Garrett Whitlock tossed five strong innings in his return from a near-five-week absence due to a forearm injury, lifting the visiting Boston Red Sox to a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday in Phoenix.
Boston’s Enrique Hernandez had an RBI single and Reese McGuire drove in a run with a sacrifice bunt during the fourth inning. Masataka Yoshida and Jarren Duran each had two of the six hits for the Red Sox, who have won the first two contests of this series after being outscored 20-4 during a four-game losing skid.
Arizona’s Ketel Marte belted a solo homer in the first inning to extend his career-best on-base streak to 26 games. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 0-for-3 to see his career-high 17-game hitting streak come to halt for the Diamondbacks, who mustered just three hits en route to losing their third straight game.
Whitlock (2-2) picked up the win after allowing one run on three hits while striking out four without walking a batter. He retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced.
Kutter Crawford struck out three over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Chris Martin bridged the gap to Kenley Jansen, who retired the side in the ninth to secure his 11th save of the season and 402nd career.
Marte opened the scoring in the first inning after depositing a 0-2 offering from Whitlock just inside the right-field foul pole. Marte’s homer was his seventh of the season.
Boston responded in the fourth inning as Yoshida and Triston Casas each recorded a single before Hernandez’s base hit off Zach Davies (0-1) forged a 1-1 tie. That spelled the end of the evening for Davies, who had just returned from the 15-day injured list due to an ailing left oblique.
Kyle Nelson relieved Davies and promptly loaded the bases before McGuire’s bunt left him with no option other than to get the out at first base. That run was charged to Davies, who allowed two runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
