Baseball

Masataka Yoshida Had Two Hits, Red Sox End Home Skid

Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 5, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida (7) hits a double against the Texas Rangers during the fifth inning at Fenway Park.

Reuters

11:46 JST, July 6, 2023

Brayan Bello tossed seven innings to help the Boston Red Sox end a four-game home losing streak by beating the Texas Rangers 4-2 on Wednesday night.

Bello (6-5) limited the Rangers to two runs on eight hits. He struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.

Bello has pitched at least six innings in eight of his 14 starts this season and has pitched into the seventh in each of his last five outings.

Reliever Chris Martin kept Texas off the scoreboard in the eighth inning and Kenley Jansen recorded his 18th save by pitching a scoreless ninth.

The Red Sox were held to five runs in their previous four home games — three losses to Miami and one to Texas.

Justin Turner had two hits and two RBIs for Boston, which dropped a 6-2 decision to Texas on Tuesday. Connor Wong and Masataka Yoshida also had two hits for the Red Sox.

Adolis Garcia hit a two-run home run for the Rangers, his 22nd home run of the season.

Texas received three hits from Corey Seager, who has reached base in 24 straight games.

Texas starting pitcher Jon Gray (6-5) allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out two.

RBI singles by Turner and Adam Duvall handed the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Turner’s hit drove in Jarren Duran, and Duvall’s single drove in Turner.

Boston raised its lead to 3-0 in the fifth. Yoshida led off the inning with a double and scored on Turner’s single.

Garcia’s home run sliced Boston’s lead to 3-2 in the top of the sixth, but the Red Sox regained a two-run lead in the bottom of the sixth when Garcia misplayed David Hamilton’s single to right field, allowing Christian Arroyo to score from first.