Masataka Yoshida (right) of the Boston Red Sox singles and scores for San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka (left) in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Boston.
10:22 JST, July 1, 2024
Rafael Devers collected two hits, including a two-run home run, to help the Boston Red Sox avoid a three-game sweep by beating the visiting San Diego Padres 4-1 on Sunday.
Devers hit his 18th home run of the season in the first inning against Matt Waldron. Wilyer Abreu, who reached base on a walk, also scored on the homerun. The two-run homer gave Devers 600 career RBIs.
Devers has hit four home runs in his last five games. Abreu and Masataka Yoshida also had two hits for the Red Sox.
Jarren Duran added a solo home run for the Red Sox, ending a three-game losing streak. It was his ninth home run of the season.
San Diego scored in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Jackson Merrill and Ha-Seong Kim. Merrill had three hits in the loss, which ended San Diego’s five-game winning streak.
Josh Winckowski (2-1) earned the win by throwing five scoreless innings in his second appearance since being recalled from Triple-A. Winckowski allowed four hits, struck out one and did not give up a hit.
Kenley Jansen pitched a clean ninth and recorded his 16th save.
Waldron (5-7) gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out three.
Boston was beaten 20-3 in the first two games of the series. San Diego won 9-2 on Friday night and 11-1 on Saturday. The Padres entered Sunday’s game with a 9-1 record in their last 10 games and had outscored their opponents by 29 points in that stretch.
After Devers gave Boston a 2-0 lead, the Red Sox extended their lead to 3-0 in the third. Abreu singled, took third on a single by Devers and scored on a passed ball.
Duran’s home run made it 4-0 in the fifth, before the Padres got on the board in the seventh.
