The Boston Red Sox flipped a one-run deficit with three runs off three straight two-out hits in the fourth inning en route to a 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon.
Mickey Gasper’s pinch-hit double knocked in the go-ahead run. Ceddanne Rafaela went 3-for-4 with two RBI, and Nick Sogard doubled and homered to lead four Red Sox with multi-hit games.
Jake Bennett (8-6) bounced back from a 23-pitch first inning to complete seven frames for the third time. He allowed four runs (three earned), but struck out six.
Tyron Guerrero and Aroldis Chapman dealt back-to-back scoreless frames to finish the game and the three-game series sweep.
Jonah Cox homered and both he and Bryce Eldridge went 2-for-4 for the Giants.
After Sogard hit a leadoff double, it appeared that San Francisco left fielder Victor Bericoto catching Connor Wong’s fly ball against the Green Monster would end the inning without any damage. Instead, Boston successfully challenged, turning it into a wall-grazing RBI double that ended the second career start of Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson (0-1).
The inning continued against reliever JT Brubaker, as Gasper ripped a go-ahead RBI double down the first-base line before Rafaela dunked another run-scoring hit into center.
After Bennett sailed through five straight scoreless innings on 10 or fewer pitches, the Giants came back within 5-4 after Christian Koss circled the bases for a Little League home run in the seventh. Koss legged out an infield single and crossed home on back-to-back overthrows by shortstop Andruw Monasterio and right fielder Wilyer Abreu.
In the eighth, Guerrero worked around Buddy Kennedy’s infield single and faced the minimum after Drew Gilbert grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
The Giants started fast for the second straight game, scoring two first-inning runs on three straight singles. After Bennett’s one-out walk to Rafael Devers and a Willy Adames wall ball, Eldridge lined an RBI single to right and Bericoto grounded one through the left side.
It remained 2-0 after Rafaela made an inning-ending diving catch on Andrew Knizner’s sinking liner. Jahmai Jones and Rafaela then started the home half of the frame with back-to-back singles, but Wilkinson retired the next three.
Cox wasted no time extending San Francisco’s lead an inning later, depositing a leadoff solo homer over the Monster.
Sogard tagged Wilkinson for the southpaw’s first career homer against to begin Boston’s second. Jones struck a triple into the center-field triangle and scored on Rafaela’s single in the third, bringing the Red Sox within 3-2.
Bericoto exited the game after appearing to hurt his knee against the left-field wall while attempting to catch a foul pop fly in the fifth inning.
