just now: Rafael Devers disrupts the game with a home run to help the Red Sox win.
Boston — With two home runs from Rafael Devers and Dominic Smith at Fenway Park, including one that cracked a seat deep in right field, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 5–4 on Sunday to win the series. The Red Sox dropped the first game and then won their second in a row. Boston has improved to 20-8 since June 12 and reached a major-league-best 9-3 in July.
Brady Singer (5-6) threw a first-inning slider that All-Star Devers hit for a projected 439 feet (an estimated 114.7 mph). The ball crashed into the top of a seat, loosening the upper support. A photo of the damaged red seat was included in a “Fenway Facilities Incident Report” that the Red Sox shared on social media. Red Sox manager Alex Cora described Devers, who chose not to attend the All-Star Game in order to rest a sore shoulder, as “locked in.” “Just give him some attention this week. Surely, he has no legitimate motive for travelling to Texas. He wants to stay healthy, receive treatment during the week, and be prepared for the second half.” After learning that Homer shattered a
All-Star Salvador Perez, who was chosen for his fourth Midsummer Classic, hit a single drive into the Green Monster seats for Kansas City after All-Star Adam Frazier sent a home run into the Royals’ bullpen to start the game. initial All-Star The Red Sox, who are now 15-1 on Sundays, are the best in the majors thanks to four singles by Jarren Duran. After ending in the bottom three of the previous four seasons, Boston sits 4½ games off of first place in the AL East going into the All-Star break. Duran remarked, “Today was just a good overall team win.” This year, I’ve said it a lot. I adore how we’re continuing it.”
With three strikeouts in the final six innings, Kenley Jansen recorded his 19th save of his career. He let a run to score in the ninth, but ended it by getting Nick Loftin to ground out with a runner on second. In the second, Smith’s drive flew an estimated 431 feet and over Boston’s bullpen, making the score 4-1. In the sixth, he added a crucial RBI single to make it 5-3. Singer got hit for four runs and eight hits in two and a half innings, after having only allowed one run in his previous four appearances. The Royals had 52 wins heading into the break, three fewer than the most in team history prior to the All-Star Game, which was held by the 1973 club.
