Patrick Sandoval impresses in Red Sox debut, Caleb Durbin homers as Boston sweeps White Sox

The Red Sox are firing on all cylinders.

Boston completed its second consecutive three-game sweep Thursday afternoon, edging the White Sox 2-1 for its sixth straight victory. The win improved the Red Sox to 43-48, moving them within five games of .500 and, for the first time since late May, out of last place in the American League East.

Also, don’t look now, but the Red Sox are just 2 1/2 games out of the final American League Wild Card spot. Just a few weeks ago, that seemed almost impossible to envision after Boston fell to a season-worst 14 games under .500.

The Red Sox have won 11 of their last 13 games, and Thursday’s victory also featured the long-awaited club debut of left-hander Patrick Sandoval, who signed with Boston before the 2025 season but had yet to throw a pitch after recovering from elbow surgery.

Making his first major league appearance in more than two years, Sandoval allowed one run on four hits while striking out five over 4 1/3 innings. The left-hander looked comfortable for much of the afternoon and likely had enough left in the tank to pitch deeper into the game before Chad Tracy elected to turn it over to the bullpen with one out in the fifth.

Sandoval cruised through the opening inning, retiring the White Sox in order on just eight pitches.

Chicago managed to put at least one runner aboard in each of the next four innings, but Sandoval repeatedly worked out of trouble until the fifth. Luisangel Acuña opened the inning with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third and watched former Red Sox prospect Chase Meidroth draw a walk to put runners on the corners.

Tracy wasted little time going to his bullpen.

Tyron Guerrero inherited the jam, and former Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi greeted him with a slow infield dribbler that plated Acuña. Guerrero limited the damage there, then tossed another scoreless inning before Garrett Whitlock took over in the seventh.

Guerrero continues to be one of Boston’s most reliable relievers. He has now allowed just one earned run over his last 14 appearances, posting a microscopic 0.61 ERA during that stretch.

Justin Slaten followed with a scoreless eighth before Aroldis Chapman locked down his 19th save with a quick, 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Boston’s offense did just enough despite playing without Willson Contreras, who began serving his reduced five-game suspension after it was cut from the original seven games.

The Red Sox managed only four hits while drawing four walks and striking out six. They finished 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and stranded five baserunners.

After carrying the offense for much of June, Caleb Durbin entered Thursday just 3-for-21 in July. The third baseman broke out of that mini-slump in the fourth inning, launching a two-run homer to right field, his ninth of the season and the only runs Boston would need.

The Red Sox threatened to do more in the third inning.

Anthony Kay hit newcomer Brett Harris to begin the frame before Connor Wong beat out an infield single. The safe call survived a lengthy replay review, and Anthony Seigler successfully advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt. Kay recovered, however, retiring the next two hitters to escape the inning unscathed.

The White Sox left-hander finished with a solid outing despite the loss, allowing two runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings while walking two and striking out four. Durbin’s homer accounted for the only real damage.

Making his Red Sox debut, Harris finished 0-for-2 after being hit by a pitch. He also grounded into an inning-ending double play in the fourth and bounced out to second base in the seventh.

Seigler returned to the lineup one day after leaving Wednesday’s game with a trap contusion suffered on a head-first slide into home plate. Batting leadoff, he went 0-for-2 with a walk.

Former Red Sox reliever Jordan Hicks, who was traded earlier this season in what amounted to a salary dump, continued to look like a different pitcher with Chicago. Boston moved on from Hicks after command issues consistently overshadowed his electric stuff, but the White Sox appear to have unlocked something. He faced his former club twice during the series, tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out four and not allowing a baserunner.

The Red Sox also flashed the leather behind their pitching staff.

Jarren Duran made a running grab near the left-field seats in the eighth inning, while Ceddanne Rafaela capped the sweep with a diving catch in center field to help Chapman finish off the ninth.

Boston now heads to the final stop of its three-city, nine-game road trip for a weekend series against the Mets.

Sonny Gray (10-1, 2.61 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday night’s opener against a pitcher yet to be announced. First pitch from Citi Field is set for 7:15 p.m. ET.

Out of Action

The Red Sox officially placed Ranger Suarez on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left groin strain, retroactive to July 6, sidelining him for his scheduled start Saturday against the Mets and likely costing him the chance to pitch in next week’s All-Star Game.

Suarez suffered the injury during Sunday’s start against the Angels, just one day after being selected to his second career All-Star team.

The timing is especially disappointing for the veteran left-hander. The Midsummer Classic will be held at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where Suarez spent the first eight seasons of his career before signing a five-year, $130 million contract with the Red Sox this past offseason.

“Obviously it doesn’t feel great [to miss the All-Star Game],” said Suarez. “I’m obviously sad. I wanted to be able to go there, and represent my team, and also enjoy the moment. But I think the best thing for me is to take care of my body and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Instead of making an emotional return to Philadelphia as an All-Star, Suarez will now turn his focus toward getting healthy for Boston’s second-half playoff push.

If all goes well, Suarez could return on July 21 against the Orioles.

“At the end of the day, he is an All-Star,” Tracy said. “He's been named an All-Star, so you love the players that make the All-Star team. You can’t take away from an All-Star season, and now our biggest objective is, let's make sure we do the right thing and get him healthy and have him ready after the break.”

Suarez, 30, was in the midst of another outstanding season before the injury, posting a 3.15 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, a .232 opponents’ batting average and 97 strikeouts across 17 starts.

With Suarez unavailable, the Red Sox are hopeful that Gray will be named his replacement on the American League All-Star roster. Gray has more than earned the recognition in his first season with Boston, going 10-1 with a 2.61 ERA over 16 starts while establishing himself as one of the league’s most consistent starters.

The veteran was widely viewed as one of the biggest All-Star snubs when the initial rosters were announced, making him the logical candidate to take Suarez’s place should Major League Baseball name an injury replacement.

“He deserves it,” Suarez said of Gray. “He had an amazing first half of the year and he deserves to be there.”

Contreras Begins Suspension

Contreras officially began serving his five-game suspension Thursday after Major League Baseball reduced the original seven-game ban that stemmed from his role in the June 30 benches-clearing altercation between the Red Sox and Nationals.

The veteran first baseman is still expected to participate in Monday’s Home Run Derby and represent the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

Ironically, Contreras likely wouldn’t have played Thursday regardless.

He exited Wednesday night’s 5-0 victory over the White Sox after fouling a pitch off the top of his left foot in the third inning, suffering a left foot contusion. The injury is not considered serious and is not expected to impact his suspension timeline or availability for All-Star festivities.

“I was hoping it would get reduced,” said Tracy prior to the game. “So now it’s our job to win some ballgames without him until we get him back.”

Contreras was asked on Wednesday after the win if he was concerned about the injury.

“Not really,” Contreras said. “I think it's day to day. I'm not concerned about anything worse than just a bruise. We’re going day to day. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow when I wake up.”