Connor Wong and Jarren Duran drove in three runs each as the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 9-1 on Saturday, with Sonny Gray limiting Cleveland to one run over six innings.
CLEVELAND — Connor Wong’s go-ahead double didn’t just change the scoreboard. It flipped the moment for the Boston Red Sox after a call that almost went another way.
With the game moving into the sixth inning. Wong hit a double off the left-field wall against Cleveland’s Matt Festa (1-1). It was initially ruled a two-run homer. but instant replay overturned the decision after it was determined the ball struck an area of the field that is in play. The adjustment meant Wong stayed with extra-base power instead of a homer — and it would have been Boston catcher’s first homer since 2024.
Wong and Jarren Duran then took over the rest of the night. Wong drove in three runs apiece, and Duran finished with three RBIs as Boston rolled to a 9-1 victory on Saturday. Caleb Durbin added two RBIs for the Red Sox, who won for only the second time in eight games.
Cleveland’s afternoon unraveled early and never stabilized. The Guardians, 2-3 on their six-game homestand, committed a season-high four errors, including one by Jose Ramirez. Ramirez. the All-Star third baseman. accounted for Cleveland’s lone run with an RBI double in the first inning that drove in Travis Bazzana. who finished with a pair of doubles.
Boston struck hardest when it mattered most. After keeping Cleveland at arm’s length for most of the night, the Red Sox put the game out of reach with six runs in the ninth. Duran capped the barrage with a line-drive, three-run homer.
Duran has been blistering in May, with eight home runs in the month. Over his last seven games, he is 12 for 34 with seven RBIs.
On the mound, Sonny Gray delivered the kind of steady start Boston needed. Gray (6-1) became the fourth AL starting pitcher this season to reach four wins in May. He allowed one run and four hits in six innings, struck out seven, and kept Cleveland’s early momentum from turning into anything bigger.
Cleveland answered with rookie left-hander Parker Messick, who allowed one run in five innings and struck out four.
The scoring also found its way into the middle innings. Durbin’s sacrifice fly drove in Andruw Monasterio to tie the game at 1 in the fourth. Durbin later added an RBI double in the eighth.
Now the focus shifts to the series finale, with Boston LHP Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.02 ERA) facing Cleveland RHP Tanner Bibee (0-7, 4.57 ERA).
Boston Red Sox Cleveland Guardians Connor Wong Jarren Duran Sonny Gray Ranger Suarez Tanner Bibee MLB results