Wilyer Abreu broke a scoreless deadlock with a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning, lifting the Boston Red Sox to a 2-0 win and a doubleheader sweep over the visiting Chicago Cubs on Friday evening.
Abreu was in a 0-for-11 slump before smacking the big hit high off the Green Monster in left-center field. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jahmai Jones both walked to set the stage for Abreu’s heroics, with the first walk coming off Chicago’s initial reliever Javier Assad (6-2) in an eventual loss.
The Red Sox (87-74) were limited to just four hits, but Jedixson Paez (1-1) made them stand up while dealing the final five innings en route to his first big-league win. Paez, who was recalled from Triple-A Worcester in between games, scattered three hits, struck out five and did not issue a walk in relief of starter Brayan Bello.
The Cubs (88-73) had seven hits, including two apiece by Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner.
After Chicago starter David Peterson fanned six across five innings of three-hit ball, Assad had struck out the heart of the Boston lineup in order in the sixth and retired the first six men he faced.
Bello escaped a near-immediate jam in the first. After striking out leadoff hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong, Suzuki walked and Busch dunked a single into shallow left field, but back-to-back outs in the air ended the threat.
The Boston righty also induced double plays to halt potential rallies after leadoff singles by Hoerner in the second and Busch in the fourth. Kiner-Falefa made a diving stop and spun a 4-6-3 ball to erase Hoerner.
Paez replaced Bello following Hoerner’s leadoff knock in the fifth. Matt Shaw lined a two-out single that ricocheted off the umpire standing up the middle before runners were stranded on the corners.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox were hitless until Kiner-Falefa opened the third with a line-drive single to center. He reached third on Anthony’s knock to right, but Peterson retired the next two.
In the fifth, a leadoff walk to Kiner-Falefa was wasted.
The teams’ season finale was moved to Sunday at a neutral location in St. Petersburg, Fla., due to inclement weather expected to impact Boston all weekend.
–Field Level Media
