The Boston Red Sox began their final homestand of the season with a narrow 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park on Friday night.
The Red Sox bring their record to 76-78 while the lowly White Sox drop to 58-96.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
It was a grind all game for the Red Sox offense, but when it mattered most, they manufactured just enough offense to come out on top.
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The Red Sox rallied in the eighth inning, scoring twice to take the lead. The White Sox were complicit in their demise as lefty reliever Garrett Crochet was as shaky as they come. Crochet threw half of his 26 pitches for balls as he coughed up Chicago's lead.
But credit the Red Sox for taking advantage of Crochet's poor performance. They didn't do it with any sort of flash, but it didn't matter as the much-added runs game across the plate.
Adam Duvall leveled the score with a sacrifice fly -- it was the second time on the night the Red Sox scored on a sac fly -- before Masataka Yoshida singled to right to plate the go-ahead run.
Ceddanne Rafaela shouldn't be forgotten about, either. He started the pivotal eighth inning by getting hit by a pitch on the 10th pitch of his at-bat, which set everything in motion.
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STARS OF THE GAME
-- Chris Sale delivered his second straight strong outing, holding the White Sox scoreless over five innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out seven.
-- Yoshida came through with the biggest hit of the night for the Red Sox. He finished 1-for-4, but his base knock in a big spot should leave him feeling good despite his recent struggles at the plate.
-- Trevor Story was the bright spot for Boston's offense, going 3-for-4 with all of his hits being singles. He raised his batting average by 17 points with the performance.
WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook ended up setting Sale's strikeouts over/under at 7.5 with -118 odds on the Under. The Under just barely hit, meaning a $100 wager on the prop bet would have netted a total of $184.75.
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ON DECK AT NESN
Rain is in the forecast again for the Red Sox when they face the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
Featured image via Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports Images