BOSTON — The Guardians watched a one-run lead disappear during the eighth inning Tuesday night. They needed only three batters to take it back during the ninth.
Nathaniel Lowe’s sacrifice fly scored Chase DeLauter with the deciding run as Cleveland defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-2 at Fenway Park. The Guardians improved to 82-75 with their sixth consecutive victory and remained one game ahead of the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central.
Cleveland gave Parker Messick a 2-0 lead during the second inning. Angel Martínez reached and scored on David Fry’s RBI single before Fry came home when Brayan Rocchio grounded into a double play.
Boston answered during the bottom half when Adley Rutschman scored on an Andruw Monasterio groundout. That was the only run allowed by Messick, who worked through traffic during each of the first four innings before retiring Boston in order during the fifth.
Messick allowed five hits and one walk over five innings. He struck out five while throwing 62 of his 96 pitches for strikes and lowered his ERA to 2.55. The rookie has allowed three earned runs or fewer during each of his 14 major-league starts.
Red Sox rookie Payton Tolle also kept his team in the game. The left-hander allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings, striking out five. Cleveland finished with 12 hits but twice had runners retired at home against Boston’s drawn-in infield and left nine men on base.
Tim Herrin and Craig Yoho combined for a scoreless sixth inning before Erik Sabrowski struck out three during the seventh. The advantage disappeared when Mickey Gasper hit the first pitch from Hunter Gaddis over the wall to open the eighth, tying the game at 2-2.
DeLauter was hit by an Erik Miller pitch to begin the ninth. Jo Adell followed with a single to right field that moved DeLauter to third, and Lowe lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to restore Cleveland’s lead. Petey Halpin added a single and Austin Hedges walked later in the inning, but the Guardians could not add another run.
Cade Smith made the lead hold. Jarren Duran drew a one-out walk, but Smith retired Roman Anthony and Nick Sogard on ground balls to record his 40th save. Gaddis earned the victory despite allowing the tying home run, while Miller took the loss.
Martínez led Cleveland with three hits. DeLauter added two hits and scored the winning run, while Steven Kwan, José Ramírez, Adell, Fry, Halpin, Travis Bazzana and Rocchio each collected one. Boston finished with eight hits, including three from Rutschman.
The White Sox also won Tuesday, preventing Cleveland from extending its division lead. The Guardians’ magic number to secure a postseason berth fell to two, while their magic number to win the AL Central is five.
What’s Next: Cleveland continues its three-game series against Boston Wednesday at Fenway Park. Foster Griffin is scheduled to face Sonny Gray, with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
