The Boston Red Sox (13-11) defeated the Chicago Cubs (13-11) 6-4 on Sunday night thanks to a four-run eighth inning. The Red Sox were led by Hanley Ramirez, who hit a home run in the first inning.
Boston strikes first
It came with two outs in the inning, and with Andrew Benintendi on first base, and it left the ballpark in a hurry, as MLB.com's Statcast recorded the ball leaving the bat at 112 MPH, and not landing until it was 440 feet away from the plate.
That put the Red Sox up 2-0, which is where the score stayed for a while, as neither team was able to break through during the next few innings. The Cubs came the closest, as in the fourth inning they got two runners on with two outs, but they were unable to capitalize, as Jon Jay struck out swinging to end the inning.
Chicago responds in the middle innings
The Cubs finally got on the board in the fifth inning when Kris Bryant launched a home run of his own, this one traveling 410 feet to cut the Red Sox lead to 2-1. They tied the game in the seventh when Jay drew a one-out walk, advanced to second when Kyle Schwarber walked and then scored off a wild pitch by Joe Kelly.
Boston strikes back in the eighth
It was tied heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, but the Boston bats came alive, and it started with Marco Hernandez leading off with a single to first base. Xander Bogaerts followed with a single to center field, which was followed up by a single from Benintendi. which loaded the bases for Mookie Betts, who struck out for the first out of the inning.
While Hanley Ramirez was batting, Pedro Strop threw a wild pitch that allowed Hernandez to score and moved the other runners up a base. Ramirez proceeded to draw a walk, which loaded the bases for Mitch Moreland, who grounded out to first base for the second out, though he did drive in a run to make it a 4-2 Boston lead.
They added two more runs when Dustin Pedroia reached on a throwing error by the shortstop Addison Russell, which allowed both Benintendi and Ramirez to score to put the Red Sox up 6-2.
Kimbrel comes in and closes the door
For the top of the ninth inning, Boston brought in closer Craig Kimbrel. The first batter he faced was Wilson Contreras, who flew out to center field for the first out of the inning. Albert Almora then stepped up to the plate and grounded out to second base for the second out. That brought up the last hopes, Jay, who grounded out to Kimbrel to end the game and secure a victory for the Red Sox.
Upcoming action
Boston will next be in action Monday night when they host the Baltimore Orioles. The Cubs, meanwhile, will return to Chicago to host the Pittsburgh Pirates.
WIN - Matt Barnes (3-0)
LOSS - Koji Uehara (0-2)
Player of the Game - Hanley Ramirez (1-3, HR, 2RBI, 2 runs scored)