May 6, 2024
BOSTON (AP) — Justin Turner hit a go-ahead, two-run double off the Green Monster in the seventh inning and the Boston Red Sox beat the major league-leading Atlanta Braves 5-3 on Wednesday night to sweep the two-game series.
“It was a slider that was a little further over the plate than I wanted it, but I was able to get it up in the air on the pull side to take advantage of that big green thing out in left,” Turner said. “That felt good.”
Rafael Devers, Tristan Casas and Adam Duvall homered for Boston, which trailed 3-0 after Ozzie Albies hit a three-run shot for Atlanta in the sixth.
“One luxury of hitting in front of (Devers) is that they don’t want to get to him,” Turner said.
Boston has won four straight and is a season-best eight games over .500 at 55-47. Atlanta is 64-36.
“They have a great team. We respect the way they go about it. They’re relentless,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said about the Braves. “Hopefull,y we can play them again. That’s the goal here, but we’ve got work to do."
Red Sox rookie starter Brayan Bello allowed four hits and all three runs in six innings. The right-hander struck out four and walked two.
“I made a mistake and they made me pay for it, but I’m glad the team was able to come back and get a win tonight,” Bello said.
Joe Jacques (2-1) pitched the seventh, John Schreiber and Brennan Bernardino worked the eighth and All-Star closer Kenley Jansen finished for his 22nd save.
“You’ve got to tip your cap to our bullpen,” Turner said. “That’s a good lineup they were able to keep at bay for two nights in a row.”
Devers got the Red Sox started in sixth with his 25th home run, a shot that landed in the right-field seats. In the seventh, Casas hit the first pitch he saw from Atlanta starter Spencer Strider to center for his 15th homer.
“The homer by (Devers) gave us life,” Cora said. “We won with our best offensive lineup and we needed every one of those at-bats.”
Down 3-2, Boston finally chased Strider when Connor Wong singled with one down in the seventh. Albies then committed an error on a grounder hit directly at him. After a grounder by Jarren Duran moved Wong to third and Yu Chang to second, Turner gave the Red Sox the lead with a two-out double off Pierce Johnson (1-6) that banged off the left-field wall. Duvall homered in the eighth.
Strider went 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs — two earned — on six hits. He struck out 10 and walked one.
“We just played a really good team. They’re coming together at the right time,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “We typically score more than four runs in two games, but Spencer had a really solid outing. Just couldn’t seal the deal.”
The announced paid attendance was 37,457. It was the largest crowd at Fenway Park since August 2019.
“The fans were into it,” Cora said. “It was a fun night for us.”
