The Boston Red Sox made easy work of the Chicago Cubs during Sunday's 11-5 win at Wrigley Field.
The Red Sox improved to 50-44 while the Cubs dropped to 43-49.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Boston pulled out every stop to ensure Chicago wouldn't come out on top in their three-game series.
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On one side, the Red Sox offense was top-tier led by Masataka Yoshida, who led the lineup with more than enough RBIs to put the Cubs away himself. Boston, in fact, out-hit Chicago, 14-5, going 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position and supplying its pitching with seven extra-base hits worth of support, including three home runs.
On the other side, Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford was dynamite in closing the door on the Cubs for good. The right-hander gave Boston more than enough, recording one of his most impressive outings this season in holding Chicago scoreless through six innings of work. The Cubs came up empty on four scoring opportunities against Crawford, and they didn't make the game competitive after Red Sox manager Alex Cora signaled to Boston's bullpen either.
Chicago waived the ultimate white flag at home, pitching catcher Tucker Barnhart in the ninth inning, while the Red Sox won the seventh of their last 10 games.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Yoshida was enough to defeat Chicago single-handily, going 3-for-5 with a grand slam, a triple and six RBIs. The left-hand-hitting outfielder recorded multiple base hits in eight of nine games played since the start of July, now going 17-for-39 at the plate through that stretch.
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-- Crawford was lights out, holding the Cubs to zero runs in six frames on the mound, allowing just one hit (a single) and striking out a season-high nine hitters to improve to 4-4 this season.
-- Triston Casas got involved in the scoring outpour, delivering a two-run homer in the eighth inning after pinch-hitting for Justin Turner. That gave Casas his third home run in as many games facing the Cubs, which teammate Rafael Devers also did.
WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds of Jorge Alfaro recording two-plus base hits at +320 entering the contest. Alfaro cleared those odds, courtesy of a pair of singles off the bat of the 30-year-old veteran. A $100 bet placed on Alfaro would've resulted in a $420 total payout.
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UP NEXT ON NESN
The Red Sox will next head out to Oakland and open up a three-game series with the Athletics on Monday night. First pitch from the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.
Featured image via David Banks/USA TODAY Sports Images
