Red Sox rip off 15th straight win to tie 80-year-old club mark
Boston beat Baltimore 6-3 in a doubleheader opener, matching the franchise winning streak set by the 1946 Red Sox.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
The Red Sox are on a run that now reaches all the way back to Ted Williams territory.
Boston beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 on Wednesday afternoon in the first game of a split doubleheader, giving the club its 15th straight victory, the Associated Press reported. That matched the longest winning streak in Red Sox history, a mark set 80 years ago by the 1946 American League champions, a team led by future Hall of Famer Ted Williams.
The game was a makeup from Tuesday’s rainout, according to the AP, and Boston wasted no time turning it into another entry in its streak file.
The Red Sox jumped on Baltimore starter Dean Kremer in the first inning, building a 4-0 lead. Caleb Durbin drove in two runs with a line single, and Jarren Duran followed later with a two-out hit, the AP reported.
Duran finished with a two-run triple and a sacrifice fly, while Durbin added another big swing to a hot stretch. The AP noted that Durbin had hit the tiebreaking homer Monday when Boston stretched the streak to 14 games.
Ceddanne Rafaela also went deep for Boston, launching a solo homer over the Green Monster in the fourth inning, according to the AP. That shot came after Baltimore’s Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered into the batter’s eye to cut Boston’s lead to 5-2.
Encarnacion-Strand’s homer was his second in two games, the AP reported.
Bennett hangs in after liner
Rookie left-hander Jake Bennett got the win for Boston, moving to 6-3. He worked 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on nine hits, according to the AP.
One of Baltimore’s runs came on what the AP described as a sun-aided RBI double by Tyler O’Neill. Bennett also had to absorb a frightening moment in the fifth, when Taylor Ward hit a 102.8 mph liner off his stomach.
The AP reported that Bennett stayed in the game after being looked at by a trainer, interim manager Chad Tracy and first baseman Willson Contreras. Contreras appeared to have Bennett breathe while telling him to lift his arms, according to the AP.
Kremer took the loss for Baltimore, falling to 1-3. He pitched six innings and was charged with six runs, the AP reported.
Chapman closes and climbs
Aroldis Chapman handled the ninth for Boston, getting the final three outs for his 23rd save of the season. It was also the 390th save of his career, tying Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley for ninth on the all-time list, according to the AP.
The win pushed Boston into rare franchise air. The Red Sox have now matched the 1946 club’s 15-game streak, and they did it by getting early offense, a steady enough start from Bennett and another closing finish from Chapman.
Baltimore still had the second game of the split doubleheader ahead Wednesday night, but the afternoon belonged to Boston’s record chase.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.