Boston aims for second series win in a row at Chicago
After racking up a season-high 20 hits -- including 10 in a row with two out during a nine-run third inning -- in a 15-2 victory on Saturday night, the visiting Boston Red Sox will now try to win their second consecutive series Sunday afternoon against the Chicago White Sox.
Rick Porcello (2-3, 5.52 ERA) will try to win his third consecutive start for the Red Sox, who have won six of their last seven games, including a three-game sweep of Oakland earlier in the week. Boston's only loss during that span was to the White Sox, 6-4, on Nicky Delmonico's ninth-inning three-run walk-off home run on Thursday night in the series opener.
Porcello is 11-9 with a 4.39 ERA in 25 career starts against the White Sox, including 6-4 with a 3.81 in 12 starts at Guaranteed Rate Field.
He'll be opposed by Dylan Covey (0-1, 6.75) who will be making his first start of 2019 but is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two career games against Boston, including a 1-0 win at Fenway Park last season when he threw six three-hit innings while striking out seven and outdueling Chris Sale.
Chicago manager Rick Renteria, who was planning on Sunday being "a bullpen day" before Saturday night's shellacking, no doubt is hoping for a similar effort from Covey in the series finale.
"Today (was) one of those days," Renteria said after Saturday's loss. "We've got to put this one behind us as quickly as possible. We've got a day game tomorrow and get ready to go."
The defending World Series champion Red Sox struggled at times offensively during a 11-17 start but may have turned the corner in Saturday's win, which featured a nine-run third inning and a five-run fourth and a stretch where 17 of 18 batters reached base.
"We know we're good offensively," Boston manager Alex Cora said. "We haven't put big innings together since the first part of the season. We've been feeling that the line has been moving for a while, it was just a matter of getting that big hit. It was fun to watch. It wasn't luck. They were barreling balls."
The Red Sox had two-run homers by Xander Bogaerts and Eduardo Nunez and a solo shot by rookie Michael Chavis during the nine-run third when 11 straight batters reached base with two outs, including the first 10 on hits. It marked the first time since July 30, 2010 when Colorado had 11 in a row against the Cubs that a team had that many consecutive two-out hits in an inning.
Chavis also homered in the fifth, his third in two games, and finished 4-for-6 with three RBI. Since being recalled on April 20, Chavis is batting. 354 with two doubles, six homers and 13 RBI. His six home runs in his first 14 games ties him with Sam Horn for the team record and are two more than Ted Williams had during that span.
"I honestly just feel blessed and lucky to be on this team," Chavis said. "We've been swinging it well. ... I think it's only up from here. I think we're going to keep playing well and hopefully we'll keep riding it."
--Field Level Media
