All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 3-2 win over the Giants, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
The Red Sox opened a three-game series against the Giants with a 3-2 win at Oracle Park on Friday night. Triston Casas remained red-hot at the plate hitting a double and a home run to open this crucial six-game west-coast road trip.
Kutter Crawford was strong over 5 2/3 innings in the win as the Sox won its fifth straight game and improved to 56-47 in the standings. Boston has now won 16 of their last 21 games and trail the Blue Jays by just 1.5 games for the final wild-card spot.
Crawford allowed just two Giants to reach base through the first five innings. The right-hander ran into some trouble in the fifth inning allowing rookie Marco Luciano to reach on a leadoff single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then scored on a Michael Conforto single to deep center field, making it a 2-1 game. Crawford would leave the game allowing a run on three hits while striking out seven batters.
Kenley Jansen worked a clean night inning, sending down the Giants 1-2-3 to secure the save and the win.
TURNING POINT
Triston Casas wallops his 7th homer since the All-Star break, giving him a .500/.595/1.176 second-half slash π₯
β MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 29, 2023
109.5 mph | 435 ft for the @RedSox rookie: pic.twitter.com/uF9XyeSHw4
Casas entered Friday nightβs contest with an MLB-leading .469 average and 1.669 OPS since the All-Star break. He opened the second inning with a double off Giants ace Logan Webb, scoring Adam Duvall who doubled in the at-bat prior.
Three innings later, Casas continued to swing a hot bat and clubbed an opposite-field moonshot over the left-center field wall. Casasβ 16th homer and seventh of the second half went 435 feet and was the difference maker in the game.
UP
Connor Wong led off the eighth inning with a single and later would advance to second following Yu Changβs sacrifice bunt.
Cora had Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Jarren Duran in the eighth inning to face the lefty Taylor Rogers. Refsnyder delivered with a base hit into left scoring Wong.
Justin Turner was hitless at the dish snapping his four-game hitting streak. However, the veteran provided some heroics with his glove late in the game.
With two runners on and no outs, pinch-hitter Blake Sabol scorched a grounder up the middle, Turner dove and flipped the ball up with his glove for the out.
DOWN
The Giants made it interesting in the bottom half of the eight after Joc Peterson led off the frame with a solo blast off Chris Martin. It was just the second home run allowed by the righty and the first since April 10. Martin hadnβt allowed a run in 16 appearances prior to the Peterson homer.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Giants will continue their three-game series on Saturday night. James Paxton will get the start for the Sox as he looks to help extend their winning streak to six games. The first pitch from Oracle Park is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. and will be aired on FOX.