Abreu powers Red Sox to 12th straight win with late blast
Wilyer Abreu homered twice as Boston erased a three-run deficit in the seventh to beat Tampa Bay 7-6 at Fenway Park.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Wilyer Abreu kept swinging Boston’s summer into wilder territory Saturday, launching two home runs as the Red Sox came back to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-6 at Fenway Park, ESPN News Services reported.
The second blast was the big one: a two-run homer in the seventh inning off Garrett Cleavinger that put Boston in front and finished a four-run rally from a 6-3 hole. The win stretched the Red Sox’s streak to 12 games.
Abreu has now hit four home runs across two games, according to the report. He also went deep twice Friday in the second game of Boston’s doubleheader sweep.
The seventh-inning surge began with Boston chasing down a three-run deficit. Ceddanne Rafaela drove in a run with a double, Masataka Yoshida brought home another run on a groundout, and Abreu supplied the swing that flipped the game.
Boston’s streak now matches the third-longest winning run in franchise history, ESPN News Services reported. The Red Sox can reach 13 straight wins Sunday in the series finale, which would give the club its first run of that length since 1948.
Boston finally clears .500
The victory also pushed the Red Sox above .500 for the first time since they beat the Cincinnati Reds on Opening Day. ESPN Research said Boston had spent 95 consecutive games at .500 or below before Saturday’s win.
Ryan Watson earned his first major league victory after throwing two innings for Boston. Aroldis Chapman handled the ninth inning and picked up his 21st save.
Patrick Sandoval, making his second start after missing last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, allowed five runs over five innings for the Red Sox.
Tampa Bay had chances to stop the streak and built the first lead of the night. In the second inning, Ryan Vilade scored when Boston second baseman Seigler made a throwing error, and Nick Furias followed with an RBI single for a 2-0 Rays lead.
The Red Sox answered in the bottom of the inning. Jahmai Jones tied the score with a two-run homer after Andruw Monasterio successfully challenged a called 3-2 strike that would have ended the inning, according to ESPN News Services.
Rays strike, then Boston roars back
Tampa Bay moved back in front in the fourth after entering the inning down 3-2. Mesa Jr. homered into the Rays’ bullpen, and Yandy Diaz added an RBI single as Tampa Bay scored three times.
DeLuca added another jolt in the seventh, sending a homer over the Green Monster to make it 6-3. That cushion did not survive the bottom half of the inning.
Rays starter Ian Seymour lasted three innings, giving up three runs and two home runs. ESPN News Services reported that Seymour had allowed a career-high-tying six runs in his previous start.
Cleavinger took the loss for Tampa Bay, falling to 2-3 after Abreu’s go-ahead homer capped Boston’s decisive inning.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.