FINAL: Nationals 10, Red Sox 7 - Sox rally falls short after two late home runs

WHO: Red Sox (63-57) at Nationals (54-67) 
WHEN: 4:05 p.m. 
WHERE: Nationals Park, Washington, DC. 
SERIES TO DATE: Series tied, 1-1 
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Patrick Corbin (7-11, 4.85) vs. LHP Chris Sale (5-2, 4.52)
TV/RADIO: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7

LIVE BOX

LINEUP 

RED SOX

Refsnyder CF
Devers 3B 
Story DH 
Duvall RF
Yoshida LF
Reyes SS
Casas 1B
Wong C
Urías 2B
Sale SP 

NATIONALS 

Thomas RF 
Meneses 1B
Ruiz DH 
Garrett LF 
Adams C
Chavis 2B 
Vargas 3B 
Call CF 
Downs SS 
Corbin SP 

PRE-GAME NOTES 

OF Jarren Duran, out of the lineup for a second consecutive game against a left-handed starter, revealed he's suffering from mental health issues. Alex Cora said the team is aware and they'll keep conversations regarding Duran private.

RHP Tanner Houck continued his rehab stint with Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday, pitching 4.0 innings, allowing one hit and no runs while striking out four against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. MassLive spoke to Houck ahead of his expected return on Monday in Houston for the Astros series as a starter. He said he's feeling no trepidation after suffering a facial fracture on a line drive while pitching against the Yankees, which has sidelined him since. He tossed 3.0 scoreless innings in Game 1 of last Friday’s doubleheader vs. BUF (H, 3 SO, 34 pitches) and also started 8/5 at SYR (1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 SO, 46 pitches).

“I look to start,” Houck said of his return. “I’ve always been a starter my whole life and that’s what I want to do.”

OF Masataka Yoshida returns to the lineup today after taking the first two games of the Nationals series off for needed rest, Cora noting he had been hitting in front of pitches, grounding out often and not using his legs. Yoshida flew out in an eighth inning pinch hit appearance in Wednesday's loss before grounding out to end the game in the ninth.

WHAT'S UP 

The Red Sox have won 6 of their last 9 games...Are 12-10 in their last 22 games since 7/22....Despite losing 8 of their 10 games from 7/29-8/8, the Sox own the AL’s 3rd-best record since 6/14 (30-22)...They’re 23-15 since 6/30, the 7th-best mark in MLB....At 63-57 (.525), Boston has MLB’s 12th-best record....Tuesday, the Red Sox began a 10-game road trip to WSH (3 games), NYY (3 games), and HOU (4 games)...It is their longest trip of the year by games....Boston is in a stretch of 32 games in 34 days, from 7/28-8/30...Monday was their only scheduled day off in a 27-day span from 8/4-30....Starting Tuesday, the Sox are scheduled to play a game on 16 consecutive days from 8/15-30, their 2nd-longest stretch of the season (19 games, 4/8-26)....Boston is 6-3 so far in a stretch of 13 games against sub-.500 teams (3-1 vs. KC, 2-1 vs. DET, 1-1 at WSH, 3 at NYY)...Prior to this stretch, the Sox went 4-7 in a stretch of 11 games against teams with a winning record (2-0 vs. ATL, 1-2 at SF, 1-2 at SEA, 0-3 vs. TOR)... The Red Sox have won 9 of their last 11 games vs. WSH since 7/2/18, including 6 of their last 7...The Sox are 9-2 all time at Nationals Park...The last time the Red Sox played in Washington was from 10/1-3/21, where a 3-game sweep clinched the Sox a postseason berth.... The Sox are 4-0 in their last 4 series vs. WSH since the start of 2015.... The Red Sox are an MLB-best 307-218 (.585) all-time in Interleague play...They’re the only team with 300+ Interleague wins (2nd: NYY-298)....The Sox are 19-23 vs. NL clubs this season (13-9 road, 6-14 home)...With a win today, Boston would climb to 22-15-2 in series play, matching their season total in series wins from last season when they went 22-24-6...Chris Sale started on Friday vs. DET after missing the Sox’ previous 59 games while on the IL with left shoulder inflammation (6/2-8/10)...The Sox are 9-3 in his starts this season (4-0 in last 4)....In his last 7 starts, is 4-0 with a 2.43 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, .178 opponent AVG, 48 SO, and only 5 BB (40.2 IP, 11 ER, 26-for-146, 4 HR)...Has allowed only 4 HR over his last 9 starts, all solo (5 HR in his first 3 starts)....Ranks 12th in Red Sox history with 898 SO, only 1 behind Clay Buchholz (899, 11th)....Owns the Modern Era’s highest SO/9.0 IP rate (11.10) (min. 1,000 IP)...Is 10-7 with a 3.18 ERA (67 ER/ 189.1 IP) in 37 career Interleague games (29 starts)....