By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk
BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox welcomed the Chicago White Sox to Fenway Park just as Boston’s newly acquired third baseman Alex Bregman and his wife Reagan were welcoming their second son into this world, their first child born as a member of Red Sox nation.
From April 11 to 13 this year, the Red Sox dropped two of three games to the lowly pale sox when Boston opened the season with an 8-9 record, hardly impressive. Starting this four-game, Easter weekend and Patriots’ Day set, the home team is an even 10-10, stuck in third place in the American League East.
Chicago is already dead last in the American League Central and their 4-14 record has those two home victories, showing for half of their win total for the young season. The White Sox have yet to win a road game in 2025.
Friday night at Fenway Park continued that trend in front of 35,620 fans.
Boston wasted no time in setting a 3-0 lead as DH Rafael Devers doubled on a ground rule bounce in center field, Bregman walked and Sox shortstop Trevor Story rapped a first pitch change-up from Chicago SP Martin Perez and sent it 427 feet to deep center field to clear the bases.
Boston added a run in the third inning when Story singled up the middle and right fielder Rob Refsnyder banked one off the left-center friend Green Monster for a double, scoring Story. Refsnyder’s blast fell about five feet short on the 37-foot, two inch wall.
Former Red Sox outfielder, Andrew Benintendi, now playing left field for the White Sox, put his club on the scoreboard with a towering home run over the famed Pesky Pole in right field to make it 4-1 in the fourth inning.
Chicago’s Penn Murfee relieved Perez in the bottom of the fourth, sending the starter to the showers after 3 IP, five hits, four earned runs, with two base on balls and no strike-outs. Perez threw 52 pitches over the short stint with 34 as strikes. He allowed the Story HR. The club later announced Perez left the game early because of left forearm soreness.
Boston went to quick work on Murfee as catcher Carlos Narvaez doubled to lead off the home fourth and Sox centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela took a 78 mph sweeper 406 feet and over the Green Monster in left field. The home run made it 6-1 Red Sox.
Benintendi singled in the sixth inning and scored on a ground out to cut the lead to four runs, 6-2, and reliever Tyler Gilbert entered the game to face Boston in the bottom of the inning.
For Boston, starter Hunter Dobbins pitched 6 innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs. He walked none and struck out six Chicago batters as he tossed 79 pitches (55 strikes). Dobbins earned the victory and is (2-0) on the season.
In Boston’s half of the seventh inning, Story hit another home run on a 0-1 count, clocking a 365 foot bullet to the left field Green Monster seats to mark his 20th career multi-homer game. Story last had multi-HRs when he hit three off the Seattle Mariners on May 19, 2022.
Boston brought in reliever Josh Winckowski in the eighth inning, leading 9-2, and he held Chicago scoreless.
In the Red Sox end of the eighth, Narvaez hit his first career home run, a healthy 353 foot solo blast into the left field Monster seats. It made the score 10-2, Boston.
Winckowski gave up a run in the ninth inning to close out the score at 10-3, and Boston took the first game of the four game series.
Perez took the loss and is now (1-1) for the White Sox.
The two teams will meet again for a 4:10pm Saturday afternoon start.