BOSTON — Kyle Schwarber hit a leadoff homer in the first inning, then delivered a tiebreaking, two-run double in the seventh that sent the Boston Red Sox over the Cleveland Indians 8-5.
Hunter Renfroe added a three-run homer in the seventh as Boston won its third straight, holding its spot for the second AL wild-card spot with 25 games remaining in the regular season. Kevin Plawecki and Jonathan Araúz also homered for the Red Sox (78-59), who added their ninth player to the COVID-related injured list in a one-week span earlier Friday yet won again with a piecemeal lineup.
José Ramírez hit his 33rd homer for Cleveland (67-65) and added an RBI single in the ninth. The Tribe had won four in a row, but now falls to 8 1/2 games behind Boston for that final playoff spot.
The Indians and Rex Sox will play again at Fenway Park Saturday afternoon. It'll be a battle of rookies as Cleveland's Eli Morgan (2-6, 5.98 ERA) starts against Boston's Tanner Houck (0-3, 3.63).
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