Tag: tanner houck

Jarren Duran leads the way with 3 RBIs as Red Sox hold on for 3-2 win over Astros

On a day filled with distractions — and trades — the Red Sox pulled off a come-from-behind victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park on Monday night.

Boston defeated Houston by a final score 3-2 to improve to 52-52 on the season and win back-to-back games for the first time since July 9-10.

Nathan Eovaldi, in what could be his final start with the Red Sox ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, put together a gritty performance at his hometown ballpark. The veteran right-hander allowed two runs — both of which were unearned — on four hits and two walks to go along with six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings of work.

Both of those runs came in the bottom of the third inning. With the Red Sox already in possession of a 1-0 lead, Jose Altuve led off by reaching first base on a Christian Arroyo fielding error. Yuli Gurriel then grounded into what had the makings to be a 6-4-3 double play, but Xander Bogaerts misplayed the ball, allowing both runners to reach base safely. Yordan Alvarez proceeded to plate Altuve on a game-tying sacrifice fly while Aledmys Diaz drove in Gurriel on an RBI double.

Eovaldi managed to strand Diaz at second base in the process of retiring the next 11 batters he faced. With one out in the seventh, Martin Maldonado lifted a 241-foot flyball to right field that Franchy Cordero could not come up with.

That is how Eovaldi’s night came to a close. The 32-year-old hurler finished with a final pitch count of 97 (60 strikes), though he only averaged 94.1 mph with his four-seam fastball. His ERA on the season now sits at 3.81.

Offensively, Jarren Duran accounted for all three of Boston’s runs on Monday. Matched up against Astros righty Luis Garcia, Duran laced a ground-rule RBI double to drive in Bobby Dalbec from second with two outs in the third inning.

Fast forward to the fifth, the Dalbec-Duran combination struck again. With Garcia still on the mound for Houston, Dalbec drew a leadoff walk and Duran once more came up to the plate with two outs.

On a first-pitch, 84 mph cutter from Garcia, Duran crushed a 379-foot two-run shot to right field. Duran’s second home run of the season left his bat at 98.1 mph. It also gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night at 3-2.

In relief of Eovaldi, John Schreiber received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. With one runner on and two outs to get in the seventh, Schreiber got Altuve to ground into an inning-ending, 5-4-3 double play. He then allowed two of the first three Astros he faced to reach in the eighth before retiring Kyle Tucker and punching out Jeremy Pena on six pitches.

That paved the way for Tanner Houck in the ninth. Houck made relative quick work of the Astros to record his seventh save of the season and his first since June 25.

Next up: Crawford vs. Javier

The Red Sox will go for a rare series win over the Astros on Tuesday night. Kutter Crawford will get the start for Boston while fellow right-hander Cristian Javier will do the same for Houston.

First pitch from Minute Maid Park is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Franchy Cordero commits 3 errors as Red Sox blow late lead and fall to Guardians, 7-6, to drop below .500

For the first time since June 4, the Red Sox are under .500. Boston blew a late lead and ultimately fell to the Guardians by a final score of 7-6 on Wednesday night to drop to 49-50 on the season.

Nathan Eovaldi, making his second start since returning from the injured list on July 15, allowed five runs (three earned) on nine hits and zero walks to go along with one strikeout over six innings of work.

Three of those five Cleveland runs came in the top half of the second inning. Franmil Reyes led off with a ground-rule double and moved up to third base on an Owen Miller single. Following a mound visit from pitching coach Dave Bush, Eovaldi got Nolan Jones to chop a groundball in the direction of Franchy Cordero at first base.

Cordero, while running to his right, attempted to corral the ball with his glove but picked it off the ground barehanded. With his momentum carrying him in the opposite direction, he made an awkward throw to Eovaldi, who was covering the first-base bag. Said, throw, however, was nowhere near Eovaldi and instead rolled into the Red Sox dugout. So not only did Reyes score on the play, but Miller advanced to third while Jones reached base safely.

The Guardians took full advantage of Cordero’s fielding and throwing errors, as Austin Hedges plated Miller on an RBI groundout and Straw drove in Jones on a run-scoring double to give his side an early 3-0 advantage.

The Red Sox, matched up against right-hander Cal Quantrill, responded by scoring two runs of their own in the bottom of the second. After Cordero drew a two-out walk, Bobby Dalbec crushed a 410-foot two-run home run over the Green Monster to cut the deficit to one at 3-2.

Eovaldi, meanwhile ran into more trouble in the fourth, when Jones led off with a sharply-hit double and moved up to third on a successful sacrifice bunt laid down by Hedges. Straw fanned on four pitches for the second out, but Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario kept the inning alive by stringing together back-to-back run-scoring hits.

Once more, the Sox kept the pressure on by answering with two runs in the latter half of the fourth. Christian Vazquez reached on a one-out single and then scored all the way from first on an RBI double off the bat of Cordero that neither Kawan or Rosario could handle cleanly. As a result, Cordero advanced up to third base and easily scored on a Dalbec sacrifice fly.

At the very least, Eovaldi was able to settle down a bit from there. The 32-year-old right-hander retired eight of the final nine batters he faced leading into the middle of the sixth inning. Of the 95 pitches he wound up throwing, 67 went for strikes. His ERA on the season now sits at 4.32.

The Cordero-Dalbec combo struck again in the bottom of the sixth. Moments after the former reached base on a force out, the latter followed by clubbing his second home run of the night. Dalbec’s 10th homer of the season left his bat at 107.1 mph and traveled 397 feet to dead center field. It also gave the Red Sox their first lead of the contest at 6-5.

That newfound lead would not last long, though. After John Schreiber worked a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Eovaldi, the righty was called upon again to take the mound in the eighth. He begin the frame by giving up an infield single to Jones, but the Guardians rookie was able to take second base as well thanks to another Cordero throwing error.

Schreiber then surrendered a game-tying RBI double to Straw. An inning later, Tanner Houck served up a go-ahead solo homer to Josh Naylor that put Cleveland back up, 6-5.

Emmanuel Clase came on to close things out in the ninth for the second straight night and did just that by making quick work of Jackie Bradley Jr., Yolmer Sanchez, and Rob Refsnyder.

With the loss, Boston has now dropped seven of its last eight games to fall to a dismal 6-17 in the month of July. It is also 31-41 against teams with winning records and 13-16 in one-run games this season.

According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, Cordero is the first Red Sox first baseman to commit three errors in a single game since Mo Vaughn did so in 1993.

Dalbec, on the other hand, has four hits in his last seven games. Three of those have left the yard.

Next up: Crawford vs. McKenzie

The Red Sox will look to settle for a four-game series split in Thursday’s finale with the Guardians. In a starting pitching matchup featuring a pair of right-handers who went to high school in Florida, Kutter Crawford will get the ball for Boston while Triston McKenzie will do the same for Cleveland.

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

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Should Red Sox consider taking Oklahoma State right-hander Justin Campbell with top pick in this year’s draft?

Could the Red Sox select Oklahoma State University right-hander Justin Campbell with their first-round pick in the upcoming draft? Baseball America’s Tom Lipari recently suggested as much.

Lipari, representing the Red Sox in Baseball America’s latest staff draft, selected Campbell with the 24th overall pick, noting that the righty is mature and could be a quick mover through any system.

Campbell is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 27 prospect in this year’s draft class, ranking eight among eligible pitchers. The California native was originally selected by the Astros in the 18th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Simi Valley High School, but opted to go to college as opposed to going pro as a teenager.

Now 21 years old, Campbell just put the finishing touches on a junior season with the Cowboys in which he posted a 3.82 ERA and 1.07 WHIP to go along with 141 strikeouts to 25 walks over 17 appearances (16 starts) spanning 101 1/3 innings of work. He was named to the All-Big 12 First Team for his efforts.

Listed at an intimidating 6-foot-7 and 219 pounds, Campbell throws from a three-quarters arm slot and works with four different offerings in a 90-93 mph fastball that can reach 94-95 mph, a 75-78 mph curveball “with tight 1-to-7 break,” an 80-82 mph slider, and an upper-70s changeup, per his Baseball America scouting report.

The Red Sox last used a first-rounder on a college pitcher in 2017, when they took righty Tanner Houck out of the University of Missouri. Boston also owned the 24th overall pick in that draft five years ago.

This time around, the 24th overall selection comes with a recommended slot value of roughly $2.975 million. It does not appear as though Campbell participated in last month’s draft combine in San Diego, so whichever team drafts him would not be required to offer of at least 75% of the slot value of their assigned pick.

Campbell, who does not turn 22 until February, has eligibility remaining and could therefore return to Oklahoma State for the 2023 season if his draft bonus demands are not met by whichever club takes him.

On that note, the 2022 MLB Draft will get underway in Los Angeles on Sunday. The Red Sox will pick at No. 24, No. 41, and No. 79 on Day 1, which will begin at 7 p.m. eastern time.

(Picture of Justin Campbell: David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox reinstate Tanner Houck and Jarren Duran from restricted list, designate Silvino Bracho for assignment

The Red Sox have reinstated right-hander Tanner Houck and outfielder Jarren Duran from the restricted list, the team announced Thursday afternoon. In order to make room for Houck and Duran on the 26- and 40-man rosters, infielder Yolmer Sanchez was returned to Triple-A Worcester while reliever Silvino Bracho was designated for assignment.

Houck and Duran were unable to travel with the Red Sox to Toronto for their series against the Blue Jays since they are both not vaccinated against COVID-19. They instead spent the last three days working out at Fenway Park before re-joining the team in Chicago for their upcoming bout with the Cubs.

Because of their unvaccinated status, Houck and Duran were placed on the restricted list on Monday and did not receive any pay or service time while they were on it. In their place, Sanchez and righty Connor Seabold were called up from Worcester.

Sanchez got the start at second base on Wednesday and went 0-for-1 with a sacrifice bunt and walk before being pinch-hit for by Bobby Dalbec in the ninth inning of a 6-5 win.

Seabold made his second career start in Monday’s series opener at Rogers Centre, allowing seven runs on nine hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of work. The 26-year-old was optioned back down to the minors that night, but remains with the big-league club as a member of their taxi squad and is likely to start against the Cubs on Sunday.

In Seabold’s place, Bracho — who had been on Boston’s taxi squad — was activated on Tuesday to provide the Sox with an extra bullpen arm for their final two games against the Jays. The 29-year-old did not make an appearance despite spending two days on the major-league roster, however, and has now lost his spot on the 40-man.

Unlike Sanchez, who as a COVID-related substitute for Duran was able to be taken off the 40-man roster and returned to Worcester without being exposed to waivers, Bracho was expectedly designated for assignment since he was not directly filling in for a player on the restricted list.

By designating Bracho, the Red Sox created the opening they needed to add Houck back to both the 26-man and 40-man rosters. Boston will now have the next seven days to either trade, release, or waive Bracho, who has posted a 3.16 ERA and 2.58 FIP with 36 strikeouts to four walks in 18 appearances (1 start) spanning 31 1/3 innings of work for the WooSox this season.

That being said, the native Venezuelan has the ability to reject an outright assignment to Worcester if he goes unclaimed since he has accrued more than three years of big-league service time.

All told, the Red Sox’ big-league and 40-man roster is at full capacity heading into this weekend’s series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox comeback attempt falls short as bullpen blows late lead in 6-5 loss to Blue Jays

For the first time this month, the Red Sox have lost consecutive games. After dropping Monday’s series opener to the Blue Jays, Boston nearly bounced back with a come-from-behind win but were instead walked off by Toronto in a crushing 6-5 loss.

It was nearly a come-from-behind win because the Sox found themselves trailing by three runs after just one inning. Michael Wacha, making his 13th start of the season, ran into some early trouble as he walked two of the first three batters he faced before giving up an RBI double to Teoscar Hernandez. One batter later, Matt Chapman followed with a two-run double that plated both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Hernandez.

Despite facing an early 3-0 hole, the Boston bats quickly responded in the second inning when Trevor Story laced a 375-foot solo shot to left field off Toronto starter Ross Stripling. Story’s 12th home run of the season left his bat at a blistering 113.4 mph, making it the hardest-hit batted ball of his career.

With his team only trailing by two runs now, Wacha was able to settle in a bit. The right-hander yielded one more run on a Santiago Espinal single in the third but retired five of the final six Blue Jays he faced from the middle of the fourth inning up until the end of the fifth.

Moments before Wacha tossed a scoreless fifth inning, the Sox cut into the Jays’ lead a little more in their half of the fifth. Christian Vazquez and Franchy Cordero led off with a single and double to put runners at second and third with no outs. Rob Refsnyder then drove in Vazquez on an RBI groundout to make it a 4-2 contest in favor of Toronto.

Upon recording the final out of the fifth, Wacha had thrown 90 pitches (57 strikes). The 30-year-old hurler wound up giving up four earned runs on seven hits, three walks, and two strikeouts over five innings of work. His ERA on the season now sits at 2.69.

In relief of Wacha, Ryan Brasier was first dispatched out of the bullpen by the Red Sox. The righty maneuvered his way around a pair of two-out singles to hold the Jays at four runs heading into the seventh.

Now matched up against Blue Jays reliever Trent Thornton, Christian Arroyo reached base with two outs to bring the potential tying run to the plate in the form of Refsnyder. Already 1-for-3 on the night, Refsnyder delivered in the clutch yet again with a game-tying two-run home run that came on a 1-0, 96 mph fastball down the heart of the plate.

Refsnyder made it a 4-4 game with his second homer of the season. After John Schreiber took care of business in the latter half of the seventh, Vazquez gave his side its first lead of the night a half-inning later on a go-ahead RBI single off Tim Mayza.

The Sox then loaded the bases with one out when the pinch-hitting Bobby Dalbec drew a six-pitch walk off new reliever Matt Gage. But Arroyo followed by lining into an inning-ending double play.

Taking a newfound 5-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth, Tyler Danish sat down the side in order on 15 pitches. With closer Tanner Houck unavailable due to his vaccination status, though, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was forced to get creative and he turned to Danish for a second inning in the ninth.

That decision did not pan out, as Danish gave up a single and issued a walk to lead off the inning. He was then given the hook in favor of Hansel Robles, who proceeded to surrender a game-tying single to Bo Bichette that was followed by a walk-off hit off the bat of Guerrero Jr.

Danish was charged with the loss, Robles with the blown save, and the Red Sox fell to 2-7 against the Blue Jays this season. They now sport an overall record of 42-33 on the year.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Manoah in finale

Having already seen their streak of consecutive series wins snapped at seven, the Red Sox will look to snap their two-game losing streak against the Blue Jays on Wednesday night. Canadian-born right-hander Nick Pivetta will get the start for Boston while fellow righty Alek Manoah will do the same for Toronto.

First pitch from Rogers Centre is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Mark Blinch/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Tanner Houck, Jarren Duran on restricted list, call up Connor Seabold, Yolmer Sánchez from Triple-A Worcester

Before opening a three-game series against the Blue Jays in Toronto on Monday, the Red Sox placed closer Tanner Houck and outfielder Jarren Duran on the restricted list.

To take their place on the major-league roster, right-hander Connor Seabold and infielder Yolmer Sanchez were called up from Triple-A Worcester, the team announced.

Neither Houck or Duran are vaccinated against COVID-19 and therefore cannot travel to Canada. They will not receive pay or service time for the next three days and will instead work out at Fenway Park before rejoining the Red Sox in Chicago later this week.

Seabold, meanwhile, will make the second start of his big-league career at Rogers Centre on Monday night while filling in for the injured Garrett Whitlock. The 26-year-old made his major-league debut in a spot start against the White Sox last September and allowed two runs in three innings at Guaranteed Rate Field.

In 11 starts for the WooSox this season, Seabold has posted a 2.09 ERA and 2.99 FIP with 51 strikeouts to 14 walks over 51 2/3 innings of work. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound hurler works with a fastball, slider, changeup, and curveball and is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 10 pitching prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Unlike Seabold, Sanchez is not on Boston’s 40-man roster. That said, the Red Sox will be able to return the 29-year-old to Worcester without having to expose him to waivers following the conclusion of their series in Toronto.

Sanchez, who actually turns 30 on Wednesday, originally signed a minor-league deal with Boston back in February. The Venezuela native spent the first seven years of his major-league career with the White Sox and won the American League Gold Glove Award for second baseman in 2019.

In 68 games (265 plate appearances) with the WooSox this season, the switch-hitting Sanchez has batted .253/.381/.424 (120 wRC+) with 11 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 29 RBIs, 32 runs scored, four stolen bases, 44 walks, and 60 strikeouts while seeing playing time at every infield position besides first base.

On Sunday, manager Alex Cora said that Sanchez will likely make his first start for the Red Sox at second base on Wednesday so that Trevor Story can get off his feet for two days as Boston is off on Thursday.

(Picture of Connor Seabold: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Alex Verdugo comes through with go-ahead 3-run home run as Red Sox top Guardians, 4-2, for seventh straight series win

The Red Sox clinched their seventh straight series victory on Saturday with their second straight win over the Guardians at Progressive Field. Boston defeated Cleveland by a final score of 4-2 to extend its winning streak to six consecutive games and improve to 41-31 on the season.

Josh Winckowski, who was born in nearby Toledo, made his fourth start of the season for the Sox. The rookie right-hander allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings of work.

Both runs Winckowski gave up to Cleveland came in the bottom of the third. There, Steven Kwan led off by drawing a seven-pitch walk and immediately scoring from first on an RBI triple from Amed Rosario. Rosario then scored on a Jose Ramirez sacrifice fly to give his side an early 2-0 lead.

Fast forward to the top of the sixth, and the Red Sox lineup finally got something going against Guardians ace Shane Bieber. Held to just two hits up until that point in the contest, J.D. Martinez came to the plate with two outs and ripped a line-drive single to left field. Xander Bogaerts followed with a hard-hit single of his own to put runners at first and second for Alex Verdugo.

On the third pitch he saw from Bieber, Verdugo deposited a 2-0, 81 mph knuckle-curveball on the inner half of the plate 447 feet into the left field seats to give Boston its first lead of the night at 3-2. Verdugo’s fifth home run of the season was his longest of his career to this point. The ball left his bat at a blistering 108.8 mph.

Winckowski, meanwhile, recorded the first out of the bottom of the sixth before yielding a one-out single to Franmil Reyes. Reyes would prove to be the final batter Winckowski would face as he was relieved by Jakie Diekman.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 77 (52 strikes), Winckowski induced all five of his swings-and-misses with a slider, a pitch he threw 29 times. The 23-year-old hurler also topped out at 96 mph with his sinker, a pitch he threw 36 times. His ERA on the season now sits at 3.60.

In relief of Winckowski, Diekman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. The veteran left-hander stranded the lone runner he inherited by getting the final two outs of the sixth.

The seventh inning was a different story, however, as Diekman allowed two of the four Guardians he faced to reach base to put runners at first and second with two outs. John Schreiber was then summoned to face Rosario, and he won that matchup by fanning the former Met on three straight strikes to retire the side and strand two more base runners.

After the Sox blew multiple scoring chances and Matt Strahm navigated his way around some trouble in the eighth, Jarren Duran provided some insurance in the top of the ninth with an RBI single that plated Bobby Dalbec.

Taking a 4-2 lead into the latter half of the ninth, Tanner Houck made quick work of the Guardians to preserve the win and notch his sixth save of the season.

With the win, the Red Sox move to 18-4 in the month of June and into sole possession of second place in the American League East. Duran went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two stolen bases. Kevin Plawecki went 2-for-4 with a double.

Next up: Hill vs. Civale

The Red Sox will go for the weekend sweep of the Guardians on Sunday afternoon. Veteran left-hander Rich Hill will get the start for Boston while former Northeastern University right-hander Aaron Civale will do the same for Cleveland.

First pitch from Progressive Field is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. eastern time.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Franchy Cordero and Jarren Duran combine for 5 hits, Josh Winckowski puts together 6 2/3 solid innings as Red Sox top Tigers, 5-2

The Red Sox kicked off the final leg of their homestand with a series-opening win over the Tigers on Monday night. Boston defeated Detroit by a final score of 5-2 to improve to 37-31 on the season and 14-4 in the month of June.

In a pitching matchup that featured two rookie right-handers going at it, it was Josh Winckowski who prevailed over Alex Faedo.

Winckowski, making his third start of the year for the Sox, received some early scoring from his lineup and rode that to a second consecutive strong outing. The young righty allowed just two runs on seven hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings of work.

The aforementioned early scoring came courtesy of J.D. Martinez right away in the first inning. After Jarren Duran drew a leadoff walk and stole second base, the former Tigers slugger drove in the speedster on an RBI single to give the Red Sox their first lead of the night.

Winckowski, meanwhile, issued a one-out walk to Riley Greene in the top of the second. That came back to bite him after Greene advanced to third on a Jeimer Candelario single and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Spencer Torkelson.

With things now tied up at 1-1, the Boston bats quickly got that run back in the bottom of the third on back-to-back doubles from Duran and Rafael Devers to lead off the inning. In the fourth, Trevor Story led off by reaching on a fielding error and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Christian Vazquez. In the fifth, Franchy Cordero capped off a three-hit night by plating Alex Verdugo and Story on a two-run single to center field.

Leading by four runs now, Winckowski consistently made quick work of Detroit’s lineup before running into some trouble in the seventh. There, Torkelson reached base via a two-out single and scored all the way from first on an RBI double from Jonathan Schoop that cut Boston’s lead down to three runs at 5-2.

Schoop would be the last batter Winckowski would face as he was lifted in favor of Jake Diekman. Of the 92 pitches Winckowski threw on Monday, 59 went for strikes. The 23-year-old induced five of his seven swings-and-misses with his slider and topped out at 95.5 mph with his sinker, a pitch he threw 36 times.

In relief of Winckowski, Diekman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora and ended things in the seventh with some defensive help from Verdugo. Matt Strahm got the first two outs of the eighth before making way for John Schreiber, who worked his way around a Javy Baez double to keep the Tigers at two runs.

Taking a 5-2 lead into the ninth, Tanner Houck recorded his fifth save in as many opportunities while working on consecutive days for the first time in his major-league career.

All told, four different Red Sox relievers (Diekman, Strahm, Schreiber, and Houck) combined for 2 1/3 scoreless frames. Offensively, Cordero and Duran accounted for five of Boston’s nine hits. Neither Cordero, Duran, or Schreiber were on the club’s Opening Day roster back in April.

Next up: Hill vs. Brieske

The Red Sox will go for yet another series win over the Tigers on Tuesday night. Veteran left-hander will start for Boston while right-hander Beau Brieske will do the same for Detroit.

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

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Tanner Houck remains perfect in save opportunities as Red Sox hold on for 6-5 win over Cardinals

The Red Sox opened their three-game interleague series with the Cardinals on a nerve-racking, but positive note on Friday night. Boston held on for a 6-5 victory over to St. Louis to improve to 3-1 on the homestand and 35-30 on the season as a whole.

Michael Wacha, making his 11th start of the year, was solid against the team he began his professional career with. In his first time facing the Cardinals, the veteran right-hander allowed just one run on six hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings of work.

The lone run Wacha surrendered came with no outs in the second inning, as he served up a 403-foot solo shot to Nolan Arenado that left the third baseman’s bat at a blistering 108.6 mph.

From there, though, Wacha limited the damage by retiring 12 of the next 16 batters he faced before giving up a one-out single to Paul Goldschmidt in the top of the sixth that was followed by a four-pitch walk of Arenado. At that point, the righty was given the hook by Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 88 (54 strikes), Wacha relied on his four-seam fastball 36% of the time he was on the mound Friday and topped out at 96.3 mph with the pitch. The 30-year-old hurler also induced six swings-and-misses with his changeup, a pitch he threw 27 times. His ERA on the season now sits at 2.28.

By the time Wacha’s night had ended, the Red Sox lineup had pushed across three runs of their own. Matched up against Wacha’s mentor and former teammate in Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright, Jarren Duran made his impact felt right away with a leadoff triple in the bottom of the first inning.

Duran tripled on a 104.5 mph line drive off the center field wall. He then scored from third base when J.D. Martinez grounded into a run-scoring double play.

Fast forward to the fourth, Martinez led off with a single and immediately advanced to third on a line-drive double off the bat of Xander Bogaerts. Both runners scored when Trevor Story snuck a two-run single through the right side of the infield to give the Sox a 3-1 lead.

Picking things up in the top of the sixth, John Schreiber took over for Wacha and stranded the two runners he inherited by retiring Nolan Gorman and Tyler O’Neil. He then got the first two outs of the seventh before Matt Strahm came on to get the third.

In the bottom half of the frame, Franchy Cordero led off with a double and scored from second on a Jackie Bradley Jr. RBI single. After the pinch-hitting Bobby Dalbec moved Bradley Jr. up to third on a hard-hit double, both runners scored on a two-run single courtesy of Rafael Devers.

Taking a 6-1 lead into the eighth inning, Strahm took care of business there before fellow left-hander Austin Davis was called upon in the top of the ninth. Davis got the first two outs rather easily, then allowed the next three Cardinals he faced to reach base on a double, an RBI triple, and a hit batsman.

That prompted Cora to turn to Tanner Houck, who proceeded to give up back-to-back doubles that plated three more St. Louis runs. With Brendan Donovan representing the tying run, Houck did not falter and instead punched out National League MVP candidate on eight pitches to slam the door on the Cardinals.

Houck is now 3-for-3 in save opportunities as he secured the 6-5 win for the Red Sox.

Next up: Crawford vs. Hudson

The Red Sox will go for another series victory on Saturday by sending right-hander Kutter Crawford to the mound for his second start of the season. The Cardinals will counter with fellow righty Dakota Hudson.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. eastern time on FOX.

(Picture of Christian Vazquez and Tanner Houck: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Christian Vázquez comes through in 10th inning to lift Red Sox to 6-5 win over Angels

It took 10 innings and nearly four hours to accomplish, but the Red Sox won their sixth straight game on Tuesday with a hard-fought, come-from-behind win over the Angels at Angel Stadium.

Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 6-5 in 10 innings to improve to 29-27 on the season and a perfect 5-0 on its current west coast road trip.

Garrett Whitlock, making his ninth start of the season for the Sox, allowed four earned runs on six hits, zero walks, and five strikeouts over just four innings of work. The right-hander served up a two-run home run to Mike Trout in the bottom of the first before giving up another run on a fielder’s choice in the second and a Max Stassi RBI double in the third.

Whitlock ended his night by striking out the side in the bottom half of the fourth. The 25-year-old finished with a final pitch count of 71 (47 strikes). He did not factor into Tuesday’s decision, though he did raise his ERA on the season to 3.51.

While Whitlock may have struggled, the Red Sox lineup certainly backed him up out of the gate. With left-hander Jose Suarez on the mound for the Angels, Trevor Story jump-started a three-run second inning with a leadoff double. Alex Verdugo and Christian Vazquez then both reached to fill the bases for Christian Arroyo, who drove in Story on a force out. Back-to-back RBI singles from Bobby Dalbec and Enrique Hernandez allowed Verdugo and Arroyo to score and give the Sox their first lead of the night at 3-2.

Picking things up in the middle of the fifth inning, Jake Diekman received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Taking over for Whitlock with his team trailing by a run, Diekman issued a leadoff walk to Luis Rengifo, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored from there on a run-scoring double off the bat of Jo Adell.

The veteran lefty managed to limit the damage to just one run, though, and the Sox immediately got that one run back when Dalbec plated Verdugo on an RBI single a half-inning later.

After Hirokazu Sawamura retired the side in order in the sixth, Boston struck once again in the seventh with Rafael Devers ripping a leadoff double and scoring on a 31-foot RBI single from Story that deflected off the leg of Angels reliever Ryan Tepera.

Sawamura also got the first out in the latter half of the seventh before making way for Austin Davis, who worked his way around a two-out walk to keep things tied at five runs apiece.

Tanner Houck was next up, and he ensured this one would head to extra innings by working a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth and stranding a runner at second base in a scoreless ninth.

With Story in scoring position representing the potential go-ahead run, Vazquez came through by lacing a 96 mph RBI single to right field off Jaime Barria. The speedy Story easily scored from second to give the Sox a 6-5 lead.

Matt Strahm was tasked with keeping the score that way in the bottom of the 10th. He fanned both Jared Walsh and Stassi before getting the pinch-hitting Kurt Suzuki to ground out to Hernandez to seal the win and earn the save.

Hernandez, who started in center field on Tuesday, had moved to shortstop in the ninth inning after Xander Bogaerts was removed from the game due to left shoulder tightness.

So, despite leaving 10 runners on base as a team, the Red Sox came away with another one-run win on Tuesday. That five different relievers combined to surrender just one run in six innings was undoubtedly key.

Next up: Eovaldi vs. Detmers

The Red Sox will look to extend their winning streak to seven consecutive games when they send right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to the mound on Wednesday night. The Angels will counter with left-hander Reid Detmers.

First pitch from Angel Stadium is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Christian Vazquez: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)