Austin Hedges and Nolan Jones connected on home runs to help power the Cleveland Guardians to an 8-3 win over the host Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night in Boston.
Before the game, the Red Sox celebrated David Ortiz’s induction into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. However, it was the Guardians who celebrated after the game.
The Guardians snapped a three-game losing streak while the Red Sox fell for the 10th time in 12 games.
Kirk McCarty (1-2) pitched four innings of scoreless relief and was credited with the win. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four.
Steven Kwan had three hits for Cleveland, and Amed Rosario and Josh Naylor added two hits apiece.
Jones’ three-run home run in the third inning gave the Guardians a five-run lead. Hedges hit a solo shot in the second inning.
Red Sox starter Josh Winckowski (3-5) worked three innings, giving up five runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out one.
Cleveland went with Bryan Shaw as an opener, and the right-hander worked 2 1/3 innings, allowing two runs. It was his first major league start after 732 relief appearances.
The Guardians did most of their damage early, getting on the board in the first inning with a two-out rally. Jose Ramirez walked and Naylor singled, setting up Owen Miller’s RBI single to center.
Hedges’ towering home run to left in the second inning made it 2-0.
In the third inning, Winckowski surrendered the crushing three-run homer to Jones.
The Red Sox responded with two runs in the bottom of the third. Jaylin Davis led off with a ground-rule double and Rob Refsnyder was hit by a pitch. Xander Bogaerts, who had a three-hit night, slapped an RBI single to left.
Two batters later, Christian Vazquez grounded a run-scoring single to left. A chance for a third run was erased when Kevin Plawecki lifted a fly ball to right field. On the flyout, Bogaerts tagged from third but was thrown out by Jones in right. The Red Sox challenged the out at home, but the call stood.
Cleveland responded with two more runs in the fourth inning. With the bases full, Josh Naylor slapped a grounder up the middle that second baseman Yolmer Sanchez fielded on the backhand. Sanchez’s attempted a behind-the-back flip to Bogaerts sailed wide, allowing two runs to score.
Each team scored a run in the eighth inning.
–Field Level Media