The seventh inning changed everything. Boston scored six runs to break a 3-3 tie and defeat Cleveland 9-4 at Progressive Field, turning a tight contest into a comfortable victory.
Jarren Duran went 1-for-3 with a home run, one RBI and two walks to lead the Red Sox offense. The center fielder opened the scoring with a 402-foot homer to right field in the first inning. Wilyer Abreu added two hits and two RBIs, while Caleb Durbin capped the seventh-inning rally with a two-run triple.
The decisive seventh began with Abreu walking to score Connor Wong and tie the game 4-4. Masataka Yoshida followed with a two-run single to center, scoring Duran and Carlos Narváez to give Boston a 6-4 lead. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled home Abreu to extend the advantage to 7-4, and Durbin's triple scored Yoshida and Kiner-Falefa to complete the six-run outburst.
Colin Holderman absorbed the loss for Cleveland, allowing two runs in one-third of an inning to suffer his first loss of the season. Tanner Bibee pitched six innings and allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Jovani Moran earned his first win of the season for Boston, pitching 1.1 scoreless innings in relief of Ranger Suarez, who allowed four runs over five innings.
Boston snapped a losing streak to improve to 24-33, while Cleveland fell to 34-26 despite maintaining first place in their division. The Guardians had taken a brief 4-3 lead in the fifth on RBI hits by José Ramírez and Chase DeLauter before the Red Sox's late surge.