Chris Sale pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball and Alex Verdugo had three RBIs to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the visiting Cleveland Guardians in the finale of a three-game series on a soggy Sunday afternoon.

Sale struck out five and surrendered just three hits in the outing. He recorded an out in the seventh inning for the first time since Aug. 8, 2019.

The Boston offense supported Sale with nine hits, including homers by Connor Wong and Verdugo, who were both 2-for-4.

Christian Arroyo was 2-for-3.

Arroyo and Wong each drove in two runs. Wong also scored twice.

Sale (2-2) allowed one baserunner through the first four innings, working around Andres Gimenez’s single in the top of the second.

Amed Rosario drove in the lone Cleveland run on one of the team’s four hits.

Guardians lefty Logan Allen (1-1) was strong despite the defeat in his second MLB start, striking out eight while allowing just two runs on four hits across five frames.

The Red Sox opened the scoring in the bottom of the fifth, which began with Wong grounding a single to left and Jarren Duran hitting a bloop ground-rule double down the line in left.

Verdugo broke the scoreless tie as he lunged to drive a two-out single into left, bringing both runners home and lifting Boston to a 2-0 lead.

Duran is batting .396 on the season.

Two of the three hits Sale allowed came as Cleveland broke the shutout in the sixth. After Steven Kwan doubled to right, Rosario sent a run-scoring single through the right side. The Boston southpaw retired the next three batters he faced to limit the damage to one run.

Boston cushioned its lead in the last of the sixth as Arroyo hit a one-out single and scored on Wong’s towering homer to left, just the second of his major league career.

In the seventh, Verdugo hit a leadoff homer to right before back-to-back walks to Rafael Devers and Masataka Yoshida with two outs turned into more insurance when Arroyo hit a two-run double.

–Field Level Media