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Red Sox Face Red Hot Twins

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MINNEAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Minnesota Twins are riding an 11-game winning streak, the longest in the big leagues this season. Going into this afternoon’s rematch with the Boston Red Sox in Minnesota, Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers called the streak “amazing.”

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“Being able to put on a show for these fans every single night is cool,” Jeffers told the Twins’ TV audience after Minnesota’s 5-2 win in the series opener on Friday night. “This season is a long, grueling season, so to be able to rattle off 11 straight is pretty awesome.”

Jeffers and Eduoard Julien drove in two runs apiece on Friday, and five Twins pitchers held Boston to four hits. It was the second straight loss for Boston, which had won its previous four.

“It’s one of those that you’ve just got to keep battling and keep working, and hopefully (Saturday) we have a better one,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.

The Red Sox will have to find a way to grind out a win during a bullpen game.

Left-hander Brennan Bernardino (0-1, 0.73 ERA) is expected to make his second start, but he will be limited in terms of workload. In 11 appearances this season, he has not pitched more than two innings in a game.

Several other Red Sox relievers could chip in an inning or two. It typically would be right-hander Brayan Bello’s turn in the starting rotation, but he is on the injured list with tightness in his back.

Knowing the bullpen game was upcoming, Cora said he was grateful to need only two pitchers on Friday. Right-hander Tanner Houck started and went six innings, and reliever Naoyuki Uwasawa covered the next two innings.

“He was excellent,” Cora said of Houck. “We needed him to go deep into the game, coming from (Thursday’s) game and (Saturday) knowing where we’re at with a bullpen game.

“That’s what the good ones do. When you need innings, he goes out there, and it’s not like he just gave us innings. He gave us a chance to win.”

Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez (2-2, 4.83 ERA) is set to make his seventh start of the season. Lopez is looking for back-to-back wins after defeating the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

In one career start against the Red Sox, Lopez is 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA. He gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits in 5 2/3 innings last June, and he walked three and struck out nine.

Jeffers said one key to the Twins’ winning streak has been late-inning offense. Each game has provided an opportunity for someone else in the lineup to come through, he said.

On Friday, the Twins scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to build on their 1-0 lead.

“We’ve been doing a really good job staying in there,” Jeffers said. “Whether we’re down or if it’s an even game going late, we feel like (our offense) can come from anybody. Feeding off the energy in this stadium (on Friday night) really pushed us through.”

–Field Level Media

 

Twins Down Sox for 11-Straight

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MINNEAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) Edouard Julien and Ryan Jeffers drove in two runs apiece, and the Minnesota Twins held on for a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night in Minneapolis.

Willi Castro went 2-for-3 with a double for Minnesota, which won its 11th game in a row. The Twins have not lost since April 21 against the Detroit Tigers.

Rafael Devers went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs to lead Boston. Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran recorded the only other hits for the Red Sox.

Twins right-hander Chris Paddack (3-1) allowed two hits in six scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out six. Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck (3-3) gave up four runs on six hits in six-plus innings. He walked two and struck out five.

Dodgers 4, Braves 3 (11 innings)

Rookie Andy Pages capped his first career four-hit performance with a game-ending single in the 11th inning as Los Angeles walked away with a victory over visiting Atlanta in the opener of a three-game series.

Teoscar Hernandez hit a home run, Shohei Ohtani drove in a run in the 10th and Gavin Stone went five strong innings as the Dodgers improved to 8-2 since going 3-6 on their previous homestand while losing all three series. Michael Grove (1-1) picked up the win for the Dodgers with a scoreless 11th.

Austin Riley and Ronald Acuna Jr. hit home runs and right-hander Charlie Morton gave up two runs on five hits over six innings as the Braves lost for the fourth time in their last six games and fell to 1-3 on a six-game West Coast road trip.

Brewers 3, Cubs 1

Willy Adames headlined a three-run rally with a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth as Milwaukee beat host Chicago in the opener of a three-game series.

Brice Turang went 2-for-4 for the Brewers, who pushed their winning streak to three games.

Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ and Michael Busch each had two hits as Chicago’s offensive struggles continued. The Cubs have averaged just 2.4 runs over their past seven games.

Phillies 4, Giants 3

Brandon Marsh drove in two runs, Alec Bohm extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a run-scoring single, and Philadelphia opened a four-game series against visiting San Francisco with a win.

Trea Turner had two hits before exiting with left hamstring soreness for Philadelphia, which won its third straight and improved to a season-best 11 games over .500 at 22-11. Aaron Nola allowed two runs and four hits over four innings before yielding to Matt Strahm (2-0), Seranthony Dominguez, Orion Kerkering and Jeff Hoffman. Jose Alvarado worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his sixth save.

San Francisco went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and lost for the third time in its last four games. The Giants have scored a total of 19 runs over their last eight games.

Yankees 2, Tigers 1

Anthony Rizzo hit a walk-off single with nobody out in the ninth inning as host New York rallied past Detroit.

On the verge of being shut out for the sixth time this season, the Yankees earned their first walk-off win of the season thanks to rallying against Detroit closer Jason Foley (2-1), who blew his first save of the season.

Riley Green went 3-for-4 for the Tigers, who were held to five hits and saw their two-game win streak come to an end.

Rays 10, Mets 8

Harold Ramirez and Amed Rosario each went 3-for-5 for Tampa Bay, which scored five times in the third inning in a win against visiting New York in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Shawn Armstrong (1-1) came on in relief in the fifth inning, allowing two hits and striking out two in 1 1/3 innings. Jason Adam allowed one run on two hits in the ninth for his second save of the season.

Mets starter Jose Quintana (1-3) allowed eight runs on 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two and walked one.

Athletics 3, Marlins 1

Miami kicked off the post-Luis Arraez era with a whimper, accumulating just seven hits off JP Sears and three relievers as host Oakland opened a three-game interleague series with a victory.

Arraez, the defending National League batting champion, was scratched from the lineup minutes before the first pitch, reportedly having been dealt to the San Diego Padres for four prospects. Miami then saw a three-game winning streak end when Brent Rooker smacked a two-run homer, Sears worked 6 1/3 shutout innings and the A’s recorded a season-best fifth straight win.

Rooker’s homer came off Miami starter Ryan Weathers (2-3), who dueled Sears into the last of the fourth before allowing his first hit of the game — a single by Abraham Toro. Rooker followed with his sixth homer of the season. Weathers was pulled after six innings, having allowed three runs and five hits. He struck out five and didn’t walk anyone.

Nationals 9, Blue Jays 3

Pinch hitter Luis Garcia Jr. hit a three-run home run in a four-run seventh and Washington defeated visiting Toronto.

Beginning a five-game homestand, the Nationals overcame a 3-0 deficit to take the opener of a three-game series.

The Blue Jays, who began a five-game road trip, have lost three games in a row and eight of their past 10.

Orioles 3, Reds 0

Cole Irvin extended his scoreless innings streak by allowing just two hits over 6 1/3 innings, combining with three relievers as Baltimore shut out Cincinnati in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

Adley Rutschman snapped a scoreless tie with a seventh-inning RBI double and scored on a homer by Ryan O’Hearn as the Orioles won for the fourth time in five games. The Reds have lost three straight and six of eight.

Irvin (3-1) walked none and struck out four. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 20 innings dating back to the fourth inning of an April 15 start. Reds starter Hunter Greene gave up five hits and four walks while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings. He has thrown 14 2/3 straight scoreless innings dating back to April 22.

Rockies 3, Pirates 2

Ryan McMahon homered to spark a three-run sixth inning, Cal Quantrill pitched strongly into the eighth and Colorado beat host Pittsburgh.

Colorado snapped a five-game skid and ended a string that saw it set a major league record by trailing at some point in each of their first 31 games. McMahon, Ezequiel Tovar, Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings finished with two hits each for Colorado. Quantrill (1-3) gave up three hits, struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter in 7 2/3 innings.

Oneil Cruz homered and Jared Triolo had two hits for Pittsburgh, which has lost five in a row and eight of nine. The Rockies managed just five singles against Pirates starter Martin Perez (1-2) through five innings but broke out in the sixth. McMahon led off with his fifth home run, a 445-foot shot into the Allegheny River beyond the seats in right field.

Angels 6, Guardians 0

Jose Soriano threw six stellar innings to continue his road dominance and Mickey Moniak launched a three-run homer as visiting Los Angeles beat Cleveland.

Nolan Schanuel homered for one of his three hits, and Willie Calhoun also had three in his season debut for the Angels, who won for just the third time in 14 games. Soriano (1-4), who allowed five hits and a walk, has yielded one earned run over 17 innings of his three 2024 road starts.

Los Angeles roughed up Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (2-1) for all six runs, plus eight hits allowed, in five innings. Steven Kwan had two hits for the AL Central-leading Guardians, who have lost two straight and are 3-6 since winning five in a row.

Astros 5, Mariners 3

Jose Altuve deposited a perfect bunt single down the third base line with two outs in the seventh inning, the lone run-scoring hit of a four-run frame that lifted Houston to a victory over visiting Seattle.

Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Astros recorded five walks, two singles and a sacrifice fly to forge ahead. Astros closer Josh Hader recorded his third save with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth.

The Mariners forged their lead with a pair of homers off Astros starter Ronel Blanco, who worked six innings and allowed three runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Jorge Polanco smoked a two-out, solo shot to right-center in the third and Dylan Moore ripped a two-run blast in the fifth.

Royals 7, Rangers 1

Salvador Perez and Hunter Renfroe homered as host Kansas City rallied past Texas.

With one out in the fifth, Renfroe belted Michael Lorenzen’s slider down the left-field line for his third homer of the year to tie the score 1-1. Then Kansas City scored six times in the seventh, capped by Perez’s three-run homer. Reliever John Schreiber (3-0) allowed two hits and two walks in the seventh but escaped damage by striking out Marcus Semien with the bases loaded to end the inning.

In the third inning, Semien hit a two-out double and Corey Seager followed with a single to left, scoring the first run of the game. Seager had two of the Rangers’ seven hits. Losing pitcher Cole Winn (0-1) gave up four runs on four hits in one-third of an inning.

Cardinals 3, White Sox 0

Sonny Gray, JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley combined for a three-hitter as St. Louis blanked visiting Chicago.

Gray (4-1) allowed those three hits in seven innings. He struck out six and walked one while lowering his season ERA to 0.89 in 30 1/3 innings. Romero handled the White Sox in the eighth inning, and Helsley closed out the ninth for his 11th save.

Nolan Arenado drove in three runs with two doubles and Willson Contreras went 3-for-3 with a walk, a steal and two runs for St. Louis. Brad Keller (0-1) allowed three runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings for the White Sox, who lost for the 11th time in 14 games.

Padres 7, Diamondbacks 1

Fernando Tatis Jr. homered and drove in three runs, Dylan Cease pitched 6 2/3 innings and San Diego opened a three-game weekend series with a win over Arizona in Phoenix.

Tatis collected three hits and scored twice, while Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado also slugged homers as San Diego won its third straight game. The Padres finished with 12 hits and scored at least six runs for the fourth time in five games. Cease (4-2) allowed three hits and one run with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Slade Cecconi (1-2) retired the first nine batters he faced for Arizona but was hit hard his second time through the order. He was removed after Tatis’ RBI single in the fifth made it 5-0. Cecconi gave up six runs on five hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings, striking out four.

–Field Level Media

NHL Bruins: “Not Again”

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Toronto’s William Nylander scored in the second and third periods as the Maple Leafs earned a 2-1 win over the visiting Boston Bruins on Thursday to even their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at three victories apiece. Game 7 is set for Saturday night in Boston.

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Nylander broke the game’s long scoreless deadlock with 54.8 seconds left in the second before doubling Toronto’s lead on a breakaway with 2:13 to go in regulation. Morgan Rielly assisted on both goals.

Before netting his first goal, Nylander had been on a 13-game scoring drought dating back to the regular season.

Joseph Woll stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced in his second straight start for the Maple Leafs, coming within 0.1 seconds of a shutout. He recorded 12 saves in the second period alone.

Morgan Geekie scored just before the final buzzer and Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves for the Bruins, who will play a first-round Game 7 after surrendering a 3-1 series lead for the second straight season.

Last year, the Bruins, who posted the NHL’s best record in the regular season, were ousted by the Florida Panthers in the opening round of the postseason.

Toronto played a tight game in the first period of a second straight game, holding a 12-1 shot advantage. Boston’s lone shot came on a Jake DeBrusk short-handed try at the 11:38 mark.

The Bruins’ penalty kill remained strong in the early going, especially when it was tasked with combating David Pastrnak’s double-minor penalty for high-sticking just 1:10 into the second. The hosts managed only two shots during the four-minute sequence.

Nylander’s go-ahead goal gave Toronto its first second-intermission lead of the series.

After Nylander was not called for a hit from behind on Boston defenseman Mason Lohrei that was followed by an immediate icing, Nylander curled at the right point, moved back into the circle and fired a wrist shot that deflected off a body in front and past a screened Swayman.

With a 1-0 lead, Woll thwarted one of Boston’s most dangerous stretches just before the 7:00 mark of the third. After Brad Marchand could not handle Geekie’s pass through to the crease, the Toronto netminder withstood a flurry and covered up two Charlie Coyle chances from tight range.

Just over a minute after Swayman stopped a Max Domi breakaway, a chip-out and Matthew Knies feed led to Nylander jumping ahead for a backhand finish that doubled the Toronto lead with 2:13 left in regulation.

Geekie knocked home the Bruins’ goal in the crease in the final tenth of a second.

–Field Level Media

S.F. Giants’ Mike Yaz Does In Red Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – San Francisco’s Mike Yastrzemski hit a solo home run and the visiting San Francisco Giants avoided a series sweep by beating the Boston Red Sox 3-1 on Thursday in the final game of a three-game set. Yastrzemski’s home run was his third of the season and came hours after he was visited in the clubhouse by his grandfather and Red Sox legend, Carl Yastrzemski.

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It was Mike Yastrzemski’s second career home run in six games at Fenway Park after his grandfather hit 237 of his 452 home runs at Fenway.

The Giants broke a 1-1 tie by scoring twice in the seventh. Patrick Bailey singled, took third on Matt Chapman’s single and scored on a single by Thairo Estrada. Nick Ahmed added a sacrifice fly that drove in Chapman to make it 3-1. Both runs were charged to Zack Kelly (0-1).

The victory ended Boston’s four-game winning streak. The Red Sox won the first two games of the series 4-0 and 6-2.

Ryan Walker (3-2) earned the win for the Giants with a scoreless sixth inning. He allowed one hit and struck out one. Camilo Doval worked the ninth to earn his sixth save.

 

Celtics Take HEAT Series in Five

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Derrick White and Jaylen Brown each tossed in 25 points to help the Celtics wrap up their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the visiting Miami Heat with a 118-84 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday.

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Celtics’ forward Jayson Tatum added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the top-seeded Celtics, who won the final three games in the best-of-seven series.

Boston will play either fourth-seeded Cleveland or fifth-seeded Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Cavaliers have a 3-2 lead over the Magic in that series, which resumes Friday.

White and Sam Hauser each made five 3-pointers in the Celtics’ win. Hauser finished with 17 points off the bench.

Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 23 points and six assists, and Tyler Herro added 15 points. Caleb Martin and Thomas Bryant each finished with 10 points, the only other Miami players who scored in double figures.

Eighth-seeded Miami shot 3 of 29 (10.3 percent) from 3-point range and was outrebounded 56-29.

The Heat, who didn’t have Jimmy Butler (knee) or Terry Rozier (neck) for the series, was also without rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. on Wednesday. Jaquez was diagnosed with a right hip flexor strain that also caused him to miss the fourth quarter of Game 4.

Boston played Wednesday without Kristaps Porzingis, who will be sidelined for an unspecified amount of time with a soleus (calf) strain. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Porzingis would be re-evaluated next week.

Sox Face Giants Today for Series Sweep

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox seek their fifth straight win and an Interleague sweep when they host the San Francisco Giants in the finale of a three-game series this afternoon.

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Continued outstanding pitching and timely hitting helped the Red Sox post 4-0 and 6-2 wins to begin the series, allowing just a total of nine hits.

“We expect to be consistent,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “I know that every single night, we feel very comfortable where we’re going to be pitching-wise. Obviously, the numbers speak for themselves. But for me, this is not because of what we did in April. I felt very comfortable in spring training.”

On Wednesday, Kutter Crawford threw a career-high seven innings, while Connor Wong was 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored.

Dominic Smith also recorded an RBI single in his Red Sox debut on the same day he was activated after he opted out of his deal with Tampa Bay. Garrett Cooper, formerly of the Chicago Cubs, made his first Boston appearance on Tuesday.

“We expect these two guys to help us,” Cora said. “They can slow down the game, they’re gonna hit the ball the other way. It was great to add them to the roster.”

The Red Sox also acquired infielder Zack Short from the New York Mets on Wednesday afternoon. Cora expects him to be activated before the series finale and be in the starting lineup.

Boston turns to right-hander Josh Winckowski (1-1, 3.50 ERA), who is scheduled to make his third straight start after seven relief appearances to begin the season. He is 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two appearances (no starts) against San Francisco.

This series marks the first for the Giants at Fenway since 2019, which was Yastrzemski’s rookie year.

“To be able to come back again and have a little bit more clarity of where I’m at in life and be able to be a little more comfortable, it’s nice,” he said.

Tom Murphy hit his first home run of the season in the third inning Wednesday.

–Field Level Media

Yoshi Thumb Injury Might Need Surgery

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston Red Sox left fielder Masataka Yoshida might require surgery on his injured left thumb, manager Alex Cora said Thursday.

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Per Cora, the team’s medical staff is gathering information on Yoshida’s injury but noted that surgery remains one of the possibilities. Yoshida was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday, with the move retroactive to Monday.

Yoshida, 30, sustained the injury while jamming his hand on Sunday during Boston’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs.

In his second MLB season, Yoshida is batting .275 with two home runs and 11 RBIs through 24 games this season. He finished sixth in American League Rookie of the Year voting for the Red Sox in 2023.

–Field Level Media

Cubs Look to Win (Again) at Fenway

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Chicago Cubs will look to win the first series they have played at Fenway Park since 2017 and extend their winning streak to five games in a Saturday rematch against the Boston Red Sox.

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However, with Kyle Hendricks and Justin Steele both injured, the Cubs did not name a starter for Saturday’s game until manager Craig Counsell gave the nod to rookie right-hander Ben Brown (0-0, 3.72 ERA) following the series opener.

Hendricks officially was sidelined on Monday due to a lower back strain.

“What’s clear for me in this stretch is that we’re going to have to push our starting pitching a little farther in games,” Counsell said after Hendricks was shelved. “I think we’re equipped to do that and in a good spot to do that, but it’s definitely going to be part of the next two weeks.”

Shota Imanaga helped the Cubs achieve that goal in Friday’s series opener in Boston, tossing 6 1/3 solid innings on 88 pitches in a 7-1 win.

A 14-hit attack supported Imanaga. Michael Busch was 3-for-4 with a double, and Pete Crow-Armstrong was 2-for-3 and drove in two RBIs for the second consecutive game following an 0-for-16 streak to begin his career.

“It’s kind of even hard to put into words,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said of Crow-Armstrong. “He cares so much. He works so hard. He wants to do so well and has got a great heart.”

Two of Brown’s six appearances have been starts, and he has allowed just one run on four hits over a combined 10 2/3 innings in those games.

Brown, who made his MLB debut on March 30, has thrown three scoreless frames in two relief outings since his last start on April 15 at Arizona.

The Red Sox are 3-8 this season at Fenway, where they have lost four straight series openers and allowed opponents to score seven or more runs six times.

On Friday, Tyler O’Neill’s solo home run in the fourth inning produced Boston’s only run against Imanaga.

O’Neill, however, has not hit any of his eight home runs this season with a runner on base.

“Us as a unit, where we’re at right now, we have to be better … understanding what we have to do to have traffic for the big boys,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “That’s the bottom line.”

Along with O’Neill, Rafael Devers is 7-for-13 over his last three games following a five-game injury absence. Cora expects him to return defensively to third base on Saturday.

Boston right-hander Josh Winckowski (1-1, 4.20 ERA) will make his second start of the season and only his third since the beginning of 2023. He dealt 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball last Sunday at Pittsburgh but did not factor into the decision.

Winckowski has been pressed into a starting role with Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock and Nick Pivetta on the 15-day injured list.

Winckowski, 25, is excited for another opportunity to prove himself out of a Red Sox rotation that has the best starters’ ERA in the American League (2.15).

“Specifically, people were saying we needed help in the rotation and that the rotation (stunk). So I’m really happy for all the guys to be proving everyone wrong,” Winckowski said. “I think the team definitely carries a chip on its shoulder to go win as many games as we can.”

–Field Level Media

DeBrusk Opening For Bruins

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jake DeBrusk logged a three-point game to lead the Bruins to a 5-1 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round series on Saturday. DeBrusk factored into all three of Boston’s second-period goals, scoring twice in 2:32 after assisting Brandon Carlo.

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John Beecher, who was making his playoff debut, and Trent Frederic also scored, while Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy each had two assists for Boston, which won all four head-to-head meetings between the teams in the regular season.

Bruins’ goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman finished with 35 saves, stopping all 24 shots he faced over the first two periods.

David Kampf scored the lone goal and Ilya Samsonov made 19 saves on 23 shots for Toronto.

Toronto had a 36-24 shot advantage but went scoreless in three power plays while Boston went 2-for-5.

Shortly after Swayman made his second of two key early stops on a Nicholas Robertson point-blank rebound, Beecher buried Jesper Boqvist’s two-on-one pass to the left circle at 2:26 of the first period.

Boston could have extended its lead if Charlie McAvoy and Pavel Zacha hadn’t hit posts within a 2:05 span in the first period.

The Bruins began their second-period scoring onslaught at 5:47 as Carlo buried a drive from the top of the right circle off DeBrusk’s feed.

DeBrusk scored on the last two of Boston’s three power plays in the middle frame to increase the lead to 4-0, including a snapshot from the right circle at 15:02.

The third goal on Boston’s nine second-period shots occurred when DeBrusk redirected Brad Marchand’s centering pass off Samsonov and over the goal line.
The Maple Leafs broke the shutout quickly in the third. At 1:39, Kampf glided down the slot and buried Connor Dewar’s slick backhand feed.

Frederic’s empty-net goal with 2:08 left sealed the win.

Toronto forward William Nylander (undisclosed) was out of the lineup.

–Field Level Media

Kutter Crawford Gets It Done for Sox

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PITTSBURGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston DH Masataka Yoshida collected three hits, including a two-run home run, to propel the visiting Red Sox to a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

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Yoshida hit his second home run of the season to give Boston a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning. The home run came against Pittsburgh starting pitcher Mitch Keller and was Boston’s 29th homer in 22 games. Pablo Reyes, who drew a one-out walk, also scored on the play.

Yoshida also singled during Boston’s two-run first inning, and was credited with a double in the eighth on a ball that Pittsburgh left fielder appeared to lose in the sun.

Sox SP Kutter Crawford (1-0) limited the Pirates to one run on seven hits in six innings to collect the win. He struck out six and walked three. Crawford lowered his ERA to 0.66.

Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the ninth to earn his fifth save. Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton was ejected after Mchael A. Taylor struck out on a pitch clock violation with one out in the ninth.

Boston’s victory extended Pittsburgh’s losing streak to five games. The Red Sox improved their road record to 9-3.

Keller (2-2) pitched six innings. He gave up four runs on five hits, walked four and struck out four.

Connor Joe had a pinch-hit home run for the Pirates, who received three hits from Bryan Reynolds. Joe’s home run was his second of the season.

The Red Sox took an early 1-0 lead when Jarren Duran opened the game with a triple and scored on Wilyer Abreu’s infield single. Boston loaded the bases later in the inning and led 2-0 after Rob Refsnyder scored on Bobby Dalbec’s fielder’s choice.

Pittsburgh made it a 2-1 game in the bottom of the fourth. Ke’Bryan Hayes led off the inning with a double and scored on Jared Triolo’s two-out single.

The Pirates had the bases loaded with one out in the fifth, but failed to score. Then Yoshida’s homer with one out gave Boston a three-run lead in the next inning.

Joe’s home run cut Boston’s lead to 4-2 in the eighth.

–Field Level Media