Garrett Crochet overcame a pair of early home runs and struck out 10 batters across six innings to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night at Fenway Park. Jarren Duran contributed a key two-run triple, and Boston secured a win in the middle game of the three-game series.
The Dodgers entered the matchup as slight road favorites with moneyline odds around -120, while the Red Sox were priced at approximately +100. The projected run total was 9.5, which stayed just under following a scoreless final three innings.
Crochet allowed two runs, coming in the first inning on solo home runs. Shohei Ohtani led off the game by sending the third pitch over the right field wall for his 38th home run of the season. It came one night after his streak of homering in five consecutive games ended. Teoscar Hernández followed by hitting a drive over the Green Monster, giving Los Angeles a 2-0 lead before Crochet recorded an out. The left-hander settled in after the early damage and did not allow another run, improving to 12-4 on the season. Crochet has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in 18 of his 22 starts.
The Red Sox responded in the second inning. Duran lined a pitch deep to center field that eluded Andy Pages and rolled to the wall, allowing two runs to score. Duran later came home on a sacrifice fly from Abraham Toro to give Boston a 3-2 lead. Roman Anthony added to the Red Sox’s advantage with an RBI double in the fifth inning off Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw, making his first regular-season start at Fenway Park, lasted 4 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on six hits with two strikeouts. His only previous appearance in Boston came during Game 1 of the 2018 World Series, which the Red Sox won in five games. The veteran left-hander, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, fell to 4-2 on the season.
Duran finished with two triples in the game, marking the first time in his career he has achieved the feat. The last Boston player with a two-triple game was Mookie Betts during his American League MVP campaign in 2018.
Boston’s bullpen maintained the lead after Crochet exited. Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth inning to earn his 18th save of the season. He ended the game by striking out Betts, a former Red Sox star, who appeared as a pinch-hitter with two outs in the ninth.
The Red Sox improved to 3-5 since the All-Star break after winning 10 straight games entering it. The series concludes on Sunday. Right-hander Dustin May (6-6, 4.73 ERA) is scheduled to start for Los Angeles, while Boston will counter with former Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler (6-6, 5.72 ERA).
