Coming into the All-Star break as the hottest team in baseball, the Red Sox could have easily lost their momentum after four days away from the ballpark.
Fortunately, it was obvious by the third inning Friday that the Red Sox still had their mojo.
On a night when the ball was flying out of Wrigley Field, the Red Sox picked up right where they left off and crushed a season-high six home runs to beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-3, in the second-half opener. In doing so they’ve now won six straight, along with nine of their last 10 dating back to June 30.
Rafael Devers led the way with two solo shots in his first two at-bats, and he was joined by Adam Duvall, Triston Casas, Justin Turner and Yu Chang, all of whom left the yard as well.
Turner also had a sacrifice fly in the third inning, scoring Jarren Duran after the speedster turned a routine base hit into a double and advanced to third on a flyout the following at bat, and played a clean game defensively at second base in his first start at the position since 2015.
The Red Sox led from wire to wire, pulling ahead 3-0 on Devers’ two homers and the Turner sac fly, and Brayan Bello delivered his seventh straight quality start since the beginning on June to keep the Cubs at bay. Though Bello wasn’t as dominant this time out, allowing eight hits and two solo home runs to Cody Bellinger, he still limited Chicago to three runs over six innings while striking out five with no walks.
Chicago at one point did cut the deficit to 5-3 on Bellinger’s second homer, which came in the bottom of the sixth, but immediately afterwards the Red Sox responded when Turner hit a two-run bomb to effectively end the game.
Red Sox relievers Josh Winckowski and Brennan Bernardino followed that with scoreless seventh and eighth innings, and Chang tacked on Boston’s sixth and final home run in the top of the ninth. Things then took a deeply strange turn in the bottom of the ninth when severe weather moved into the area and started blowing trash all over the field, and meanwhile reliever Tayler Scott couldn’t finish the job and wound up loading the bases with two outs.
That necessitated the appearance of closer Kenley Jansen, who emphatically shut the door by striking out Mike Tauchman on three pitches to wrap up the win.
Devers finished 3 for 5, and Duran, Casas and Masataka Yoshida all tallied two hits as well. Yoshida’s 2-for-5 effort marked his eighth consecutive multi-hit performance, which according to the Red Sox is MLB’s longest such streak this season and the longest streak by a Red Sox left-handed hitter since Ted Williams in 1940.
Sale to throw bullpen Tuesday
Prior to Friday’s game Cora provided a number of injury updates, the most notable being that left-hander Chris Sale is scheduled to throw his first bullpen session since going on the injured list this Tuesday.
Sale, who has been out since June 1 with a stress reaction in his left shoulder blade, resumed throwing late last month. He is eligible to come off the 60-day IL on Aug. 1 but there is currently no timetable for his return.
Cora also told reporters that right-hander Corey Kluber (right shoulder inflammation) should make his first rehab appearance next Friday. Right-hander Tanner Houck (facial fracture) began playing catch on Tuesday and the club is hoping he can get back on the mound in about two weeks.
Right-hander John Schreiber (right teres major strain) and left-hander Richard Bleier (left shoulder inflammation) both threw scoreless innings for Worcester on Friday and are scheduled to make their next rehab appearances on Sunday, and right-hander Garrett Whitlock (right elbow bone bruise) has not yet resumed throwing.
