Final: Red Sox 5, Reds 4

The comeback kids did it again.

Mookie Betts was the hero this time around, rallying the Red Sox himself from a 4-1 deficit with a monster eighth inning. First, the right fielder tied the game up with a bases-clearing double in the top of the eighth and then managed to give the Red Sox the lead with a phenomenal baserunning play later in the inning. Betts scored from second on an infield single to third by Rafael Devers, going full speed the whole way as he beat out a throw by Joey Votto at the plate.

Addison Reed and Craig Kimbrel held down the fort in the final two innings, allowing the Red Sox to earn their second straight road sweep in Cincinnati and a 8-1 road trip overall. Boston has won seven straight games as they head back to Fenway Park for the final seven games of the season.

Boston's magic number to clinch the AL East is down to three after a loss by the Yankees to the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon.

GAME NO.: 155
WHO: Red Sox (90-64) vs Cincinnati Reds (66-89)
WHEN:  1:10
WHERE:  Great American Ballpark
RADIO: WEEI (93.7 FM)
TV: NESN
PITCHERS: RHP Doug Fister (5-8, 4.86) vs.  RHP Jackson Stephens (2-0, 4.07)
BOX SCORE:    MLB Gameday

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

1st inning: Fister looked sharp in the first inning with a couple strikeouts sandwiched around a single to Zack Cozart. Scooter Gennett drilled a RBI double to drive Cozart in, but Fister managed to avert any more early damage when Gennett ran into an out a third base to end the inning

3rd inning: Fister is making quite a strong case for himself after three innings, striking out seven Reds already, including the side in the bottom of the third inning. After a couple first inning hits, the Cincy bats have gone silent while Fister continues to pound the zone with top notch stuff. He's going to need some more help from the Sox bats though, as they haven't done much (outside of a Sandy Leon double).

4th inning: Fister gets some more help from the Reds on the basepaths again. A pair of singles by the Reds could put runners on 1st and 3rd with no one out, but Zack Cozart's hesitation while rounding second base opened the door for Mookie Betts to throw him out in a bang-bang play at third base. Fister retired the next two batters and escaped the inning unscathed.

5th inning: Rafael Devers punished a hanging breaking ball from Jackson Stephens to hit his 11th home run of the season to right field, tying up the game at 1.

5th inning: Questionable decision by Jackie Bradley Jr. while fielding a bloop single in center field with two outs. The center fielder tried to throw out Adam Duvall who was trying to advance from first to third on the play, but Bradley Jr. airmailed the throw to Devers, which allowed Duvall to score. Hamilton added an RBI triple on the next at-bat, giving the Reds a 3-1 lead.

6th inning: Fister is done after 5 1/3 innings. He struck out nine Reds but he still left a pair of baserunners on for Fernando Abad to pitch through to escape the sixth inning. A nice bounce-back start overall for Fister, but he's still on the hook for this one after allowing three earned runs.

7th inning: Billy Hamilton is really fast. The Sox had the centerfielder picked off between first and second but after a throwing error from Dustin Pedroia, Hamilton managed to make it all the way around the bases to score, seizing upon a lack of awareness by the Sox infield as Christian Vazquez backed up the play at first.

8th inning: What an inning by Mookie Betts. He ties at 4-4 the score with a bases-clearing double to the gap in left-center and then gives the Sox the lead himself by scoring from second base on an infield single by Rafael Devers. The guy can do it all.

SERIES TO DATE: This is the final interleague game of the season for the Red Sox and the team is probably sad to see these games come to an end given their success in them. Boston is 17-4 in interleague games this year with a chance to cap off Sunday with a series sweep. Historically, the Sox have won eight straight games against the Reds overall and are 11-1 in team history against them.

WHERE THINGS STAND: The Red Sox have been rolling on their latest road trip, winning seven of their last games overall. The Red Sox’ magic number to clinch the American League East for the second straight season is down to five with just eight games remaining in the regular season. They currently hold a four-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East standings.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:  Fister has really struggled in his last couple starts (allowing 11 earned runs over just six innings) so this is one of his final chances to prove himself worthy of a spot on the postseason roster. He's been one of Boston's most consistent starters in the second half but a late-season swoon combined with strong starts by other members of the rotation makes his role questionable heading into October. He'll need to step up in this matchup with a quality start to put himself back into the mix for a potential postseason start.

LINEUPS:

RED SOX

Bogaerts SS
Pedroia 2B
Benintendi LF
Betts RF
Moreland 1B
Devers 3B
Bradley Jr CF
Leon C
Fister P

REDS

Hamilton CF
Cozart SS
Votto 1B
Gennett 2B
Suarez 3B
Schebler RF
Duvall LF
Barnhart C
Stephens P