Masataka Yoshida clubbed a grand slam and Kutter Crawford logged six shutout innings as the Boston Red Sox beat the host Chicago Cubs 11-5 on Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Yoshida also singled and smacked a two-run triple to finish with six RBIs. He has now recorded multiple hits in nine of his last 10 games.
Rafael Devers and Triston Casas also went deep for the Red Sox, who are 10-2 since June 30.
Crawford (4-4) allowed just one hit and walked four while picking up a career-high nine strikeouts.
Mike Tauchman went 2-for-2 with an RBI, two runs and three walks for Chicago, which has alternated wins and losses over its last eight games.
Boston blew the game open with a five-run fifth. After Yu Chang followed Connor Wong’s leadoff double with a base hit, Rob Refsnyder drove in Wong with a single to left. Justin Turner singled to load the bases and, two outs later, Yoshida cleared them with a 381-foot shot to right to make it 6-0.
Despite surrendering all five runs in the fifth, Cubs starter Justin Steele (9-3) returned for the sixth and sat down the Red Sox in order. He gave up six runs on 10 hits in six innings, walking one and fanning six.
Yoshida scored on a wild pitch after his triple in the seventh as the Red Sox went up 9-0. Casas hit a two-run blast an inning later, his third homer of the series and 12th of the season.
The Cubs finally got on the board in the bottom of the eighth when Jake Faria issued four consecutive walks to open the inning. Christopher Morel added an RBI single, and Patrick Wisdom pulled Chicago within 11-3 with a sacrifice fly.
Tauchman drove in Tucker Barnhart with a single and Nico Hoerner followed with an RBI triple in the ninth to forge the final score.
Devers opened the scoring in the first, drilling a solo home run to left-center field. It was Devers’ 23rd homer of the season.
–Field Level Media
