Friday morning the Red Sox set off their Fourth of July fireworks early, erupting for seven runs in the fifth inning en route to a blowout win over the Washington Nationals.
As it turned out, they saved some extra for Saturday’s rematch too.
The Red Sox blew out the Nationals again, riding a seven-run third inning to a decisive 10-3 win in the nation’s capital, the 10,000th win in franchise history. Ceddanne Rafaela led the way offensively by going 2 for 4 with a home run, double and three RBI, and Romy Gonzalez had three hits and two RBI.
Boston will go for the sweep on Sunday and has now won four of its last five games dating back to Monday. The club is also back at .500 (45-45) for the first time since June 23.
“We’ve been swinging the bat well since we got home,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters in Washington postgame. “I know a lot of people were panicking on the road trip but that’s part of 162, and the guys have done an amazing job preparing to go to battle, and they’re executing today.”
Facing left-hander Mitchell Parker, the Red Sox went with a somewhat unusual lineup for Saturday, batting recent Triple-A call-up Nate Eaton in the leadoff spot followed by Romy Gonzalez, Roman Anthony, Rob Refsnyder and Carlos Narvaez. The moves paid off for Cora, who saw his club take an initial 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a pair of RBI doubles by Gonzalez and Refsnyder.
Then in the third, the Red Sox took full control.
Anthony extended Boston’s lead with an RBI single and Jarren Duran broke the game open with his two-out, two-run triple into the right field gap to make it 5-0. An error by Parker allowed another run to score and kept the inning going, and Rafaela made the Nationals lefty pay with a two-run home run.
Gonzalez finished the rally with an RBI single in his second at bat of the inning, putting the Red Sox up 9-0 and giving Boston a seven-run inning for the second consecutive game.
With a nine-run cushion, Red Sox starting pitcher Walker Buehler had more than enough breathing room to work through his recent issues.
With a 6.45 ERA on the season entering Saturday and having thrown four innings or fewer in four of his last five starts, Buehler enjoyed an encouraging step forward. The right-hander started with a scoreless first, worked out of a jam thanks in part to a terrific running catch in left by Duran, and limited the damage when the Nationals threatened again later.
In the third, after C.J. Abrams singled and reached third on a play where Abraham Toro and Gonzalez each committed errors, Buehler drew an inning-ending double play. Abrams scored from third on the play before the third out was recorded.
Then, after Washington loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, Buehler drew an RBI fielder’s choice for the second out and a flyout to keep it a 9-2 game.
Buehler posted a scoreless fifth and came back out for the sixth before allowing a leadoff triple by Nathaniel Lowe and an RBI single by Josh Bell, which ended his day. Buehler was ultimately charged with three runs over five-plus innings on eight hits, no walks and two strikeouts.
“He was good,” Cora said of Buehler. “He threw the ball well, obviously that’s an offense where the put the ball into play and in the sixth it looked like he ran out of gas but overall it was a good one.”
The Red Sox scored one more time in the top of the eighth when Rafaela hit what would have been an easy RBI triple, but the play took a concerning turn when the outfielder tripped and fell while rounding second and immediately grabbed his back upon getting to his feet. The run still scored, but Rafaela was removed from the game the following inning.
Cora said following the game that Rafaela should be alright.
“Yeah he’s ok,” Cora said.
Boston will look to complete the sweep in Sunday’s finale. Garrett Crochet (8-4, 2.34) will take the mound for the Red Sox, and first pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m.
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