Carlos Carrasco pitches solid into the 6th inning, Guardians edge Red Sox 5-4 to improve to 13-6
BOSTON (AP) — Carlos Carrasco picked up his first win with Cleveland since 2020 and Andrés Giménez had two RBIs to lead the Guardians to a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.
Ramón Laureano, Josh Naylor and José Ramírez also drove in runs for Cleveland, which took three of four at Fenway Park and improved to a Central Division-best 13-6. The Guardians are 10-3 on the road.
“You want to win every series. Every team talks about it," first-year Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "It’s not this new idea, but any time you can go on the road and win a series, especially from a very good team across the way, you feel good about it heading home.”
Carrasco (1-1), who re-signed with the Guardians after spending three seasons with the New York Mets, allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. It was his first win with Cleveland since Sept. 20, 2020.
He left after allowing a two-out single to Reese McGuire in the sixth with Cleveland leading 5-1.
“Trying to be too perfect, which led to the first run," said Carrasco, who was with Cleveland for 11 years before being traded in the 2020 offseason. "After that, I went back and thought the same way I did in the bullpen (for pregame warmups). I just went out there and attacked.
"We’re winning series. That’s important for us.”
Emmanuel Clase pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save as the Guardians won three games in a series in Boston for the first time since 2000.
Giménez had two hits while batting leadoff Thursday, and is hitting .293 overall this season.
“He’s the Swiss Army knife of the lineup. He hits all over the place,” Vogt said. “His at-bats since the start of the year have been phenomenal ... clutch hit after clutch hit.”
After starting the season with seven wins in 10 road games, the Red Sox went 3-7 on their first homestand.
Trailing 5-1, Boston cut into Cleveland’s lead behind Jarren Duran’s two-run triple in the Red Sox's three-run sixth inning.
Left-hander Brennan Bernardino had two scoreless innings in the start for the Red Sox, who used five pitchers. Cooper Criswell (0-1) was charged with the loss after allowing four runs — three earned — in 2 1/3 innings.
Boston made two more errors that led to three unearned runs. The Red Sox have committed an MLB-worse 19 errors.
“It sounds repetitive, but we have to play better defense," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "That’s the bottom line. We don’t make two routine plays and don’t turn a double play, and we lose by one. They’re good defenders. We’re not making plays right now.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Guardians: RHP Pedro Avila was added to Cleveland’s major league roster one day after being acquired from San Diego. ... RHP Wes Parsons was optioned to Triple-A Columbus to make room for Avila.
Red Sox: All-Star 3B Rafael Devers wasn’t in the lineup for the series finale against Cleveland. He underwent an MRI before the game to check on the knee soreness that has bothered him in recent days. After the game, Cora said Devers is dealing with a bone bruise. “At least we have an idea of what it is,” Cora said. “He should be fine.” ... OF Tyler O’Neill was placed on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to April 16. Taking his spot on the active roster was OF Rob Refsnyder, who started the season on the injured list (left toe fracture). Refsnyder was used as a pinch hitter in the seventh and played the final two innings in left field.
UP NEXT
Guardians: RHP Triston McKenzie (1-2, 6.23) is scheduled to open the three-game series against Oakland on Friday. McKenzie hasn’t faced the Athletics since the 2022 season. RHP Joe Boyle (1-2, 5.68) is listed as the probable starter for the A’s.
Red Sox: Travel to Pittsburgh for a three-game series that begins Friday. RHP Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.92) will make his fifth start of the season for Boston. The Pirates have yet to announce a starter.
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