The Boston Red Sox rallied twice, endured a two hour and 53 minute rain delay, and then snapped a short two game losing streak with a 9-5 win over the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park in a game that started Wednesday night at 7:10 p.m. and ended at 1 a.m. on Thursday morning.
Ozzie Albies hit a first inning RBI triple, and Dansby Swanson an RBI double for a quick 2-0 Braves lead. William Contreras lifted a sacrifice fly in the second for another run. The Sox rallied when Hunter Renfoe hit a solo homerun into the seats above the green monster in left in the bottom of the second, and then Rafael Devers tied it in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-run homer to center field. The shot by Devers had an exit velocity of 107 miles per hour and went an estimated 434 feet. Austin Riley went deep for Atlanta in the fifth, and the solo homer gave the guests the lead back. Boston (30-20) had a big sixth inning that would eventually give them the win. With one out, Alex Verdugo and JD Martinez both hit singles. A wild pitch then put both runners in scoring position. On a ball hit by Xander Bogaerts to the third baseman Riley who came home with it, Verdugo avoided the tag at the plate to make it 4-4. Devers then hit an RBI double to score Martinez. Renfoe struck out for the second out of the inning, but then Danny Santana walked and Christian Vazquez slapped a two-run single to center for a 7-4 advantage. Then the rains came and the tarp came out and things wouldn’t resume until shortly after midnight in the top of the seventh. Santana and Vazquez help the hosts add on in the eighth, as Santana reached on an error that scored Bogaerts and Vazquez added a sacrifice fly. Contreras hit a solo homerun in the ninth to end the scoring.
Devers and Renfoe both had two hits in the win for Boston, and Nick Pivetta (6-0) got yet another win on the mound allowing four runs on seven hits with two walks and nine strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Josh Taylor and Adam Ottavino both got holds, their fourth and 11th of the season respectively. Contreras and Ronald Ocuna Jr. both had two hits for Atlanta (24-25), and Drew Smyly (2-3) took the pitching loss allowing seven runs on five hits in 5.1 innings. The Red Sox open up a three game weekend series at Fenway on Friday night against the Miami Marlins. LHP Martin Perez (2-2, 3.55 ERA) heads to the hill for Boston, while Miami counters with RHP Cody Poteet (2-0, 1.06).
