden opportunity to respond in the latter half of the inning. Valdez, Verdugo, and Devers all reached to fill the bases with two outs. But lefty reliever Alex Young got Turner to ground out to short to extinguish the threat.

Following a 1-2-3 top of the eighth from Chris Martin, Yoshida led off the bottom half with a hard-hit double off new Reds reliever Lucas Sims. Jarren Duran then drove in Yoshida from second with a two-base hit of his own. Alas, the potential tying run was left on base as the pinch-hitting Raimel Tapia (lineout) and Valdez were each retired by Sims.

Like Martin, Nick Pivetta put up a zero in the top of the ninth to give the Red Sox one more shot in the latter half. With two outs and the bases empty, Devers lifted a 104.6 mph line drive to center field off Buck Farmer, but it fell well short of the bleachers and was caught by Senzel on the warning track for the final out.

Next up: Sale gets ball in series finale

On the heels of a 13-13 May, the Red Sox will look to open the month of June by putting an end to this three-game losing streak and avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Reds in Thursday’s series finale. Left-hander Chris Sale will get the start for Boston while Cincinnati will counter with hard-throwing right-hander Hunter Greene.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Josh Winckowski: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox rally late, but fall short of comeback in 9-8 loss to Reds

They certainly made things interesting in the end, but the Red Sox could not overcome an eight-run deficit and pull off a come-from-behind win over the Reds on Tuesday night. Boston instead got to within one run in the ninth inning before falling to Cincinnati by a final score of 9-8 at Fenway Park to drop to 28-26 on the season.

With Brayan Bello making his eighth start of the year for the Sox, the Reds opened the scoring in the top half of the second. After giving up back-to-back one-out singles to Will Benson and Stuart Fairchild, Bello yielded an RBI groundout to T.J. Friedl, who beat out a would-be inning-ending double play.

The Red Sox had a golden opportunity to respond against Reds starter Ben Lively in the bottom of the second. Masataka Yoshida drew a leadoff walk and immediately went from first to third base on a line-drive double from Jarren Duran. Enrique Hernandez then drew another walk to fill the bases with one out. But Lively escaped the jam by fanning Enmanuel Valdez and getting Reese McGuire to line out to reigning National League Player of the Week Matt McClain.

Bello proceeded to grind through a scoreless third inning before surrendering a leadoff triple to Will Benson to begin things in the fourth. The right-hander was able to strand Benson at third base by retiring Fairchild and striking out the final two batters he faced.

Because he needed 97 pitches (61 strikes) to get through four innings, Bello’s night came to a close sooner than expected. The 24-year-old hurler wound up allowing just the one earned run on five hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. He induced six swings-and-misses and was ultimately charged with his third losing decision of the year.

In relief of Bello, Justin Garza received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The righty ran into immediate trouble in the fifth by giving up a leadoff single to Jonathan India, which was immediately followed by a run-scoring double off the bat of Jake Fraley to put Cincinnati up, 2-0, at the midway point.

Again, the Red Sox had a chance to get to Lively in their half of the fifth. With two outs and one runner on first following a leadoff single from Hernandez, Raimel Tapia laced a 103.5 mph double off the Green Monster. Hernandez, who was waved in by third base coach Carlos Febles, attempted to score all the way from first on the play, but he was instead gunned down at home plate on a perfectly-executed relay started by Reds center fielder Jose Barrero.

Hernandez was in the spotlight for the wrong reasons in the sixth inning as well. After issuing a leadoff single to Benson and one-out walk to Barrero, Garza got McClain to hit a grounder to Hernandez at shortstop. Hernandez fielded the ball cleanly, but — in an attempt to start an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play — he then made a poor throw to the awaiting Valdez at second base.

As a result of Hernandez’s second error of the night and his 11th of the season, Benson scored his side’s third run while Barrero and McClain each advanced an additional 90 feet. Joely Rodriguez then came on to record the final out of the sixth on a five-pitch punchout, but the lefty was not nearly as sharp in the seventh.

Rodriguez walked two of the first four batters he faced in the inning in the process of filling the bases with one out. He followed that by sequence by issuing a bases-loaded free pass to Fairchild, which brought in Kevin Newman from third to give the Reds a 4-0 advantage. Barrero then doubled that lead on one swing of the bat, as he clobbered a 421-foot grand slam off the leftmost light standard above the Green Monster.

Trailing by eight runs going into the latter half of the seventh, the Red Sox finally got on the board. After Lively went 5 2/3 scoreless frames and Alex Young got the final out of the sixth, Fernando Cruz put up a three-spot on the other side of the stretch. With two outs, Valdez singles off Cruz and then scored all the way from first on an RBI double from McGuire. Back-to-back run-scoring triples from Tapia and Rafael Devers cut the deficit to five at 8-3.

Cincinnati got one of those runs back in the eighth, as Tyler Stephenson belted a one-out triple to deep center field before scoring on a Spencer Steer sacrifice fly that came off Ryan Sherriff. After poor base running from Yoshida led to Triston Casas lining lining out to an inning-ending double play a half-inning later, it appeared as if Boston was headed towards a rather ugly loss to kick off the homestand.

That changed in the ninth, though. With Eduardo Salazar on the mound for the Reds, Valdez drew a one-out walk and McGuire followed with another double to put runners at second and third. Tapia, Devers, and Justin Turner then strung together three straight run-scoring hits to trim Cincinnati’s lead to three runs and force manager David Bell to turn to his closer in Alexis Diaz.

Diaz, in turn, served up an RBI double to Yoshida, who was pinch ran for by Pablo Reyes. With runners at second and third, Duran pushed across Turner and allowed Reyes to move up to third with an RBI groundout. Just like that, the tying run was only 90 feet from home plate.

Down to their final out, Casas fell behind in a 1-2 count before whiffing at an 89.7 mph sinker at the knees to end it. Casas finished the night having gone 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. The Red Sox, as a team, left seven runners on base altogether.

At three hours and 12 minutes, Tuesday’s loss marked Boston’s second-longest nine-inning game of the season. Only an 8-3 win over the Blue Jays back on May 3 (three hours and 10 minutes) took longer.

Devers reaches milestone

With his run-scoring single in the seventh inning, Devers notched the 500th RBI of his big-league career. The 26-year-old is the 35th player to record 500 RBIs for the Red Sox and is the fourth-youngest player to do so behind only Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, and Jim Rice.

Tapia finishes homer shy of cycle

By putting together his first three-hit game as a member of the Red Sox on Tuesday, Tapia finished a home run shy of the cycle. The 29-year-old outfielder doubled in the fifth inning, tripled in the seventh inning, and singled in the ninth inning. He is now batting .364/.417/.500 over his last seven games.

Next up: Weaver vs. Paxton

The Red Sox will look to snap this two-game skid in the second game of this three-game set against the Reds on Wednesday night. Left-hander James Paxton will get the start for Boston while Cincinnati will counter with right-hander Luke Weaver.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Raimel Tapia: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox pound out 16 hits, take series from Mariners with 12-3 win

The Red Sox capped off a six-game homestand by scoring early and often in a series-clinching win over the Mariners on Wednesday night. Boston throttled Seattle by a final score of 12-3 at Fenway Park to improve to 24-20 on the season.

Nine of the 12 runs the Red Sox scored came within the first two innings of Wednesday’s contest. With Marco Gonzales starting for the Mariners, Justin Turner and Rob Refsnyder hit back-to-back one-out singles in the bottom of the first. Rafael Devers then opened the scoring by driving in Turner with a base hit of his own.

After Masataka Yoshida drew a five-pitch walk off Gonzales to fill the bases, newcomer Pablo Reyes came up to the plate with two outs and extended Boston’s lead to 3-0 by plating both Refsnyder and Devers on a two-run double off the Green Monster.

An inning later, Alex Verdugo reached base on a one-out double and Turner followed by crushing a 358-foot two-run shot over the Green Monster for his fifth home run of the season and his second in as many nights. Refsynder then drew a walk and advanced to third on a two-out single from Yoshida that was aided by a J.P. Crawford throwing error. Enrique Hernandez kept the line moving and knocked Gonzales out of the game by ripping an RBI single through the right side of the infield.

Following a Seattle pitching change that saw Trevor Gott take over for Gonzales, Reyes greeted the new reliever with his second two-run double of the night. Jarren Duran capped off the six-run frame by singling in Reyes, thus giving Boston a commanding 9-0 advantage.

Brayan Bello, meanwhile, was in the midst of his sixth start of the season for the Red Sox. Celebrating his 24th birthday on Wednesday, the right-hander surrendered just one earned run on three hits and five walks to go along with seven strikeouts over five innings of work.

Though command was somewhat of an issue, Bello took a no-hit bid into the fourth inning before giving up a leadoff double to Cal Raleigh. He retired the next two batters he faced, but allowed Raleigh to score on a two-out single off the bat of Jose Caballero. In the fifth, he escaped a bases-loaded jam to end his night on a positive note.

Finishing with a career-high 107 pitches (67 strikes), Bello induced 19 swings-and-misses, tying Braves ace Spencer Strider for the most in baseball on Wednesday. The young righty picked up the winning decision to improve to 3-1 and also lowered his ERA on the year to 4.45.

Shortly after Bello faced his final batter, the Red Sox lineup got back to work in the latter half of the fifth. With Turner and Refsnyder both singling off Gabe Speier, Devers drove in the former with an RBI double. Yoshida then plated Refsnyder on an RBI groundout before Hernandez pushed across Devers with a sacrifice fly to make it a 12-1 game.

The Mariners got two of those runs back off Joely Rodriguez in the top of the sixth. Rodriguez, making his Red Sox debut after missing the first seven weeks of the season due to a right oblique strain, filled the bases on two walks and a single with one out. The lefty then got Julio Rodriguez to hit a groundball to Hernandez at shortstop.

In an attempt to start an inning-ending double play, Hernandez made an underhanded flip to get the force out at second, but Reyes’ throw to Turner at first bounced in the dirt and went out of play, allowing two runs to score. Rodriguez, though, was only charged with one of those runs as Seattle cut the deficit to nine at 12-3.

From there, Chris Martin, Ryan Sherriff, and Justin Garza combined for three scoreless innings of relief to put the finishing touches on a rather convincing victory.

All told, the Red Sox tallied 16 hits as a team to tie a season-high in that category. Turner led the way with three hits while Refsnyder, Devers, Hernandez, and Reyes each had two.

Verdugo exits with groin tightness

Verdugo, who went 1-for-2 out of the leadoff spot, came out of the game in the third inning and was replaced in right field by Raimel Tapia. The Red Sox later described Verdugo’s departure “as a precaution due to left groin tightness.” He is expected to be available when they next play.

Next up: A long road trip out west

Coming off a 2-4 home swing, the Red Sox will enjoy an off day on Thursday before embarking upon a three-city, nine-game West Coast road trip that includes stops in San Diego, Anaheim, and Phoenix.

After Thursday’s off day, the Sox will open a three-game weekend set against Xander Bogaerts’ Padres on Friday night. James Paxton is slated to get the start for Boston in the series opener. San Diego will counter with fellow left-hander Blake Snell.

First pitch from Petco Park on Friday is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Pablo Reyes: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Justin Turner, Triston Casas, and Jarren Duran all homer as Red Sox snap four-game losing streak with 9-4 win over Mariners

The Red Sox put an end to their four-game losing streak with a series-evening victory over the Mariners on Tuesday night. Behind a four-run first inning, Boston defeated Seattle by a final score of 9-4 at Fenway Park to improve to 23-20 on the season.

With one of the most talented pitchers in baseball in Luis Castillo starting for the Mariners, the Sox drew first blood right away in the first inning. After leadoff man Alex Verdugo reached on a fielding error, Masataka Yoshida drove him in all the way from first with a line-drive triple off the center field wall. Justin Turner then gave Boston a 3-0 lead by depositing a 389-foot solo shot over the Green Monster for his fourth home run of the year.

Rafael Devers and Jarren Duran were both retired by Castillo, but Triston Casas extended the inning and his side’s lead by lacing a 373-foot solo homer into the right field seats. Casas’ sixth big fly of the season left his bat at 110.7 mph and provided Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta with a four-run cushion out of the gate.

Pivetta, making his eighth start of the year for Boston, cruised through the first three innings of Tuesday’s contest before running into some trouble in the top of the fourth. After giving up a two-out single to Eugenio Suarez and issuing a five-pitch walk to Cal Raleigh, the right-hander got Teoscar Hernandez to loft a 281-foot fly ball to center field.

Duran attempted to make a head-first diving catch, but he could not come up with the ball cleanly and it instead rolled all the way into the right-center field triangle. As a result, Hernandez plated both Suarez and Raleigh on a two-run triple to cut Seattle’s deficit in half. Moments after Hernandez reached third base safely, Taylor Trammell evened the score by crushing a game-tying, two-run home run to deep right field.

Though the Mariners had just come back to knot things up at four runs apiece, the stalemate did not last particularly long. That being the case because the Verdugo-Yoshida combination struck again in the latter half of the the fifth. The pair hit back-to-back doubles off Castillo to lead off the frame and put the Sox back up by one. Yoshida then advanced to third and scored on a wild pitch before Duran made up for his previous blunder by clubbing a first-pitch slider 417 feet over Boston’s bullpen to make it a three-run game at 7-4.

Castillo’s night came to a close after the fifth. The 30-year-old was charged with a season-high seven runs (five earned) on six hits. Pivetta, meanwhile, came back out for the top of the sixth and retired the final batter he faced in Hernandez.

Finishing with 98 pitches (58 strikes) Pivetta wound up allowing four earned runs on six hits and four walks to go along with six strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings of work. The 30-year-old hurler picked up his third winning decision of the season, though his ERA did rise from 6.23 to 6.30.

In relief of Pivetta, Ryan Sherriff received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Making his club debut, the left-hander sat down all three batters he faced before making way for Josh Winckowski, who scattered two hits over 1 1/2 scoreless frames.

While Sherriff and Winckowski were putting up zeroes, the Sox tacked on a pair of insurance runs with a Duran RBI single in the seventh and a Yoshida run-scoring groundout in the eighth. Justin Garza — who, like Sherriff was making his club debut — then put the finishing touches on a 9-4 win by making quick work of the Mariners in a 1-2-3 ninth.

All told, the Red Sox had 11 hits as a team on Tuesday. Seven of the nine hitters recorded at least one hit while Verdugo (2-for-4), Yoshida (2-for-5), Turner (2-for-5), and Duran (2-for-4) all registered multi-hit games.

Next up: Bello vs. Gonzales in rubber match

The Red Sox will send right-hander Brayan Bello to the mound on Wednesday night as they look to close out the homestand by taking this series from the Mariners, who will counter with left-hander Marco Gonzales.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Justin Turner: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox tally season-high 16 hits, complete four-game sweep of Blue Jays with 11-5 win

The Red Sox won three games against the Blue Jays all of last season. They surpassed that total by completing a four-game sweep of their division rivals on a chilly Thursday night at Fenway Park.

Aided by a five-run second inning and a solid start from Brayan Bello, Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 11-5. With the victory, the Red Sox extended their winning streak to six and improved to 19-14 to get to five games over .500 for the first time this season.

After dominating the Red Sox to the tune of a 2.65 ERA in six starts (34 innings) last year, Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman did not have the same kind of fortune this time around. The Boston bats instead throttled the veteran right-hander for eight runs in just 3 2/3 innings.

Masataka Yoshida, who signed with the Red Sox as a free agent over the winter, introduced himself to Gausman by opening the scoring in the first inning with a 400-foot solo shot into the home bullpen. By hitting his sixth home run of the season, Yoshida extended his hitting streak to 14 consecutive games, which is the longest in the majors.

An inning later, Triston Casas and Enmanuel Valdez both reached base to put runners on the corners with one out. Reese McGuire drove in Casas by blooping a softly-hit RBI single to center field and Raimel Tapia brought in Valdez by beating out a would-be double play. Tapia then stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring his side’s fourth run on a Yoshida RBI single that snuck under the glove of second baseman Cavan Biggio.

Justin Turner followed with a base hit of his own to put runners at first and third for Rafael Devers, who laced a 110.9 mph two-run double down the right field line. Both Yoshida and Turner scored on Boston’s seventh hit of the inning, which made it a 6-0 contest going into the third.

The Red Sox maintained that six-run lead through three innings. With one out in the top of the fourth, starter Brayan Bello served up a towering solo blast to fellow countryman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. It did not take long for Boston to respond, though, as Tapia doubled to lead off the bottom half of the inning and came into score on another RBI single from Yoshida.

Yoshida effectively knocked Gausman out of the game with his third hit of the night. Jarren Duran then plated Yoshida with a run-scoring single off new Blue Jays reliever Tim Mayza to put the Sox up, 8-1.

Bello, however, ran into some trouble in the fifth that may have stemmed from a blister on his right index finger that also bothered him in his last time out. After allowing just one run through the first four innings on Thursday, the young righty issued a one-out walk to Kevin Kiermaier. George Springer followed by reaching base on a Devers fielding error. Bo Bichette pushed across Kiermaier with an RBI single before Guerrero Jr. doubled in Springer. Daulton Varsho then brought in Bichette on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to four runs at 8-4.

The fifth inning proved to be Bello’s last. The 23-year-old hurler wound up yielding four runs (two earned) on six hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. He finished with 87 pitches (54 strikes) and was later credited with his first winning decision of the year.

In relief of Bello, Brennan Bernardino received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The lefty retired the side in order in the sixth and recorded the first out of the seventh before making way for John Schreiber, who needed all of 16 pitches (14 strikes) to get out of the inning and put up a zero in the eighth as well.

Turner provided some insurance in the bottom of the eighth with a hard-hit RBI single that scored Tapia. Devers then broke things open by cranking a 408-foot two-run shot to deep right field off reliever Zach Pop for his American League-leading 11th home run of the season and the 150th of his career.

Ryan Brasier surrendered one run on two hits and one walk in the ninth, but ultimately closed it out to put the finishing touches on an 11-5 win and a four-game series sweep.

Boston’s Nos. 2-5 hitters (Yoshida, Turner, Devers, and Duran) each had three hits. McGuire had two while Tapia and Casas each had one as the Red Sox surpassed their season-high in hits with 16 as a team.

Next up: Sale vs. Wheeler in Philly

Coming off a 6-1 homestand, the Red Sox will now hit the road for a two-city, five-game road trip. They will first travel to Philadelphia and open a three-game weekend series against the reigning National League champion Phillies on Friday night.

Left-hander Chris Sale is expected to get the start for Boston in Friday’s series opener opposite Philadelphia right-hander Zach Wheeler.

First pitch from Citizens Bank Park is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Rafael Devers and Justin Turner: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Nick Pivetta settles in after shaky start as Red Sox top Blue Jays, 8-3, behind season-high 15 hits

The Red Sox once again rallied to earn a series victory over the Blue Jays on a rainy and chilly Wednesday night at Fenway Park. Behind a season-high 15 hits, Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 8-3 to extend its winning streak to five and improve to 18-14 on the year.

Nick Pivetta, making his fourth start of the season for the Sox, allowed three runs on five hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts over six quality innings of work.

Because the wind was blowing in from center field on Wednesday, Pivetta was able to avoid any serious damage in the top of the first despite consistently giving up hard contact. The same cannot be said for the second inning, as Daulton Varsho led it off by taking the right-hander 399 feet deep to right field for his second home run in as many nights.

An inning later, Pivetta served up a towering 450-foot solo shot to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that cleared the Green Monster and had an exit velocity of 110 mph. Guerrero Jr.’s sixth home run of the season gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead going into the fourth.

That is when the Red Sox finally got on the board. Rafael Devers singled on a 112.5 mph line drive that deflected off Jays starter Alek Manoah and then moved up to second on a throwing error. A wild pitch from Manoah allowed Devers to move up to third before Jarren Duran drove him in with an RBI double. Duran took third after Manoah unsuccessfully tried to pick him off at second base and scored on a game-tying RBI single from Triston Casas that knotted things up at two runs apiece.

In the fifth, Kevin Kiermaier led off with a double and advanced to third on a George Springer flyout. With Bo Bichette at the plate, Pivetta allowed the then-go-ahead run to cross the plate on a controversial balk that drew the ire of both the righty and Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Though Toronto had just re-taken the lead at the midway point, it did not take long for Boston to respond.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Masataka Yoshida reached base on a throwing error committed by Santiago Espinal. Justin Turner followed with a hard-hit double and Duran was hit by a pitch to fill the bases with two outs. For the second time in as many at-bats, Casas delivered with a game-tying single through the left side of the infield that pushed across Yoshida. Fellow rookie Enmanuel Valdez kept the line moving by lacing a grounder that ate up Guerrero Jr. at first base.

Both Turner and Duran came into score as a result of Guerrero Jr.’s blunder, which was initially ruled an error but was later changed to a go-ahead, two-run single for Valdez. Pivetta preserved the Sox’ newfound 5-3 lead by retiring the final three batters he faced in the top of the sixth.

Finishing with 94 pitches (62 strikes), Pivetta induced 14 total swings-and-misses — 11 of which came on his slider. The 30-year-old hurler also earned his second winning decision of the season while lowering his ERA just below five at 4.99

With Pivetta’s night done, the Sox tacked on some insurance as the Jays began to dip into their bullpen in the latter half of the sixth. Connor Wong ripped a leadoff double, moved up to third on a groundout, and scored his side’s sixth run on a 109.6 mph line drive from Yoshida that glanced off Anthony Bass and went for an RBI single.

Following a scoreless top of the seventh from Chris Martin, Yoshida struck again by plating Enrique Hernandez on hard-hit opposite-field double. Hernandez returned the favor an inning later with a run-scoring hit of his own to give Boston a commanding 8-3 advantage heading into the ninth.

Kutter Crawford, who had already put up a zero in the eighth inning, recorded the first out of the ninth but was then forced to come out of the game with a trainer due to tightness in his left hamstring. Ryan Brasier took over for Crawford and got the final two outs of the frame to seal the win.

Yoshida extends hitting streak

With his sixth-inning single, Masataka Yoshida extended his hitting streak to 13 games, which is currently the longest active streak in the majors. Following Wednesday’s 2-for-5 showing, the 29-year-old raised his batting average on the season to .303.

In addition to Yoshida, every other member of the Sox’ starting lineup recorded at least one hit on Wednesday night. Yoshida, Turner, Valdez, and Hernandez each had two hits while Casas led the way by going 3-for-5 with two clutch RBIs.

Next up: Gausman vs. Bello

The Red Sox will go for the sweep of the Blue Jays in the finale of this four-game series on Thursday night. After going 3-16 against Toronto last season, Boston already has the chance to surpass that win total.

Brayan Bello, who dealt with a blister in his last time out, will get the start for the Red Sox. The Jays will counter with fellow right-hander Kevin Gausman.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Triston Casas: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Connor Wong powers Red Sox to 7-6 win over Blue Jays with first career multi-homer game

The Red Sox survived a six-run fifth inning from the Blue Jays and held on for their fourth straight win on Tuesday night. Powered by four home runs, including two from Connor Wong, Boston defeated Toronto by a final score of 7-6 at Fenway Park to improve to 17-14 on the season.

With left-hander Yusei Kikuchi starting for the Jays, the Sox opened the scoring in their half of the second inning. Following back-to-back groundouts from Enrique Hernandez and Masataka Yoshida, Christian Arroyo got his side on the board by crushing a 404-foot solo shot over the Green Monster for his first home run of the year.

An inning later, Alex Verdugo led off with his second double in as many at-bats and then scored from second on a one-out RBI single off the bat of Rob Refsnyder. In the third, Yoshida extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games by taking his countryman in Kikuchi 392 feet deep into Boston’s bullpen for his sixth homer of the season. The 103.1 mph blast put Boston up, 3-0, going into the fifth.

To that point in the contest, Red Sox starter Tanner Houck was cruising. The right-hander kicked off his sixth start of the year by tossing four straight scoreless frames. He than ran into some serious trouble in the top of the fifth. Back-to-back one-out singles from Danny Jansen and Kevin Kiermaier followed by a two-out walk from Bo Bichette filled the bases for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr. came through by plating both Jansen and Kiermaier on a two-run single to left field to cut Toronto’s deficit to one. Bichette, who went from first to third on the play, then scored the tying run on a passed ball. The Blue Jays were not done there, though. After Matt Chapman singled to put runners on the corners, Daulton Varsho deposited a 406-foot three-run home run into the right field bleachers.

Just like that, the Blue Jays were in possession of a 6-3 lead. The Red Sox, however, wasted little time in responding to Toronto’s six-run rally. Verdugo was hit by a pitch and Justin Turner singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Refsnyder then drove in Verdugo on his second run-scoring hit of the night. Two batters later, Yoshida brought Boston back to within one run by pushing across Turner off new reliever Zach Pop.

Despite struggling in the fifth, Houck came back out for the sixth on account of the Red Sox having a short bullpen on Tuesday. He bounced back and kept the deficit at one by retiring the final three batters he faced. And so the 26-year-old wound up allowing six earned runs on six hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts over six innings of work. Of the 96 pitches he threw, 57 went for strikes.

After Houck blanked the Jays in the top of the sixth, Wong led off the latter-half of the inning with his first homer of the night — a 368-foot laser off Pop that deflected off the top of the Monster and knotted things up at six runs apiece. Following two scoreless innings of relief from John Schreiber and lefty Richard Bleier, Wong was yet again in the spotlight.

Going up against Erik Swanson to lead off the bottom of the eighth, Wong took aim at the Green Monster once more. This time, he took a 2-1, 93.1 mph fastball down the heart of the plate and demolished it 353 feet into the first row of Monster seats. The towering blast gave the Red Sox a 7-6 edge heading into the ninth.

With closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Chris Martin not available, manager Alex Cora turned to Josh Winckowski, who had just pitched two innings on Monday. Winckowski responded to the call by working his way around a one-out single and inducing a game-ending double play. He earned the first save of his career as a result.

Wong stays hot, literally

In his first career multi-homer game, Connor Wong went a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. He may have finished a triple shy of the cycle, but his four hits left his bat at 113.6 mph, 105.4 mph, 98.2 mph, and 105.2 mph.

Next up: Manoah vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will look to ensure a series victory over the Blue Jays with another win on Wednesday night. Nick Pivetta is slated to get the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Alek Manoah for Toronto.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Connor Wong: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Chris Sale reaches 97.8 mph, Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong both homer as Red Sox take series from Guardians with 7-1 win

The Red Sox closed out the month of April with a series-clinching win over the Guardians. On a drizzly Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, Boston defeated Cleveland by a final score of 7-1 to improve to 15-14 on the season.

Starters Chris Sale and Logan Allen traded zeroes through the first four innings of Sunday’s series finale. The Sox then drew first blood in their half of the fifth, when Connor Wong led off with a groundball single.

Jarren Duran followed by blooping a ground-rule double down the left field line to put runners at second and third base. After Enmanuel Valdez struck out on five pitches, Alex Verdugo opened the scoring by plating both Wong and Duran on a a two-run single to left-center field off Allen to put Boston up, 2-0.

Cleveland got one of those runs back in the top of the sixth. After working his way out of a jam by striking out the side in the fifth inning, Sale gave up a leadoff double to Steven Kwan. Seven pitches later, Amed Rosario drove in Kwan with an opposite-field single to cut the deficit in half.

Rosario was able to advance to second on Verdugo’s errant throw home. He then moved up to third on a Jose Ramirez flyout, but Sale left him there by getting both Josh Bell and Oscar Gonzalez to ground out, thus limiting the damage to one run.

It did not take long for the Red Sox to respond. With reliever Nick Sandlin taking over for the Guardians, Christian Arroyo ripped a one-out single in the latter half of the sixth and Wong followed by crushing a 1-2, 91.8 mph fastball on the inner half of the plate 427 feet over the Green Monster for his first home run of the year.

Wong’s two-run blast left his bat at 111.8 mph. It also gave his side a 4-1 lead. Sale, meanwhile, came back out for the seventh and retired the final batter he faced by getting Andres Gimenez to line out to Duran — who made a nice sliding catch — in center field. Having already thrown 98 pitches (71 strikes) to that point in the contest, Sale was given the hook in favor of John Schreiber.

All told, Sale allowed just the one earned run on three hits, no walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over 6 1/3 strong innings of work. The 34-year-old hurler induced 11 swings-and-misses while averaging 94.1 mph and topping out at 97.8 mph with his four-seam fastball, a pitch he threw 59 times. He picked up his second winning decision of the season and lowered his ERA to 6.75.

After Schreiber ended things in the top half of the seventh, the Sox lineup got back to work on the other side of the stretch. Verdugo greeted new Guardians reliever Peyton Battenfield by lacing a 107.9 mph leadoff home run 373 feet down the right field line for his fourth big fly of the year. Following back-to-back two-out walks from Rafael Devers and Masataka Yoshida, Arroyo extended Boston’s lead with a two-run double off the rightmost part of the Green Monster.

Both Devers and Yoshida scored on the play to make it a 7-1 contest. Arroyo then made a fantastic leaping grab in the top of the eighth to help out Richard Bleier and rob Kwan of a base hit that had an expected batting average of .810. Bleier got through the rest of the eighth unscathed, paving the way for Brennan Bernardino to come in for the ninth and secure a 7-1 victory with another 1-2-3 inning.

Sunday’s win took two hours and 32 minutes to complete. Verdugo, Arroyo, and Wong accounted for six of Boston’s nine hits and all seven RBIs. Yoshida, Duran, Arroyo, and Valdez all doubled.

Next up: Kluber vs. Berrios in first of four against Jays

Coming off a 15-13 April, the Red Sox will open the month of May by welcoming the Blue Jays into town for the first of a four-game series on Monday night. In the first meeting of the year between the two division rivals, Corey Kluber will get the start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Jose Berrios for Toronto.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen dealing with tight back, will not be available to pitch on Sunday

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen did not look quite like himself on Saturday, and it turns out there is a logical reason as to why.

Coming into play earlier in the afternoon, Jansen had yet to allow a run through his first eight relief appearances (7 2/3 innings pitched) of the season. The 35-year-old was also a perfect six-for-six in save opportunities.

In the ninth inning of Saturday’s contest against the Guardians at Fenway Park, though, Jansen was clearly laboring on the mound. With a 6-5 lead to protect, the veteran right-hander gave up back-to-back singles to Myles Straw and Steven Kwan out of the gate.

That put runners at first and second with no outs. Jansen then fanned Amed Rosario, but followed by surrendering a game-tying RBI single to Jose Ramirez that pulled Cleveland back even with Boston at six runs apiece.

Jansen, who was charged with his first blown save of the year, remained in the game and got through the rest of the inning on 29 pitches (22 strikes), but not before getting checked up on by Red Sox manager Alex Cora and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry.

The meeting on the mound was brief, as Jansen assured both Cora and Henry that he was fine. After retiring Josh Bell for the final out of the inning, though, Jansen grimaced and looked rather uncomfortable as he made his way back to the home dugout.

When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) following the Sox’ 8-7 walk-off win over the Guardians on Saturday night, Cora revealed that Jansen had dealing with back tightness throughout the day.

“His back got tight,” Cora said. “Before the game, he was running and he felt it. But he was available. He said, ‘You need me, we’ll go.'”

According to Jansen himself, he first felt his back tighten up during pregame conditioning and felt it again as he ran in from the bullpen in the top of the ninth. Though Jansen was able to pitch through the pain, he did receive some medication and is hopeful that it will kick in within the next “couple of days.”

Given what transpired on Saturday, Jansen will not be available out of the bullpen for Sunday’s series finale against the Guardians. The hope is that he will be back in action on Monday, when the Red Sox open a three-game set against the Blue Jays. If not Monday, then perhaps Tuesday.

“Pitching with lower-back tightness sucks,” Jansen told NESN’s Jahmai Webster. “We’ll see in a couple of days. We’ll take two days — probably a day or two — and then we’ll see how it feels and we’ll get back out there.”

Jansen’s blown save on Saturday represents the first for any Red Sox reliever this season. The righty now owns a 1.04 ERA with 12 strikeouts to 12 walks in his first nine outings (8 2/3 innings) with Boston. He is three saves away from 400 for his major-league career.

(Picture of Kenley Jansen: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)