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CLEVELAND — Instant reactions as the Red Sox (24-33) turn a close game into a laugher late and beat the Guardians, 9-1, behind a three-RBI day from Connor Wong and a strong start from Sonny Gray:
1) The Red Sox have gotten some encouraging swings from the bottom of their lineup over the last 10 days and that continued Saturday as the No. 8 hitter (Wong) and the No. 9 hitter (Caleb Durbin) each hit RBI doubles in the late innings to turn a 1-1 tie into a Red Sox lead. Boston then exploded for six more runs against reliever Will Dion in the ninth — in part thanks to a two-run Wong single and a three-run Jarren Duran homer — to put the game out of reach.
Boston improved to 6-24 in games when its opponent scored first and got back to nine games under .500 after reaching double digits in that category Friday.
2) Making just his fourth start in a 19-game span, Wong had three RBIs — on a go-ahead double in the sixth and a two-run, insurance-providing single in the ninth.
The catcher looked like he had broken his 91-game homerless streak against Matt Festa in the sixth, only for a go-ahead, two-run homer to be reduced to a go-ahead, RBI double after a replay review. Wong smoked a pitch into deep left and initially, it looked like he cleared the tall wall to make it a 3-1 game. But a review revealed it hit the top of the wall and was a double that scored Mayer (and still gave the Red Sox a lead).
It was Wong’s third three-RBI game in the last two years.
3) The late offensive outburst ensured the Red Sox wouldn’t let a very strong Sonny Gray start go to waste.
After the Red Sox threatened Parker Messick in a 27-pitch top of the first and failed to score, it took just a handful of Gray pitches for Cleveland to get on the board when Travis Bazzana and José Ramírez hit back-to-back doubles to make it 1-0. That was all the damage the Guardians would do.
From that point on, Gray was fantastic. He gave the Red Sox six strong innings, striking out seven batters while scattering four hits (including the two early doubles) and three walks. Gray’s outing ended with three consecutive strikeouts to preserve a one-run lead in the sixth.
It was Gray’s fifth quality start in 10 games so far this year.
4) To add some insurance, Durbin continued a pattern of going the other way. Facing righty Shawn Armstrong with a man on second in the eighth, Durbin laced a two-bagger the other way to put the Red Sox up, 3-1. It was his second RBI of the day (after an earlier sacrifice fly) and his third double in as many games.
Ironically, Durbin has had the best stretch of his season only after being displaced by Nick Sogard at third base, at least against righties.
5) With Garrett Whitlock on the injured list, interim manager Chad Tracy is being forced to try different things with his bullpen late in games. Saturday’s bridge to the ninth featured Tyron Guerrero and Justin Slaten working a hairy seventh inning.
Guerrero started the inning by getting two of Cleveland’s bottom three hitters before turning it over to Slaten with two outs and a man on first. Travis Bazzana ripped a double down the line, but José Ramírez — after the Red Sox decided against intentionally walking him with first base open — grounded out softly to end the inning.
From there, Slaten handled the eighth in short order before passing the baton to Danny Coulombe, who was called upon in place of Aroldis Chapman after the six-run top of the ninth.
6) Facing a tough lefty in rookie Parker Messick, the Red Sox had plenty of early chances to score but struggled to capitalize. In five innings, they were 1-for-6 against Messick with runners in scoring position and stranded six runners.
Twice, Nick Sogard was the one who ended a big threat. In the first, he popped out with two men in scoring position. In the third, he grounded out with the bases loaded.
Boston needed small ball to tie the game, 1-1, in the fourth. After Andruw Monasterio doubled and Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit an infield single to start the inning, Wong bunted to get Monasterio to third. Durbin then lifted a deep sacrifice fly to left field to plate a run and his first RBI of the afternoon.
7) Messick labored through a bunch of long innings and needed 93 pitches to get through five innings. That was important for the Red Sox, who were able to avoid the meat of Cleveland’s strong bullpen after doing little against five (high-leverage) arms Friday.
The group of Festa, Codi Heuer, Armstrong and Dion were not very inspiring — and a typically fundamentally sound Cleveland team had four errors in the loss. The Red Sox had 11 hits but benefited from bad Cleveland pitching and defense, too.
8) Wong still hasn’t homered since September 8, 2024. It’s likely he’s the first Red Sox player to have worn the Wally head, only to have his home run reversed.
9) After a series of aggressive sends that resulted in Red Sox runners getting thrown at the plate, interim third base coach Chad Epperson was a bit more patient in the third. Duran, after singling to lead off the inning, might have had a chance to score on a Ceddanne Rafaela double to the opposite field. Epperson held him, though, and the Red Sox didn’t score.
10) Duran’s three-run blast was the exclamation point on the win, traveling 371 feet to right field. It was his ninth blast of the year.
11) The series finale (and rubber game) will feature lefty Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.02 ERA) for the Red Sox opposite righty Tanner Bibee (0-7, 4.57 ERA). First pitch is at 1:40 p.m. ET.
Boston will then have Monday off before a quick, three-game homestand against the Orioles. They’ll then hit the road Friday for a tough two-city trip to the Bronx and St. Petersburg.
More Red Sox coverage
- Red Sox ‘well aware’ of veteran reliever with 1.40 ERA, June 1 opt-out at Triple-A
- Do Red Sox have a new starting catcher? Chad Tracy weighs in
- Red Sox lineup includes 7 righties Saturday; Masataka Yoshida, Marcelo Mayer not starting
- ‘Aggressive’ Red Sox have had four players thrown out at home in six games: ‘We’ll look at it’
- Red Sox got Brayan Bello’s ‘swagger’ back, but introduced new problem in the process
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