Six different hitters knocked in at least a run and every member of the starting lineup collected at least one hit in a balanced attack as the Red Sox overpowered the Chicago White Sox, 9-5, for their third straight win and fourth in the last five games.
Rafael Devers smacked his third homer in eight games to pace a four-run first inning and Mookie Betts connected for his first homer since June 16 in a three-run second when the Sox chased Chicago starter Miguel Gonzalez. Andrew Benintendi contributed three hits (two doubles) after being out of the lineup in each of the last two games.
Rick Porcello has a rocky second and third and nearly gave back the big lead his offense had built. But he finished strongly, retiring eight of the last 10 hitters he faced before being lifted with one out in the sixth.
Five Red Sox relievers combined to record the last 11 outs without allowing a single baserunner.
GAME NO.: 109
WHO: Red Sox (59-49) vs Chicago White Sox (41-64)
WHEN: 7:1op.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
TV: NESN
RADIO: WEEI (93.7 FM)
PITCHERS: Rick Porcello (4-14, 4.45) vs. Miguel Gonzalez (5-9, 4.59)
BOX SCORE: MLB Gameday
SERIES TO DATE: The Red Sox took two-of-three from the White Sox in Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago back at the end of May, with the White Sox winning the first game 5-4 and the Red Sox coming back with wins by scores of 13-7 and 4-1.
WHERE THINGS STAND: The Red Sox are in first by a game in the East and have begun to show some offensive life of late while winning four of their last six. The White Sox are in the midst of a rebuilding effort and it shows: they have the worst record in the American League and are lodged in last place in the A.L. Central.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Boston’s offense has come around on this homestand, with six or more runs scored in three of the last four games. The Sox can credit the arrival of Eduardo Nunez and Rafael Devers for a good part of the uptick. The White Sox are just 3-7 in their last 10 and are pointed toward 2019 and beyond.
STAT OF NOTE: Six of the Red Sox’ last 13 home wins have come in walk-off style.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Nunez 2B
Ramirez DH
Devers 3B
Bogaerts SS
Moreland 1B
Vazquez C
Bradley Jr. CF
WHITE SOX
L. Garcia RF
Sanchez DH
Abreu 1B
Moncada 2B
Delmonico LF
Saladino 3B
Anderson SS
Narvaez C
Engel CF
PRE-GAME NOTES
- Thanks to Wednesday's rainout, LHP Chris Sale will not pitch against his former team this weekend. He will, however, pitch the series opener against third-place Tampa Bay Tuesday and also is lined up to pitch against the Yankees in all three of the series over the rest of August. "You balance rest,'' said John Farrell, "but you look at how you match up and align guys going forward.''
- Thursday night offers the Red Sox their first look up-close at former prospect Yoan Moncada, who was part of the Sale deal last December. Moncada has appeared in 12 games after earning a promotion from Triple A Charlotte last month. As happened last September when he had a brief look with the Sox, Moncada is struggling some with the bat. He's posting a .105/.261/.263 slash line for the White Sox, and striking out a lot, with 16 strikeouts in 38 at-bats. "He's a tremendous athlete with explosive abilities, as we saw last year,'' said Farrell. "He's highly-touted and extremely talented. The comparison will be to (match) the stretch of games we saw here last year and how another year of games under his belt enabled him to make adjustments along the way. We'll see how this plays out.''
- RHP Joe Kelly (hamstring) pitched a 1-2-3 inning for Pawtucket Wednesday as part of a brief rehab stint. He likely will be activated
- C Sandy Leon (right knee) is projected to be back in the starting lineup Sunday, but is available off the bench for the next three games.
- LHP David Price didn't throw Thursday, after throwing from 60 feet and 90 feet distances the previous two days. The plan calls for him throw again Friday, likely from 120 feet, on flat ground. Farrell said Price has not felt any pain or discomfort in his first two sessions.
- Just when it seemed RHP Rick Porcello had turned a corner in July (3.06 ERA in five starts), he's had another rough night, scuffling through two multi-run innings (two in the second, three in the third). Included in that was a three-run homer by Nicky Delmonico, which was the 26th homer allowed by Porcello this season, tying him for second-most by A.L. starters.
- Rafael Devers continues to impress. He swatted a two-run homer into the Monster Seats, reached on error, and walked, meaning he's gotten on base in 11 of his last 13 plate appearances. Hitting fifth hasn't seemed to overwhelm him, either.
- Andrew Benintendi was out of the starting lineup in the previous two games, giving him time to work on his swing on the side. Apparently, it worked. He's got two doubles in three plate appearances tonight - one to center, one to left. That's a positive. But then, there's his baserunning, which can be suspect. Benintendi ran into an out at third in the fourth inning when he tried to advance from second to third on a grounder hit to short. The play was right in front of him, and obviously, Benintendi shouldn't have attempted to advance. He also violated the cardinal rule about making the first out of an inning at third.