Final: Red Sox 9, Angels 7 -- Sox rally with some assistance

With considerable help from the Los Angeles Angels (again), the Red Sox staged an eighth-inning rally and pulled out a sloppy 9-7 comeback victory Saturday.

Trailing by a run, the Red Sox used two catcher's interference calls on the Angels' Matt Thaiss to score three. Two scored on a hard-hit single from Yu Chang.

Earlier, Chang, who had been without a hit and 0-for-28 dating back to last season, cracked a two-run homer.

Starter Nick Pivetta was rocked for a first-inning grand slam as the Sox fell behind early. But they answered with two of their own in the bottom of the inning and added three more in the fourth.

WHO: Red Sox (6-8) vs. Los Angeles Angels (7-6)
WHEN: 4:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SERIES TO DATE: BOS 1-0
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nick Pivetta (0-1, 0.90) vs. LHP Tyler Anderson (1-0, 4.22)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7

LINEUPS

RED SOX

Verdugo RF
Turner DH
Refsnyder LF
Devers 3B
Hernandez CF
Arroyo 2B
Casas 1B
Wong C
Chang SS

ANGELS 

Ward LF
Trout CF
Ohtani DH
Rendon 3B
Renfroe RF
Urshela 1B
Drury 2B
Neto SS
Thaiss C

WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox won Friday night’s series opener vs. LAA, 5-3, to snap a 4-game losing streak. The Sox last night trailed 2-0 through 3 innings before tying the score in the 4th and taking the lead in the 5th...They have come from behind in 4 of their 6 wins. Rafael Devers hit a go-ahead solo HR in the 5th inning. Red Sox relievers held LAA to 1 run over the final 5.0 innings: Josh Winckowski (3.0 IP, 4 H, R, BB, HB), John Schreiber (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 SO), and Kenley Jansen (1.0 IP, H, 3 SO). ...Friday night’s win kicked off the Red Sox’ 7-game homestand vs. LAA (4 games) and MIN (3 games). The Red Sox are currently in a stretch of 19 games in 19 days, from 4/8-26 (3-4 so far). The Sox have scored at least 5 runs in 5 of their 7 home games. They have averaged 5.7 runs/game at home, tied for 3rd most in the AL and 5th in MLB...They also rank among AL leaders at home in XBH/game (3rd, 3.3) and hits/game (4th, 8.6). ...10 of the Sox’ first 14 games have been decided by 3 runs or fewer...The only teams in MLB with more such games are CLE (12) and MIN (11). 6 of the Sox’ 8 losses have come by 3 runs or fewer, including 4 losses by 2 runs or fewer. The only teams with more losses by 3 runs or fewer are KC (8) and HOU (7). The only teams to lose more games by 2 runs or fewer are CIN, LAA, SEA, and WSH (5 each). ...The Red Sox rank 3rd in the AL and 4th in MLB in runs scored (76), trailing TB (104) LAD (81), and BAL (80). Rafael Devers is tied for the MLB lead in HR (6). The Sox also rank in the AL’s top 5 in various offensive categories....The Sox have hit 18 home runs through their first 14 games...Since 2000, their only seasons with more homers through 14 games were 2003 and 2002 (20 each). This is just the 5th time in the last 20 seasons the Red Sox have scored more than 75 runs through their first 14 games of a season...They also did so in 2021 (82 runs), 2018 (86), 2009 (77), and 2005 (78). ...Over their first 14 games, the Red Sox have scored 9+ runs 4 times (3-1 record), 4-8 runs 5 times (3-2 record), and 0-3 runs 5 times (0-5 record). The Sox’ 4 games with 9+ runs scored are tied with LAD for 2nd most in MLB, trailing only TB (7). ....The Red Sox have scored in either the 1st or 2nd inning in 8 of their 14 games (18 total runs). They have scored 9 runs in the 2nd inning, trailing only ATL (15), BAL (12), and TB (10) for most in MLB. The Red Sox have outscored opponents in the 8th and 9th innings, 15-5. ....The Red Sox have used 15 pinch-hitters this season, going 6-for-15 with 3 RBI (2B, HR, BB). The Sox’ 6 pinch hits are 3 more than any other team. Their .429 AVG (6-for-14) in pinch-hit situations ranks 2nd in MLB, trailing only COL (.500; 3-for-6). ....The Red Sox will be commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the 2013 Boston Marathon with special events and pregame ceremonies during the current 4-game series vs. LAA. ...Today is MLB’s 20th annual Jackie Robinson Day, the 76th anniversary of his 1st major league game at Ebbets Field on 4/15/47 for the Brooklyn Dodgers. For a 15th consecutive year, all players and on-field personnel will wear No. 42 jerseys, which will be auctioned off to benefit the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Before No. 42 was retired by MLB, the last player to wear it for the Red Sox was Mo Vaughn (1991-98)... Rafael Devers has hit 6 HR, tied for the MLB lead with BAL’s Ryan Mountcastle, LAD’s Max Muncy, and NYM’s Pete Alonso. Devers also ranks among AL leaders in runs (T-2nd, 13), XBH (T-5th, 9), total bases (6th, 36), RBI (T-6th, 13), SLG (4th, .679), and OPS (7th, 1.012). He is the 6th player ever to hit 6+ HR in the Red Sox’ first 14 games of a season (see below). ..Kenley Jansen has gone 3-for-3 in save opportunities for the Red Sox...He is 1 behind PHI’s Craig Kimbrel for the most saves among active pitchers and 7th place on the all-time saves list (see table on right). 5 of the 9 pitchers the Red Sox have used in relief this season have posted an ERA of 3.00 or lower (see below). RED  Today will mark the 2nd of 7 scheduled meetings between the Red Sox and Angels in 2023. The Red Sox will visit Angel Stadium of Anaheim for a 3-game series from 5/22-24. The Sox lead the all-time series vs. LAA, 358-315,

NOTES:

* For the fourth straight game, Masataka Yoshida (hamstring) was held out of the lineup. But Alex Cora said the plan is for Yoshuda to return to action Sunday as the team's DH with a goal of him being back in left field on Monday for the series finale -- and a chance to face countryman and former WBC teammate Shohei Ohtani.

* James Paxton was impressive in a rehab start for Worcester Friday night, but Cora said the Sox were waiting to see how he felt in the days after the outing to determine what's next. It's a virtual certainty that Paxton, who threw just 3.1 innings Friday, will need one more rehab start if not two.

* It seems likely that Tanner Houck, who started for the Sox Friday, will soon be shifted to the bullpen with RHP Brayan Bello expected back in the rotation  Monday, giving the Sox -- for the time being at least -- six starters. But Cora said the Sox would wait to see how Saturday's game unfolded on the pitching front before making any plans.