Final: Red Sox 4, Guardians 2

Held to just one hit over the first five innings, the Red Sox erupted in the sixth with a three-run homer off the bat of Xander Bogaerts and earned themselves a split of their four-game series with the Cleveland Guardians with a 4-2 win.

The homer by Bogaerts, his first since July 5, gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night. They added an insurance run in the seventh when Bobby Dalbec singled home Franchy Cordero.

Kutter Crawford allowed one run in 5.2 innings. Jake Diekman turned in 1.1 innings of perfect relief and Garrett Whitlock closed it out in the eighth and ninth.

WHO: Red Sox (49-50) vs. Cleveland Guardians (50-47)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SERIES TO DATE: CLE 2-1
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: BOS 4-2
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Kutter Crawford (2-3, 4.50) vs.RHP Triston McKenzie (7-6, 3.11)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7 FM

LINEUPS

RED SOX

Duran CF
Verdugo LF
Bogaerts SS
Martinez DH
Vazquez C
Cordero 1B
Dalbec 3B
Bradley Jr. RF
Downs 2B

GUARDIANS

Kwan LF
Rosario SS
Ramirez 3B
Naylor 1B
Gimenez 2B
Reyes DH
Jones RF
Maile C
Straw CF

WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox are 2-11 in their last 13 games and 4-15 in their last 19 games. This is the 1st time the Sox have lost as many as 11 times in a 13-game span since doing so in July 2015. They are 1-5 through the first 6 games of their season-long 10-game homestand from 7/22-31. The Sox’ season win-loss record is below .500 for the 1st time since finishing play on 6/4 at 26-27. ....Tonight continues the Red Sox’ 10- game, 10-day homestand vs. TOR (0-3), CLE (1-2), and MIL (3 G)...It is their longest homestand of the season. The Sox are 3-9 in their last 12 home games after going 16-6 at Fenway Park from 5/18-7/4. The Sox have scored 4.7 runs per game at home, 3rd-best in the AL behind NYY (5.3) and TOR (4.8)...They are 19-6 (.760) when scoring 5+ runs at home. .... The Red Sox are in a stretch during which each of their 27 games from 7/4-8/3 will be against a team that entered today with at least a .500 record (4-16 so far): NYY (7), TB (7), CLE (4), HOU (3), MIL (3), and TOR (3). 49 of their remaining 63 games are against teams who entered today with at least a .500 record (77.8%). ....The Red Sox on Sunday concluded a stretch during which each of their 17 games from 7/4-24 were against AL East opponents. The Red Sox are 0-11-1 in 12 series against AL East opponents this season...They are 12-3-3 in series play against all other teams. 35 of the Sox’ remaining 63 games are against AL East opponents (55.6%): BAL (11), NYY (9), TB (9), TOR (6). ...The Red Sox are opening the 2nd half with a stretch of 17 consecutive days with a game from 7/22-8/7, matching their longest streak of the season. The Sox will have 3 off days in August: 8/8, 8/15, 8/22. They also closed the 1st half with a stretch of 17 consecutive days with a game from 7/19-8/7 (5-12). ...The Red Sox trail the Rays by 4.5 games for the AL’s 3rd Wild Card position (see below). The Red Sox began the season by going 10-19 through their first 29 games...They could become the 1st team to lose as many as 19 of their first 29 games and still make the Postseason since the 1989 Blue Jays (10-19). In the previous 20 seasons (2002-21), there have been 2 teams that had a sub-.500 record through their first 99 games in a season and went on to win the AL or NL pennant: the 2021 Atlanta Braves (won World Series), 2014 Kansas City Royals (won AL pennant)...8 other teams in that situation made the Postseason.  The Red Sox lead the majors in doubles (221) and lead the AL in XBH (328)...They rank 3rd in MLB in XBH, 4th in hits (871), and 5th in AVG (.255). They rank 3rd in the AL in runs (452) and total bases (1,405), and 5th in SLG (.411) and OPS (.727). The Red Sox have scored 5+ runs in a game 48 times, 2nd most in the AL (NYY-51)...They are 31-10 in such games since 5/10, after starting the season 4-4. ....Bobby Dalbec homered twice last night, hitting a 2-run HR in the 2nd inning and 2-run HR in the 6th. It was Dalbec’s 4th career multi-HR game, trailing only Rafael Devers (8) for the most by a Red Sox hitter since the beginning of 2020. Dalbec has 4 HR and 7 RBI in his last 9 games and 5 HR and 10 RBI in his last 16 games. .....Garrett Whitlock has made 4 scoreless relief appearances for BOS since being reinstated from the 15-Day IL on 7/15,retiring 18 of 19 batters faced (6.0 IP, H, 9 SO). Whitlock has made 21 scoreless appearances of at least 2.0 innings since the beginning of last season, 2nd most in the majors behind Collin McHugh (26). The Red Sox are 4-2 against the Guardians this season, and 8-4 since the beginning of 2021. Alex Cora is 1 of 8 current MLB managers to have played for Terry Francona during his 8-year stint as manager of the Red Sox from 2004-11: Alex Cora (2005-08), Rocco Baldelli (2009), Kevin Cash (2010), Gabe Kapler (2003-06), Mark Kotsay (2008-09), Dave Roberts (2004), David Ross (2008), and Chris Woodward (2009).

NOTES: 

* Rich Hill was set to pitch four innings for Portland in Hartford Thursday night. RHP Matt Barnes and UTI Christian Arroyo are also on rehab assignments with Portland. Barnes is set to pitch Thursday and Friday while Arroyo was at second base.

* Rafael Devers (hamstring) has started taking grounders and swinging the bat and is expected to come off the IL when he's eligible next week in Houston. "He's moving well,'' said Cora.

* Trevor Story, who swung the bat Wednesday and is set to do so again over the weekend. "The swinging part, the top hand, it's been hard for him to feel comfortable,'' said Cora. "He was the rock of the infield and we miss him. And regardless of the numbers, average-wise, he's a presence (at the plate). With one pitch, he can go deep and the RBI.''

* Kike Hernandez, who received a PRP injection earlier this month, has progressed and is going take swings Saturday.

* Cora on Andrew Benintendi joining the Yankees: "It was going to be weird anyway, with Kansas City,'' said Cora. "We haven't played him since he got traded (because of injuries last year). I guess good for him. He's a .300 hitter and gets on base and is a good baserunner. For the person, I'm very happy. For the player...we'll leave it at that.''

* The Red Sox honored radio play-by-play man Joe Castiglione before the game, who's been on the job for 40 years. "Amazing, right -- 40 years?'' said Cora. "Doing it for 40 years, I can't even imagine. A very respected man, a great person, very real. To do it for 40 years is a testament to who he is. It's a great day for him.''