Jarren Duran had three hits with two RBIs and pulled off a straight steal of home as the Boston Red Sox won 7-3 over the host Cleveland Guardians to gain a split of Saturday’s doubleheader.
After blowing a 3-0 first-inning lead during its 5-4 loss in Game 1, Boston jumped out to another big cushion and never looked back in the nightcap. Duran tripled and then made a highlight-reel steal of home in the third. Rafael Devers had two hits and was one of five Red Sox with at least one RBI.
Walker Buehler (4-1) yielded all three Cleveland runs in the fourth inning, plus seven hits overall while lasting six innings for Boston, which snapped a three-game skid.
Jhonksensy Noel clubbed a two-run homer for the Guardians, who have dropped two of three after winning five straight. Cleveland starter Doug Nikhazy (0-1) made his major league debut, allowing six runs, six walks and five hits with three strikeouts over three innings.
As in Game 1, Boston opened the scoring in the first. Left-hander Nikhazy struck out Duran to begin his big-league career, then walked Devers and Alex Bregman, and yielded an RBI single to center field by Trevor Story.
The Red Sox added on in the second when Duran’s two-out single brought home Kristian Campbell, who doubled to open the frame. Following a Nikhazy wild pitch, Devers delivered a run-scoring double off the 19-foot wall in left field. Three consecutive walks from Nikhazy put Boston ahead 4-0.
More two-out production for Boston made it 6-0 in the third, all courtesy of Duran, who tripled into the right-field corner to score Carlos Narvaez. Duran then perfectly timed Nikhazy’s pitch to slide head-first safely into home.
Cleveland halved its deficit in the fourth against Buehler. Angel Martinez singled home Gabriel Arias, who had doubled. Then Noel’s shot barely cleared the wall in left to make it 6-3.
Boston, though, got a run back in the sixth. Duran singled, went to third on Devers’ hit and scored when Bregman reached on an infield single.
Cleveland’s Kolby Allard allowed a run in sixth solid innings of relief.
–Field Level Media
