All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Guardians, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Pivetta continues to shine: Nathan Eovaldi remains on the Injured List and won't be back anytime soon. Garrett Whitlock is there, too, with his return also recently pushed back. But the Red Sox haven't been without a front-of-the-rotation starter in their absence. Both before the injuries struck and since, the Red Sox have been counting on Nick Pivetta -- and been rewarded for their trust. Pivetta gave the Sox seven strong innings, allowing just two runs without allowing a walk. Over his last 10 starts, Pivetta is now 8-1 with a 1.85 ERA, while holding opposing hitters to a .180 batting average. He's also been remarkably consistent when it comes to getting the Sox deep into games. In those 10 starts, he's given the Sox a minimum of five innings every time, while providing six or more nine times and seven or more on six occasions. "I was staying ahead of them most of the night,'' Pivetta told reporters after the game, "I was able to attack the strike zone, no walks and a few K's (four) here and there.''
Sox winning on the road: As the Red Sox embark on one of their longest and most demanding trips of the season, they continue to roll on the road. On their last trek, a 10-game swing to the West Coast, the Sox were 8-2, and after a successful homestand, they picked up where they left off Friday night with another win. The Sox have now won nine of their last 11 road games, 14-5 in their last 19 and for the season, they're 20-15 away from Fenway. In the American League, only the Yankees (22-11) and Houston (24-15) have better records on the road. A large part of their success is the quality of their pitching - the staff has a 3.23 ERA on the road, the best such mark in the American League and the second-best in all of baseball. Of course, it helps that they're averaging nearly six runs per game in their last 19 road games to support that strong pitching.
Houck closes it, but isn't sharp: Tanner Houck has yet to blow a save situation since taking over as the Red Sox closer a few weeks ago, but not many of his appearances have been clean ones. On Friday, with a four-run cushion, he allowed two singles to the first two hitters he faced, then after recording a strikeout, hit a batter to load the bases. A run-scoring single brought the Guardians to within three and allowed them to have the tying run on first base. Houck dug in and got Amed Rosario to go down swinging before retiring the ever-dangerous Jose Ramirez for the final out. Again, Houck has been getting the final out, which is a closer's primary responsibility, but his innings have often been rocky.
TURNING POINT
In a 2-2, back-and-forth ballgame, the Red Sox took control in the seventh. In the top of the inning, Rob Refnsyder worked an eight-pitch walk to put the leadoff man on and Christian Arroyo promptly untied things with a two-run homer to left-center, putting the Sox ahead for good at 4-2. The Sox later added another run that inning, and did so against a quality Cleveland bullpen, but it was Arroyo, fresh off the IL, who gave the Sox their biggest hit of the night.
TWO UP
Trevor Story: Story had a strong all-around game, reaching base three times with two hits -- both singles -- while scoring two runs and knocking in one.
Alex Verdugo: Verdugo made some loud outs -- three of them, with an exit velocity of 94 mph or better -- but also had two doubles and a RBI.
TWO DOWN
Jarren Duran: After a strong series at Fenway against Detroit, Duran hit something of a wall Friday night, going hitless at the top of the order in five plate appearances.
Jackie Bradley Jr: Bradley has been a force offensively at home, but continues to struggle on the road. He was 0-for-2 before being lifted for a pinch-hitter, and in both at-bats, he stranded baserunners.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"In terms of the quality of at-bats, I thought that was his best game of the season.'' Alex Cora on Alex Verdugo.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The Red Sox are 30-12 in their last 42 games.
* Rafael Devers was hit by a pitch for the fifth time in the last 10 games.
* Devers has four homers in his last five games at Progressive Field and six in his last 10 games there.
* For the seventh straight series, the Red Sox took the series opener.
* Trevor Story extended his hitting streak to seven straight games.
UP NEXT
In the middle game of the three-game set, the Red Sox will start RHP Josh Winckowski (2-1, 3.68) vs. RHP Shane Bieber (3-3, 3.00) at 6:10 p.m. at Progressive Field.