BOSTON — As the games tick off the calendar, the Boston Red Sox can’t afford many more losses.
In that sense, two straight wins, even against the historically bad Chicago White Sox, have put the Red Sox in the right direction as they dig their way out of an American League wild-card hole.
With 20 games left, the Red Sox notched a key 7-5 victory Saturday, their offense breaking out with a four-run first inning, a welcome sight after six straight games with three or fewer runs scored.
On a day when Seattle and Minnesota lost while Detroit and Kansas City won, the Red Sox gained a bit of ground, moving ahead of the Mariners and Tigers to four games back of the Twins for the final AL wild-card spot.
Manager Alex Cora made it clear Friday when the series began that this would be the team’s best chance to get going.
“We have a big weekend here. We have to think big,” he said. “There’s a good chance that if we take care of business this weekend, we should be a lot closer (to the Twins or Royals). We’ll gain ground, we don’t lose ground. That’s the way we see it.”
Tyler O’Neill’s two-run homer in the first inning got the Red Sox rolling Saturday. (Jaiden Tripi / Getty Images)
Whether the Red Sox can keep winning and gain enough ground before the season ends remains to be seen, but there were promising signs Saturday night.
The first came in the form of an offensive outburst. An anemic Red Sox offense had totaled just 11 runs in its previous six games, but scoring four runs in the first inning off White Sox starter Garrett Crochet boosted the club. The Red Sox had fallen behind early after a two-run homer off starter Cooper Criswell. But Jarren Duran singled, Rafael Devers doubled and Rob Refsnyder grounded out to drive in one run before Tyler O’Neill smacked the first of his two home runs on the night.
“We hit the ball hard,” Cora said. “The two lefties (Duran and Devers), we’re going to run with that from now on, it doesn’t matter, I just feel comfortable with them. Jarren goes the other way, Raffy stays on the breaking ball. We talked about doing the little things right. … We have to do little things for the big things to happen.”
Crochet had been one of the better pitchers in the league this year with a 3.02 ERA in the first half, though he’s faded in the second half with a 7.09 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break. The 25-year-old has been on a pitch limit late in the season, but the Red Sox pounced on him early, driving his pitch count to 35 after one inning.
Romy Gonzalez and Trevor Story each drove in a run in the third before O’Neill hit his second homer in the fifth.
Devers, who’d been in a rough slump, went 2-for-4 on Friday and added a double and two walks Saturday as he appears to be turning a corner.
“Seven runs is good to throw on the board again,” O’Neill said. “Obviously, we’ve been struggling a little bit collectively and I’ve been part of that, as well.”
The return of Story offered another promising sign for the Red Sox. Story went 1-for-4 and drove in a run in his first game since April 5. His smooth defense solidified the infield as he started two double plays and fielded six groundouts with ease.
“It felt a little fast, for sure,” Story said. “But that’s to be expected a little bit. Like I said, we didn’t think I would be here at this point. It feels like forever ago that I was here fielding questions about having a season-ending injury. I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to do it.”
Meanwhile, Kenley Jansen, who’d been rocked in his last outing against the Mets and did not pitch Friday in a save situation as the Red Sox opted to stay away from him, returned Saturday to lock down the ninth. Criswell allowed two runs over five innings, but reliever Chase Shugart gave up a three-run homer to let the White Sox creep back into the game. Brennan Bernardino and Justin Slaten shut down the threat before Jansen closed it out.
As the Red Sox turn to Sunday, they’re likely to have a new face on the mound. The Red Sox reshuffled the rotation to give Tanner Houck extra rest. Houck didn’t bounce back from his last start as well as he usually does. He’s scheduled to pitch Friday in New York.
With that in mind, Cora suggested the team would recall a pitcher from Triple-A Worcester and noted right-hander Richard Fitts, acquired in the Alex Verdugo trade last winter, was a likely option. In 24 games, including 23 starts, Fitts has a 4.17 ERA. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Fitts as the No. 17 prospect in the Red Sox system at the start of the season.
The Red Sox need to keep piling up wins to give themselves a chance and have done so through the first two games of the series.
“We won the series, we got to come here tomorrow and do the same thing,” Cora said. “Show up, play good baseball, try to win the game. We talked about two days ago, don’t lose ground.”
(Photo of Tyler O’Neill after his third-inning single Saturday: Jaiden Tripi / Getty Images)
