On the verge of dropping their straight game to a team which recently had lost 14 in a row, the Red Sox came to life just in time Sunday, emerging with a 6-4 victory in 10 innings over the Chicago White Sox.
Jamie Westbrook delivered a go-ahead sacrifice fly and Rob Refsnyder added a run-scoring single as the Red Sox stormed back to claim a split of their four-game series with the White Sox.
Gavin Sheets #32, Andrew Vaughn #25, and Paul DeJong #29 of the Chicago White Sox celebrates after a three run home run in the fourth inning off Zack Kelly of the Boston Red Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on June 09, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois
Kenley Jansen, who fanned five in two innings of relief, earned the win while the save went to Cam Booser, the seventh Red Sox pitcher of the day.
Down to their final two outs in the ninth, the Red Sox had pulled even when Reese McGuire produced a sacrifice fly to left, scoring David Hamilton, who had led off with a double then swiped third base for his 13th stolen base of the season.
With the score deadlocked at 3-3, the White Sox pulled ahead to stay in the bottom of the seventh against lefty Brennan Bernardino. Corey Julks started it with a leadoff double to center, then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Nicky Lopez.
Following an intentional walk to Luis Robert Jr., Gavin Sheets, who had belted a grand slam in Chicago’s win on Saturday, delivered a run-scoring single to left.
Trailing 3-1 after four, the Red Sox began chipping away with solo runs in both the fifth and sixth.
First, David Hamilton led off the fifth with a solo homer, which he pulled to right field. It was his first homer since May 19 in St. Louis.
In the sixth, instead of relying on the long ball, the Sox manufactured a run. A leadoff walk by Jarren Duran and a one-out single to left from Refsnyder gave the Sox two runners in scoring position as Refsnyder took second on a throw from the outfield to third. Pinch-hitter Garrett Cooper then grounded out to third, enough to score Duran from third.
But after Connor Wong was plunked by a pitch, giving the Sox runners at the corners with two out, they failed to capitalize further as Hamilton fled to center for the third out.
The White Sox took advantage of some brutal defensive play on the part of the Red Sox to score three times in the bottom of the fourth.
It began when Gavin Sheets hit a sharp grounder to first baseman Dom Smith, who bobbled the ball briefly as he fielded in behind the bag. He then fed a throw to reliever Justin Slaten, who arrived at the first base bag to record the out, but somehow couldn’t glove the throw as Sheets reached safely.
Next, Andrew Vaughn hit a ball toward second which Hamilton fielded. But when he tried to direct the ball to Enmanuel Valdez covering at second, the ball landed wide of the intended target as Sheets took second.
Finally, catcher Reese McGuire tried a back-pick throw to first to nab Vaughn but it was wide, too, and Sheets advance to third as the Red Sox were committed their third error of the inning. Those loomed even larger when Paul DeJong cracked a three-run homer to left.
The Red Sox took the lead in the fourth when Jarren Duran led off with a triple into the right field corner, and after a walk to Valdez, trotted home as Rob Refsnyder hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
The triple was the 10th of the season already for Duran and made him only the second player in Red Sox history to accumulate 10 triples in 50 games or fewer. (Duran hit all 10 within a span of 47 games). The only other player to accomplish the feat was Nomar Garciaparra, who did it in 2003.
RED SOX HEAD HOME
Following their four-game set here, the Red Sox return home for the start of what figures to be a highly challenging homestand.
They’ll be off Monday before hosting the Philadelphia Phillies for three games beginning Tuesday. The Phils have the best record in either league, and they’ll be followed by a weekend series with the New York Yankees, who have the second-best record.
