Red Sox 9, Guardians 4

 

Two straight, back-to-back wins! A series win in Cleveland! Eighteen runs in the last two games! The mighty Boston Red Sox are the best 25-33 team in all of baseball!

Jarren Duran didn't get a ninth-inning home run in this game but that's okay - he homered in the first, during the first at-bat in the game. Connor Wong didn't hit a homer off Bibee again, but he still scored twice. In fact, no one homered after Duran's first-inning blast, but the Sox still scored nine runs and Caleb Durban hit a two-run, seventh-inning triple, which is arguably more of an accomplishment than a home run.  In all, the Sox scored six runs in the seventh on RBIs from Abreu, Yoshida, Kiner-Falefa, and Durban's triple. 

The win and the runs total are all the more impressive considering that both Contreras and Rafaela were out of the lineup, and the Sox started three catchers - Gasper (who played first base), Wong (DH), and Narváez (who actually caught). Contreras covered first for Gasper in the bottom of the 9th inning for defensive purposes, but never batted.

Ranger Suarez gave up four runs, but struck out 10 over five complete innings. The bullpen added five more K's, including two by Chapman in the bottom of the ninth.

The Sox are still in last place in the AL East, but are now only three back in the Wild Card race.

The Red Sox are off today, and then have three at home against the Orioles (28-32) at Fenway.  Boston is two back from Baltimore in the standings, and the three-game series is a chance to pull out of last place before a nightmare road trip to New York and Tampa Bay.