It took eight innings, but the Boston Red Sox earned a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians on Friday night at Progressive field thanks to some late-inning heroics from Jonathan Araúz.
Boston moved to 74-56 on the season with the victory, while the Indians fell to 62-63 in the loss.
You can view the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Garrett Richards out of the bullpen worked quite well Friday for the Red Sox. He sat down the side in order with two strikeouts in a crucial eighth inning with his team up by one run.
Richards struggled as a starter, particularly after Major League Baseball cracked down on the use of sticky substances. He was demoted to the bullpen and truly has been able to use his slider — which is nasty, by the way — to its best ability. Richards was trusted in a high-leverage situation during a time the Red Sox can’t exactly rely on Matt Barnes. So it certainly was reassuring to see the right-hander keep the game in tact and keep the Indians off the base path with a quick inning after Boston took the lead in exciting fashion.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Araúz was the unlikely hero here. He was recalled from Triple-A Worcester earlier in the day after Kiké Hernández tested positive for COVID-19 and Christian Arroyo was deemed a close contact. Manager Alex Cora said Araúz and Yairo Muñoz were en route to Cleveland from Buffalo during his pregame media availability at 4:15 p.m. ET. so it truly was unclear whether the duo would make it in time for first pitch.
They did, though, and Araúz came up with the third hit — and biggest one — for the Red Sox after he wasn’t even expected to be with the team when he woke up Friday.
— Eduardo Rodriguez provided the bullpen with some much-needed rest by going seven innings — something he hasn’t done all season. He did give up three earned runs on eight hits and only had two strikeouts.
You take the good with the bad, though, especially after Rodriguez struggled in his last outing when he gave up five earned runs over 3 2/3 innings of work.
— Adam Ottavino can thank Richards for doing a phenomenal job setting him up for the ninth, and even though Ottavino gave up a leadoff walk to begin the inning, he did a nice job getting the final three outs of the game with two strikeouts and a groundout.
WAGER WATCH
Coming into Friday’s game, DraftKings Sportsbook had the over/under for total runs scored by the Red Sox at 10 (-180.) If you had made a wager of $180 that Boston would reach more than 10, you’d walk away out of $100.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox return to action Saturday afternoon against the Indians. First pitch from Progressive Field is set for 4:05 p.m. ET, and you can watch it live on NESN.
