BOSTON — Wilyer Abreu singled off the Green Monster to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, and the Boston Red Sox rallied for a 5-4 walk-off victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
Rafael Devers hit his first homer for the Red Sox, who won their fourth straight.
Boston had tied it with two runs on a hit and four walks against closer Ryan Helsley in the ninth. Romy Gonzalez had an RBI double in the inning.
Pedro Pagés replaced catcher Iván Herrera after he came out with left knee inflammation and drove in three runs with two doubles for the Cardinals.
Pagés picked Connor Wong off first to end the seventh before his two-run double off the Monster pushed the Cardinals ahead 4-2 in the eighth. He also threw out Gonzalez attempting to steal second in the seventh.
Devers, who opened the season as the majors’ first-ever to strike out 10 times in his first three games, homered to left to give Boston the lead in the fifth. He reached base four times when the Red Sox won their home opener on Friday.
Aroldis Chapman (2-0) worked the 10th for the victory.
The game was the makeup of Saturday’s rainout.
Key moment
Abreu hit a first-pitch fastball from Ryan Fernandez (0-1) for the game-winner.
Key stat
Helsley threw 37 pitches in the ninth, only 16 for strikes. He did strike out two batters, though.
Up next
RHP Miles Mikolas (0-0, 3.38 ERA) is set to start the nightcap for the St. Louis. Boston hasn’t announced a starter, but it’ll likely be RHP Hunter Dobbins, who was recalled from Triple-A Worcester as the 27th man for the doubleheader and will be making his major league debut.
Red Sox 18, Cardinals 7
BOSTON — Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer and tied a career-high with six RBIs, Rafael Devers had four hits and drove in three runs, and the Boston Red Sox rolled to an 18-7 win and a doubleheader sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night.
Wilyer Abreu added a double and three RBIs for Boston, which finished with a season-best 22 hits. It was the 14th career four-hit game for Devers. Bregman posted his 10th career game with four hits.
All that offence made for an easy night for Hunter Dobbins (1-0), who scattered five hits and gave up two runs over five innings to win his major league debut. Cooper Criswell gave up four runs in the ninth, but went three innings for his first save.
St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas (0-1) allowed nine runs and 11 hits in 2.2 innings. Thomas Saggaese hit a three-run homer in the ninth and Brendan Donovan had two RBIs for the Cardinals. St. Louis extended a team record with its ninth straight game getting at least 10 hits.
In the makeup of Saturday's rainout, Abreu singled off the Green Monster to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Red Sox rallied for a 5-4 victory in the opener. Devers, who began the season 0-for-21, also hit his first homer of the year in the first game.
Pedro Pagés replaced St. Louis catcher Iván Herrera in the first game after he exited with left knee inflammation. In an interview on the ESPN broadcast, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said initial testing came back clean and Herrera’s knee was structurally sound. But he added the injury will require a stint on the injured list.
Key moment
Boston took control in the second inning, scoring five runs on an RBI single by Ceddanne Rafaela and two-run doubles by Bregman and Abreu. Mikolas threw 41 of his 81 pitches during the inning. The Red Sox had another five-run inning in the sixth.
Key stat
The Red Sox scored five runs in the second inning and four more in the third. It marked the first time they scored four or more runs in back-to-back innings since Aug. 24, 2023, at Houston, and the first time at Fenway Park since Sept. 27, 2022, at Baltimore.
Up next
LHP Matthew Liberatore (0-0, 4.50 ERA) will start as the Cardinals open a three-game series Monday in Pittsburgh. The Red Sox had not announced a starting pitcher for the opener of their four-game series against Toronto.
