Rafael Devers homers in fourth straight game, Josh Winckowski tosses 5 scoreless innings in second career start as Red Sox roll to 10-1 win over Athletics

The Red Sox once again had their way with the Athletics at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. Boston defeated Oakland, 10-1, to take the three-game series and improve to 34-29 on the season.

Early scoring was yet again key for the Sox. Matched up against A’s starter James Kaprielian out of the gate, Alex Verdugo got his productive night at the plate started and got his side on the board first with a bases-loaded RBI groundout in the first inning.

An inning later, Jackie Bradley Jr. reached base via a one-out single and Rafael Devers followed by crushing a 387-foot two-run home run into Oakland’s bullpen. Devers’ 16th home run of the season — and fourth in his last four games — gave the Red Sox a 3-0 lead.

Xander Bogaerts led off the third inning with a hard-hit double to left field and immediately scored from second on an RBI single off the bat of Verdugo. Jarren Duran, just called up from Triple-A Worcester, led off the fourth by drawing a four-pitch walk before Devers did the same. Duran, after tagging up to third, scored on a Bogaerts sacrifice fly. Devers scored from third on a throwing error committed by Kaprielian.

On the other side of things, Josh Winckowski was in the midst of putting together a solid outing in his second career major-league start. Over five scoreless innings of work, the right-hander yielded just four hits and one walk to go along with three strikeouts on the night.

Like Duran, Winckowski was recalled from Worcester on Wednesday afternoon. Despite walking the very first batter of the contest, the 23-year-old was able to work his way around some traffic on the base paths. He faced the minimum in just one of his five frames, but ultimately pitched well enough to earn his first big-league win.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 79 (52 strikes), Winckowski induced seven total swings-and-misses and topped out at 96 mph with his sinker, a pitch he threw 35 times.

In relief of Winckowski, Jake Diekman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora for the sixth inning and served up a two-out solo shot to the pinch-hitting Matt Davidson. But the Red Sox got that run back and one more when Verdugo cranked a two-run homer of his own in the bottom half of the inning.

Verdugo’s fourth big fly of the year — and first since April 16 — left his bat at a blistering 104.5 mph and traveled 393 feet into the Sox’ bullpen. It also put Boston up by seven runs at 8-1.

After Hirokazu Sawamura and Ryan Brasier combined for two scoreless innings out of the ‘pen, the Red Sox tacked on two more runs in their half of the eighth. Back-to-back one-out doubles from J.D. Martinez and Bogaerts pushed across the first of those two runs. Trevor Story then drove Bogaerts in from second on an RBI single to right field.

Story’s 42nd RBI of the season gave the Sox a commanding 10-1 lead. Tyler Danish closed things out in the ninth to slam the door on the A’s and preserve the victory.

Next up: Hill vs. Blackburn

The Red Sox will go for the three-game and season series sweep of the Athletics on Thursday afternoon. Former A’s left-hander Rich Hill will get the start for Boston and right-hander Paul Blackburn will do the same for Oakland.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Elsa/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez both homer as Red Sox cruise to 6-1 win over Athletics

The Red Sox returned home to Fenway Park for the first time in nearly two weeks on Tuesday and continued their winning ways with a series-opening win over the Athletics.

Boston defeated Oakland by a final score of 6-1 in a tidy two hours and 43 minutes to take the season series from the A’s and improve to 33-29 on the year.

Matched up against rookie left-hander Jared Koenig to begin things on Tuesday, Xander Bogaerts kicked off the scoring with a first-inning broken-bat RBI single to right field.

An inning later, Rob Refsnyder delivered with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly that scored Christian Vazquez from third base. In the bottom of the third, J.D. Martinez clubbed his eighth home run of the season and his third in his last four games.

Rafael Devers’ doubled Boston’s advantage in the fourth. With runners on first and second and no outs in the inning, Devers took an 0-1, 88 mph sinker on the inner half of the plate from Koenig and crushed it 439 feet into the right field bleachers.

Devers’ team-leading 15th big fly of the year — a three-run blast that left his bat at a blistering 107.3 mph — gave the Sox a commanding 6-0 lead at the end of the four.

To that point in the contest, Nick Pivetta had been cruising right along in his 13th start of the season for Boston. The right-hander took a no-hit bid into the fourth inning before giving up a leadoff single to Tony Kemp. He then took a shutout bid into the eighth inning before yielding a leadoff home run to Stephen Vogt.

Pivetta did not let that rattle him, though, as he proceeded to retire the next (and final) three batters he faced to end his night on a solid note. Finishing with a final pitch count of 100 (67 strikes), the 29-year-old hurler wound up allowing just the one run on three hits, two walks, and three strikeouts over eight strong innings of work.

Of the 100 pitches Pivetta threw, 55 were four-seam fastballs. He induced a game-high seven swings-and-misses with the pitch while topping out at 96.2 mph with it. He also lowered his ERA on the season down to 3.50.

In relief of Pivetta, Phillips Valdez received the first and only call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The righty allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base, but closed it out from there to secure the 6-1 victory.

Next up: Kaprielian vs. Winckowski

The Red Sox will call up rookie right-hander Josh Winckowski to start the second game of this three-game set on Wednesday. The Athletics, on the other hand, will turn to fellow righty James Kaprielian.

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

(Picture of J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers: Elsa/Getty Images)

Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers commit costly errors as Red Sox squander late scoring chances in 2-1 loss to Reds

The Red Sox closed out their month of June by nearly getting shut out for the second straight night. They instead fell to the Cincinnati Reds by a final score of 2-1 to kick off a two-game interleague series at Fenway Park on Tuesday.

With the loss, Boston finishes the month having gone 14-14 and comes into June sporting a record of 23-27 on the season.

Michael Wacha, making his eighth start of the year for the Sox, allowed one unearned run on three hits and no walks to go along with three strikeouts over 5 2/3 solid innings of work.

The veteran right-hander retired each of the first 12 batters he faced, taking a bid for a perfect game into the fifth inning before giving up a leadoff double to Joey Votto that nearly left the yard. He then stranded Votto at third base, but ran into additional trouble in the sixth by yielding back-to-back singles to Albert Almora Jr. and Matt Reynolds.

Those two hits put runners at the corners with no outs for Aristedes Aquino, who grounded into a fielder’s choice that resulted in Almora getting tagged out between third and home. After retiring Brandon Drury, Wacha was just one out away from getting through sixth scoreless frames. He got Nick Senzel to hit a groundball to Rafael Devers at third, but Devers’ throw to Franchy Cordero was wide of the mark and allowed Reynolds to score all the way from second to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead.

At that point, Wacha was given the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora in favor of Austin Davis. The 30-year-old hurler finished with a final pitch count of 72 (53 strikes) and lowered his ERA on the season to 2.43. Davis, meanwhile, got himself in and out of a bases-loaded jam before recording the first two outs of the seventh. He then made way for Tyler Danish, who ended things in the inning and gave up a 398-foot double to Votto in an otherwise clean top half of the eighth.

After Danish got the first out of the ninth, Cora turned to another left-hander in Jake Diekman. Diekman surrendered a one-out single to Mike Moustakas, who was pinch-ran for by Alejo Lopez. Lopez advanced to second on an Almora groundout. Diekman then got Almora to ground out, meaning he was one out away from keeping the Reds at one run.

That did not happen, though, as Diekman was able to get Reynolds to hit a grounder to Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts fielded the ball cleanly, but made a throw that Cordero was unable to come up with at first base. Bogaerts’ throwing error allowed Lopez to score from second to make it a 2-0 game in favor of the Reds.

Going into the latter half of the ninth, the Red Sox lineup had been thoroughly held in check by Cincinnati’s pitching staff. Luis Castillo led the way by striking out 10 over six dominant and scoreless innings.

After yielding a one-out single to Devers in the first, Castillo proceeded to sit down 14 of the next 15 batters he faced. In the bottom of the sixth, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Enrique Hernandez led off the frame by drawing back-to-back walks. Following what would turn out to be a well-timed mound visit, Devers grounded into a 4-6-3 double play and J.D. Martinez fanned on six pitches to extinguish the threat.

Fast forward to the ninth, the Sox were now matched up against Reds reliever Tony Santillan. A Hernandez single and Devers double to lead off the inning put runners at second and third with no outs. Martinez and Bogaerts were unable to push across a run, but Alex Verdugo came through with a two-out RBI single on a 101.7 mph grounder that got the best of Votto.

Devers advanced to third on the play. Santillan, however, rebounded by getting Trevor Story to strike out on three pitches and end the game with a final score of 2-1.

All told, the Red Sox went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base as a team. They are now 2-4 on their seven-game homestand that ends on Wednesday.

Next up: Greene vs. Whitlock

On that note, the Red Sox will wrap up their quick two-game series against the Reds on Wednesday night. Boston will turn to righty Garrett Whitlock in the finale while Cincinnati will roll with rookie right-hander Hunter Greene.

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

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rich Hill takes no-hitter into 5th inning, but Red Sox leave 12 runners on base and see winning streak come to an end in 3-1 loss to White Sox

The Red Sox saw their six-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday following a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Not only does the loss put an end to Boston’s winning streak, it also drops them to 20-23 on the season.

After a 30-minute rain delay, the Red Sox lineup got to White Sox starter Lucas Giolito with two outs in the first inning. J.D. Martinez kept the inning alive with a single, advanced to second on an Alex Verdugo walk, and scored from second on a softly-hit RBI single off the bat of Alex Verdugo.

Boston appeared to have Giolito on the ropes the same way they had Dylan Cease on the ropes on Tuesday, but the savvy righty escaped any further damage by getting Trevor Story to ground out to Tim Anderson before settling in for the night.

Rich Hill, meanwhile, took a no-hit bid into the fifth inning before giving up a leadoff double to Jose Abreu. A.J. Pollock then reached base on a Rafael Devers throwing error, bringing Jake Burger to the plate with no outs and two runners on.

On the third pitch he saw from Hill, Burger demolished a 67 mph slider and deposited it 444 feet into the left-field seats to give the White Sox a 3-1 lead.

Hill retired the final three batters he faced to end his eighth start of the season on a more encouraging note. Over five innings, the veteran left-hander allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits, one walk, and one strikeout on 65 pitches — 49 of which were strikes.

In relief of Hill, Tanner Houck received the first and only call from manager Alex Cora out of the Boston bullpen and impressed by scattering three hits, two walks, and three strikeouts across three scoreless frames. 34 of the 57 pitches he threw went for strikes.

While Houck was putting up zeroes, the Red Sox bats struggled to get anything going against Giolito and Co. After loading the bases off Kendall Graveman with two outs in the seventh, Verdugo grounded out to second to extinguish the threat.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth and matched up against White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, Enrique Hernandez and Martinez each drew a walk to ultimately put runners on the corners with two outs for Xander Bogaerts.

Bogaerts, however, popped out to shallow right field to end things there. When all was said and done on Wednesday, the Red Sox — despite out-hitting the White Sox 7-5 — went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base as a team.

Next up: Wacha vs. Keuchel in series finale

The Red Sox will go for the series win over the White Sox on Thursday night. Right-hander Michael Wacha will get the start for Boston while left-hander Dallas Keuchel will do the same for Chicago.

First pitch from Guaranteed Rate Field is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Rich Hill: Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Red Sox go deep 4 times en route to 16-3 blowout win over White Sox

The Red Sox wasted no time in teeing off against Dylan Cease and the White Sox on Tuesday. A four-run first inning powered Boston to a 16-3 victory over Chicago at Guaranteed Rate Field.

By taking the opener of this three-game series, the Sox extend their winning streak to six consecutive games while improving to 20-22 on the season.

On the very first pitch he saw from Cease in the first inning, Enrique Hernandez crushed a leadoff home run 372 feet into Chicago’s bullpen to give Boston an immediate 1-0 lead. Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez followed with a single and walk, which put runners at the corners with two outs when Trevor Story stepped up to the plate.

Fresh off being named the American League Player of the Week, Story picked up where he left off by not letting Cease off the hook and instead depositing a three-run home run 398 feet to left field. Story’s eighth homer of the year put the Red Sox up 4-0.

An inning later, back-to-back hard-hit doubles from Jackie Bradley Jr. and Hernandez to lead things off made it a 5-0 game. Martinez tacked on another by lacing a 105 mph RBI single to left field that increased the advantage to six runs.

In the third, Christian Vazquez followed a one-out Franchy Cordero walk by ripping a single back up the middle that advanced Cordero up to third base. Cordero scored from third when Bradley Jr. beat out a double play by reaching first base safely.

After the White Sox dipped into their bullpen beginning in the fourth inning, Devers greeted new reliever Jose Ruiz by mashing an opposite-field solo blast that left his bat at 106 mph. Devers’ 10th big fly of the season made it an 8-0 ballgame in favor of the Red Sox. Ruiz proceeded to fill the bases with no outs in the fourth before giving up an RBI sacrifice fly to Cordero and run-scoring single to Vazquez.

To that point in the contest, Nick Pivetta had retired each of the first nine batters he faced. The right-hander’s bid for a perfect game came to an end in the bottom of the fourth when he yielded a leadoff double to Tim Anderson. He then served up a two-out, two-run home run to Jose Abreu that saw his shutout bid end as well.

The Red Sox lineup picked up their starter in the top half of the fifth, though. With one out, Martinez and Bogaerts each reached base off Bennett Sousa for Alex Verdugo, who made his first hit of the night count in the form of an RBI single. Story and Cordero kept the line moving with two more run-scoring knocks before Vazquez drove them both in on a 400-foot three-run homer to left field. Vazquez’s second long ball of the season gave Boston a commanding 16-2 lead.

Pivetta, meanwhile, ran into some more trouble in the latter half of the fifth when he gave up a two-out double to Andrew Vaughn that was followed by a run-scoring single off the bat of Tim Anderson to trim Chicago’s deficit to 13 runs at 16-3. Pivetta’s outing came to a close after he stranded a pair of base runners in a scoreless sixth inning.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 88 (51 strikes), the 29-year-old hurler wound up allowing three earned runs on five hits, two walks, and five strikeouts over six innings of work. His ERA on the season now sits at 4.25 after nine starts.

In relief of Pivetta, Hirokazu Sawamura received the first call out of the Red Sox bullpen from manager Alex Cora beginning in the seventh. The righty sat down three of the four he faced before making way in the eighth for Matt Barnes, who, too, put up a zero. And in the ninth, Tyler Danish slammed the door on the White Sox to put the finishing touches on the blowout.

All told, the Sox offense tallied a season-high 16 runs on 19 hits — four of which left the yard — while going 9-for-18 with runners in scoring position. Hernandez, Devers, Story, Verdugo, and Bradley Jr. had two hits apiece, Martinez accounted for four, and Vazquez had three.

Next up: Hill vs. Giolito

The Red Sox will go for their fourth straight win on Wednesday night when they send veteran left-hander Rich Hill to the mound. The White Sox will counter with right-hander Lucas Giolito.

First pitch from Guaranteed Rate Field is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Trevor Story and Rafael Devers: Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers homers twice as Red Sox erase 5-run deficit and come from behind to beat Mariners, 6-5

The Red Sox once again fell behind early against the Mariners on Saturday but battled their way back at Fenway Park. Boston defeated Seattle by a final score of 6-5 to win their fourth straight game and third consecutive series while improving to 18-22 on the season.

Before the Sox could even take their first at-bats of the afternoon, they already found themselves trailing by four runs. Garrett Whitlock, making his sixth start of the year, allowed the Mariners to score four times in the top half of the first inning.

After getting through a scoreless second inning, the right-hander ran into more trouble in the third by giving up back-to-back two-out hits to Mike Ford and Luis Torrens, which resulted in another Seattle run crossing the plate.

The third would prove to be Whitlock’s final inning of work, as he wound up surrendering a season-high five earned runs on 10 hits, no walks, and three strikeouts on 71 pitches (48 strikes). The 25-year-old’s ERA now sits at 3.58.

To that point in the contest, the Boston lineup had yet to do anything of significance against opposing starter Chris Flexen. That changed in the bottom half of the third though, as Rafael Devers got his productive day at the plate started by crushing a 413-foot solo shot into the bleachers to get his side on the board and make it a 5-1 ballgame.

Fast forward to the fifth, after Tyler Danish had hurled two scoreless frames out of the Sox bullpen, and Devers struck again. Following a leadoff double from Enrique Hernandez, the left-handed slugger took Flexen 386 feet over the Green Monster for his second big fly of the game and ninth of the season.

Devers’ two-run blast, which had an exit velocity of 102.1 mph, cut the deficit down to two runs at 5-3. But the Red Sox were not done there. A J.D. Martinez double and Xander Bogaerts single chased Flexen from the contest and put runners on the corners for Bobby Dalbec, who greeted new Mariners reliever Sergio Romo by lifting an RBI single to center field to drive in Martinez and move Bogaerts up to third. Trevor Story followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Bogaerts to tie things up at five runs apiece.

From there, Jake Diekman punched out the side in the sixth, Hansel Robles worked his way around a two-out double in the seventh, and John Schreiber retired the only three batters he faced in the top of the eighth to keep the 5-5 tie intact.

With one out in the bottom half of the eighth, Franchy Cordero laced a 110.5 mph triple off the Green Monster to put the potential go-ahead run in scoring position for Christian Vazquez, who came through with the game-winning single off Drew Steckenrider that plated Cordero and gave the Sox a 6-5 lead.

Looking to protect that lead, Red Sox manager Alex Cora called upon Matt Barnes to take the mound in the ninth inning. Barnes, in turn, needed just 15 pitches (and a little defensive help from Hernandez) to slam the door shut on the Mariners and notch his second save of the season.

All told, five Boston relievers (Danish, Diekman, Robles, Schreiber, and Barnes) combined to toss six shutout innings in relief of Whitlock on Saturday. The Red Sox lineup, meanwhile, went 4-for-6 with runners in scoring position while putting together their largest comeback win of the season thus far.

Next up: Gilbert vs. Eovaldi in series finale

The Red Sox will look to close out the weekend with a four-game sweep over the Mariners on Sunday afternoon. Veteran right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will get the start for Boston opposite fellow righty Logan Gilbert for Seattle.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Nick Pivetta tosses complete game 2-hitter as Red Sox take series from Astros with 5-1 win

The ball was once again flying out of Fenway Park on Wednesday night as the Red Sox bounced back with a series-clinching win over the Astros. Boston defeated Houston by a final score of 5-1 to improve to 15-22 on the season.

After Nick Pivetta surrendered a leadoff home run to Jose Altuve, the Sox lineup quickly responded by scoring two runs in their half of the first inning. Matched up against Jose Garcia, Rafael Devers ripped a one-out triple down the right field line and scored from third on a J.D. Martinez sacrifice fly that nearly left the yard.

Xander Bogaerts followed by actually leaving the yard, as he crushed a Garcia cutter 358 feet over the Green Monster for his fourth home run of the season. Fast forward to the third, Enrique Hernandez led off by reaching base on a fielding error and scoring all the way from first on a wallball double off the bat of Devers.

An inning later, Trevor Story drew a leadoff walk and moved up to second when Franchy Cordero reached base on an Altuve fielding error. Both runners were driven in on back-to-back run-scoring singles from Christian Vazquez and Hernandez, which gave the Red Sox a commanding 5-1 lead.

Pivetta, meanwhile, had settled in nicely after giving up that leadoff homer to Altuve. In what was his eighth start of the season for Boston, the right-hander retired 18 consecutive batters at one point before yielding a leadoff double to Michael Brantley in the top of the seventh. He stranded Brantley on second and then sat down the side in order in the eighth.

Coming back out for the ninth, Pivetta put the finishing touches on a complete game two-hitter as well as a 5-1 win with yet another scoreless frame. He becomes the first Red Sox starter to record an out in both the eighth and ninth inning of a game this season.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 112 (78 strikes), Pivetta wound up allowing just one earned run on two hits, no walks, and eight strikeouts over eight solid innings of work. It is the second complete game of the 29-year-old’s career.

The Red Sox have now won their last two series. While Martinez saw his hitting streak come to an end, Devers extended his to 12 consecutive games. Pivetta, on the other hand, picked up his first home win of the year while lowering his ERA on the season to 4.22.

Next up: Welcoming in the Mariners

The Red Sox will next welcome the Mariners into town for the start of a four-game weekend series on Thursday night. Veteran left-hander Rich Hill will be getting the start for Boston while rookie right-hander George Kirby will be doing the same for Seattle.

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

(Picture of Nick Pivetta: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Nathan Eovaldi gives up 5 home runs in single inning as Red Sox get blown out by Astros, 13-4

The Red Sox fell behind early and could never recover against the Astros on a breezy Tuesday night at Fenway Park. Boston fell to Houston by a final score of 13-4 to drop to 14-22 on the season.

Matched up against Jose Urquidy to start things out, the Sox got off to a quick start thanks to Rafael Devers. With one out in the bottom of the first inning, Devers extended his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games by crushing a one-out home run 108.7 mph to center field. Moments later, J.D. Martinez extended his own hitting streak to 18 straight games with a single.

After needing just five pitches to retire the side in the top half of the first, Nathan Eovaldi took the mound in the second inning with a 1-0 lead to work with. Despite those two things working in his favor, the right-hander did not make it out of the second.

Instead, Eovaldi served up a leadoff homer to Yordan Alvarez that saw that one-run lead disappear. Yuli Gurriel then reached base on a missed catch error and Kyle Tucker capitalized on Boston’s mistake by mashing a two-run home run over Houston’s bullpen. Jeremy Pena, who played his college ball at the University of Maine, followed with a solo blast to left-center.

So the Astros had plated four runs without recording an out in the second. Eovaldi got that elusive first out, but then ran into more trouble by giving up back-to-back one-out hits to Martin Maldonado and Jose Altuve. Michael Brantley capitalized on the opportunity in front of him by cranking a three-run home run to right field. Houston batted around in the inning as Alvarez singled with two outs and Gurriel ended Eovaldi’s night with a 381-foot two-run blast.

Eovaldi’s eighth start of the season was also his shortest. The 32-year-old allowed nine runs — six of which were earned — on eight hits, no walks, and no strikeouts over just 1 2/3 innings of work. He also became the first Red Sox pitcher to ever give up as many as five home runs in a single inning, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

Tyler Danish took over for Eovaldi and ended things in the second. An inning later, Devers stayed hot by ripping a leadoff double to left field. Martinez followed — and also stayed hot — by hitting his fifth big fly of the season. A 401-foot two-run shot trimmed the Sox’ deficit down to six runs at 9-3.

Danish, meanwhile, had gotten through a scoreless third inning before loading the bases with one out in the fourth. The reliever then yielded a 386-foot grand slam to Kyle Tucker that put the Astros back up by 10 runs.

Following a perfect top half of the fifth from Hirokazu Sawamura, Boston got one of those runs back in the latter half when Trevor Story scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Kevin Plawecki.

Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes, and Jake Diekman worked one shutout frame each, as did Austin Davis.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, Alex Verdugo, Story, Franchy Cordero, and Plawecki went down in order against Blake Taylor to seal a 13-4 defeat for the Red Sox.

Boston went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday and left 13 runners on base as a team. Despite those situational struggles, Devers and Martinez combined for six hits as they each finished a triple shy of the cycle. Verdugo and Story also had four hits between them.

Next up: Garcia vs. Pivetta

The Red Sox will look to bounce back as they go for the series win over the Astros on Wednesday. Boston will turn to right-hander Nick Pivetta while Houston will roll with fellow righty Luis Garcia in the series finale.

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

(Picture of Nathan Eovaldi: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Red Sox fail to complete sweep of Rangers, end road trip with 7-1 loss in Texas

The Red Sox were unable to finish off a three-game sweep of the Rangers to close out the weekend. Boston instead saw their winning streak snapped at two games following a 7-1 loss to Texas at Globe Life Field on Sunday afternoon. Their record is now 13-21.

In what was a bullpen game for the Sox’ pitching staff, Austin Davis served as the opener while also making the first start of his major-league career. The left-hander pitched well, allowing just one walk to go along with two strikeouts over two-plus scoreless and hitless innings of work. 19 of the 35 pitches he threw went for strikes.

Davis’ day came to an end after issuing a leadoff walk to Nathaniel Lowe in the bottom of the third. He was replaced by Tanner Houck, who took a combined no-hit bid into the fifth inning.

Shortly before Houck took the mound for the bottom half of the fifth, the Boston lineup finally got something going against old friend Martin Perez in their half of the fifth. With two outs in the inning, Enrique Hernandez singled and immediately came into score on a 110.6 mph RBI double off the bat of Rafael Devers.

That gave the Red Sox their first lead of the day at 1-0. Houck, however, gave that run right back when he served up a leadoff homer to Kole Calhoun a half-inning later, which knotted things back up at 1-1.

After Houck got through the rest of the fifth, manager Alex Cora next turned to fellow righty Ryan Brasier out of the Boston bullpen. Brasier, in turn, got hit hard. He gave up a one-out double to Marcus Semien that was followed by a five-pitch walk of Corey Seager. Jonah Heim fanned for the second out, but Adolis Garcia demolished a three-run home run 413 feet to right-center field.

Calhoun followed in Garcia’s footsteps by going deep again moments later. His second big fly of the afternoon put the Rangers up 5-1. Tyler Danish took over for Brasier in the seventh and surrendered another homer to Adolis Garcia. This one was good for two runs and gave Texas a commanding 7-1 lead.

Besides what they did in the fifth inning, the Red Sox bats were held in check by Perez and three relievers out of the Rangers’ bullpen. After exploding for 10 runs on Saturday, Boston went a measly 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position on Sunday while leaving nine runners on base as a team.

If there are any positives to take away from Sunday’s performance, it’s that Devers extended his hitting streak to eight consecutive games with a 3-for-4 showing at the plate. J.D. Martinez, on the other hand, went 1-for-4 with a single to extend his hitting streak to 16 straight games.

Next up: Back to Boston

The Red Sox will head back to Boston and kick off a seven-game homestand by first welcoming the Astros into town for the first of three on Monday night. Boston will give right-hander Garrett Whitlock the ball in the series opener while Houston will roll with fellow righty Jake Odorizzi.

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

(Picture of Kole Calhoun: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez both homer to extend hitting streaks as Red Sox score season-high 11 runs for second straight win over Rangers

For the second time this season, the Red Sox have won two consecutive games. For the second time this season, the Red Sox have won a series. Their first series victory came against the Twins nearly a month ago. Their second series victory came against the Rangers on Saturday.

Boston defeated Texas by a final score of 11-3 at Globe Life Field to improve to 13-20 on the season.

As was the case on Friday, the Sox lineup got off to a quick start while opposed by Rangers starter Glenn Otto. Beginning right away in the first inning, J.D. Martinez clubbed a solo home run 404 feet to left-center field to extend his hitting streak to 15 games and give his side an early 1-0 lead.

In the top half of the second, Franchy Cordero ignited a four-run rally by drawing a leadoff walk off Otto. Christian Vazquez moved Cordero up to second base and Bobby Dalbec drove him in on an RBI single. After Jackie Bradley Jr. dropped down a successful sacrifice bunt, Enrique Hernandez plated Vazquez on a sacrifice fly.

With two outs and one runner on, Rafael Devers crushed a 1-2, 89 mph changeup from Otto off the left field foul pole for a two-run blast. Devers’ sixth homer of the year had an exit velocity of 101.7 mph and put the Red Sox up 5-1.

Fast forward to the fourth, Dalbec led things off with a line-drive double, moved up to third on a single from Bradley Jr., and scored from third when Hernandez beat out a double play.

An inning later, Cordero finally knocked Otto out of the game by knocking in Trevor Story on an RBI single. Vazquez then greeted new Rangers reliever Josh Sborz by absolutely drilling a 100.2 mph run-scoring double off the wall in right-center field. Vazquez once again came into score on another RBI double off the bat of Hernandez, which gave the Red Sox a commanding 9-1 lead.

On the other side of things, Boston received their second strong starting pitching performance in as many days. After Nick Pivetta dominated on Friday, Rich Hill impressed in his sixth start of the season and first since returning from the COVID-19 related injured list earlier Saturday afternoon.

Over a season-high six-plus innings of work, the veteran left-hander allowed three runs — two of which were earned — on seven hits and no walks to go along with four strikeouts on the night.

After a Story fielding error and two stolen bases cost him one unearned run in the bottom of the first, Hill settled in by retiring 15 of the next 18 batters he faced from the middle of the second inning through the end of the sixth. He came back out for the seventh but was unable to record an out and instead surrendered three straight hits — including a two-run double from Kole Calhoun — before getting the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 94 (64 strikes), which is also a season high, Hill induced a total of 11 swings-and-misses while throwing 38 curveballs, 31 four-seam fastballs, 16 sliders, and nine changeups. The 42-year-old southpaw actually saw his ERA on the year rise to 2.89.

In relief of Hill, Hirokazu Sawamura got the first call out of the Boston bullpen from Cora and proceeded to strand the only runner he inherited by getting through the rest of the seventh unscathed.

On the heels of that sequence, the Sox got one of those runs back in their half of the eighth when Bogaerts drove in Devers from third on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Matt Barnes then took over for Sawamura in the bottom of the eighth and retired the side in order. In the ninth, after Bradley Jr. brought in Cordero with an infield single, Jake Diekman slammed the door on the Rangers to preserve the 11-3 victory.

Some notes from this win:

The Red Sox scored a season-high 11 runs on Saturday while going 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Franchy Cordero, starting in place of Alex Verdugo in left field, went 2-for-4 with one walk, one RBI and two runs scored. He put the ball into play four times with exit velocities of 107.6 mph, 111.4 mph, 100.4 mph, and 101.6 mph.

The bottom-third of the Red Sox lineup (Vazquez, Dalbec, Bradley Jr.) went a combined 6-for-14 with one double, three RBIs, and four runs scored.

Next up: Bullpen game on tap

The Red Sox will go for the three-game sweep of the Rangers on Sunday afternoon. Austin Davis will serve as the opener and make his first career start for Boston. Texas will roll with an old friend in fellow left-hander Martin Perez.

First pitch from Globe Life Field is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)