Washington Nationals at Boston Red Sox
· Major League Baseball2 - 4
Rafael Devers' 2-run double in the 8th inning lifts Red Sox over Nationals 4-2
Wearing their alternate bright-yellow jerseys with powder-blue lettering, numbers and caps, the Red Sox snapped a three-game losing streak with just their second victory in eight games.
“He's been fighting his swing, trying to stay on pitches,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Devers. “Raffy against anybody, we'll take that.”
Devers hit his two-out double over the head of left fielder Eddie Rosario off Robert Garcia (0-2) after Tyler O’Neill was intentionally walked.
Pinch hitter Romy Gonzalez had reached on a fielder's choice and went to second on the same play when shortstop CJ Abrams threw the ball into Boston's dugout for an error, trying to turn a double play. It looked as though Gonzalez would have beaten the throw anyway.
“I thought that was the right matchup," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of his lefty reliever facing Devers, a left-handed batter. “It was a good battle out there. He even fouled a couple of tough pitches off, Raffy just got the best of him today.”
Devers knew he hit it well enough to get over Rosario, who turned and tried to make a play on the ball.
“I hit it very hard, so I knew something was going to happen,” Devers said through a team translator. “When I saw where he was playing, I knew he was playing a little bit short, so I knew something good was going to happen.”
Chris Martin (2-1) worked a scoreless inning and Kenley Jansen got three outs for his sixth save, the 426th of his career.
Wilyer Abreu hit a solo homer and Jarren Duran added an RBI double for Boston.
Rosario and Joey Meneses each hit a solo homer for the Nationals, with Meneses’ his first this season.
Meneses hit a 2-2 sweeper from Cooper Criswell over the Green Monster, pushing the Nationals ahead 1-0 in the second. When he rounded second base, he looked at the Nats’ dugout, spreading his arms with a wide smile on his face with a look of relief that he finally hit his first.
“Yeah, he was happy,” Martinez said, smiling. “Good to get that first one out of the way.”
Abreu tied it with his shot into Washington’s bullpen an inning later before Rosario hit a fly ball in the fifth that barely cleared the 37-foot Monster, bouncing off the top before caroming toward the left-field foul pole.
Washington starter Jake Irvin allowed two runs on four hits and struck out six without a walk in the longest start of his two-year career.
Duran’s double tied it in the fifth after David Hamilton reached on a fielder’s choice when he failed to get a sacrifice down, but made up for it by stealing second.
Criswell struck out a career-best nine over five innings, giving up two runs — on solo homers — and three hits with a walk.
Entering the day, Boston’s starters had an MLB-best 2.39 ERA. Overall, the Red Sox's staff had a 2.78 ERA, lowest by the club at this point in a season since 1920.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: Cora said right-hander Garrett Whitlock (strained left oblique) will make a rehab start for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Nationals LHP MacKenzie Gore (2-3, 3.44 ERA) is slated to start Sunday series finale against RHP Brayan Bello (3-1, 3.04), who's expected to come off the injured list and start for the first time since April 19. He has been sidelined since experiencing right lat tightness.
How can I watch Washington Nationals vs. Boston Red Sox?
- TV Channel: Nationals at Red Sox 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on NESN.
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Matchup Prediction
Scoring Summary
9th Inning | Winker struck out looking. | |
9th Inning | Meneses struck out swinging. | |
9th Inning | L. García Jr. grounded out to second. | |
9th Inning | Jansen relieved Martin | |
9th Inning | Rafaela in center field. | |
9th Inning | O'Neill in right field. |
Statistics
WSH | BOS | |
---|---|---|
1 | Games Played | 1 |
1 | Team Games Played | 1 |
1 | Hit By Pitch | 0 |
8 | Ground Balls | 11 |
12 | Strikeouts | 7 |
2 | Runs Batted In | 4 |
0 | Sacrifice Hit | 0 |
4 | Hits | 6 |
0 | Stolen Bases | 1 |
2 | Walks | 1 |
0 | Catcher Interference | 0 |
2 | Runs | 4 |
2 | Ground Into Double Play | 0 |
0 | Sacrifice Flies | 0 |
29 | At Bats | 31 |
2 | Home Runs | 1 |
0 | Grand Slam Home Runs | 0 |
6 | Runners Left On Base | 7 |
0 | Triples | 0 |
0 | Game Winning RBIs | 1 |
0 | Intentional Walks | 1 |
0 | Doubles | 2 |
9 | Fly Balls | 13 |
1 | Caught Stealing | 0 |
133 | Pitches | 121 |
0 | Games Started | 0 |
0 | Pinch At Bats | 2 |
0 | Pinch Hits | 1 |
0.0 | Player Rating | 0.0 |
1 | Is Qualified | 1 |
1 | Is Qualified In Steals | 1 |
10 | Total Bases | 11 |
32 | Plate Appearances | 32 |
324.0 | Projected Home Runs | 162.0 |
2 | Extra Base Hits | 3 |
1.1 | Runs Created | 2.5 |
.138 | Batting Average | .194 |
.000 | Pinch Hit Average | .500 |
.345 | Slugging Percentage | .355 |
.241 | Secondary Average | .226 |
.219 | On Base Percentage | .219 |
.564 | OBP Pct + SLG Pct | .574 |
0.9 | Ground To Fly Ball Ratio | 0.8 |
1.0 | Runs Created Per 27 Outs | 2.7 |
18.0 | Batter Rating | 30.0 |
14.5 | At Bats Per Home Run | 31.0 |
0.00 | Stolen Base Percentage | 1.00 |
4.16 | Pitches Per Plate Appearance | 3.78 |
.207 | Isolated Power | .161 |
0.17 | Walk To Strikeout Ratio | 0.14 |
.063 | Walks Per Plate Appearance | .031 |
.103 | Secondary Average Minus Batting Average | .032 |
4.0 | Runs Produced | 8.0 |
1.0 | Runs Ratio | 1.0 |
0.4 | Patience Ratio | 0.4 |
0.1 | Balls In Play Average | 0.2 |
68.3 | MLB Rating | 76.5 |
0.0 | Offensive Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
0.0 | Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
Game Information
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 30,995 | Capacity:
2024 National League East Standings
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia | 95 | 67 | .586 | - | W1 |
Atlanta | 89 | 73 | .549 | 6 | W1 |
New York | 89 | 73 | .549 | 6 | L1 |
Washington | 71 | 91 | .438 | 24 | L1 |
Miami | 62 | 100 | .383 | 33 | W4 |
2024 American League East Standings
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York | 94 | 68 | .580 | - | W1 |
Baltimore | 91 | 71 | .562 | 3 | W3 |
Boston | 81 | 81 | .500 | 13 | W1 |
Tampa Bay | 80 | 82 | .494 | 14 | L1 |
Toronto | 74 | 88 | .457 | 20 | L3 |