Boston Red Sox
Boston rattled off five runs in the ninth inning to seal the game.
The Red Sox’ offense exploded late in Saturday night’s win. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)
The Red Sox desperately needed an outing like Saturday night vs. the Cardinals offensively.
Everybody in Boston’s lineup got on base at least once in the win, and only two batters (Wilyer Abreu and Trevor Story) failed to register a hit in the game. Abreu leads the Red Sox in a few key offensive areas, too, so his quiet day isn’t so concerning.
Most of the game was relatively typical for the 2026 Red Sox, getting chances here and there but not enough to feel like the offense was clicking. So when they gave up a run and went into the ninth inning only up 2-1, a win was far from secure. But Boston turned up the heat in a major way, rattling off five runs in the top of the frame to pad its lead.
Saturday marked the first time all season Boston has scored seven runs.
Willson Contreras stepped up and showed his offensive capabilities, going 2 for 4 at the plate with 3 RBIs.
“It was good to put the ball in play there, get that double, especially to start a rally,” Contreras said after the game. “We talk about bringing the energy no matter what happens, we talk about fighting every at-bat … We’re not looking to hit homers, we’re looking to put the ball in play and then do damage.
“I think we have to start, at some point, putting the ball in play more. We did in the ninth, and it worked out.”
As Contreras pointed out, Boston didn’t hit a home run on Saturday. Its runs were all created by getting on base and putting balls in gaps.
Caleb Durbin got two RBIs as well, finally breaking through after a trying first few weeks as a Red Sox. Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela each added an RBI as well, so it was a true team effort in the lineup.
Despite a very rocky start to the year, Boston has quietly won three of its last four heading into Sunday’s season finale in St. Louis. As far as maintaining Saturday night’s momentum on offense, more games will paint a more accurate picture of that. Alex Cora was pleased with the effort, but isn’t ready to get ahead of himself.
“We’ll know tomorrow,” Cora said when asked if that ninth inning can be a catalyst. “But we walked. We’ve been talking about the walks, controlling the strike zone. There were some good signs, we walked five times, put good at-bats, didn’t get greedy and hit the ball hard.
“It was a good all-around inning, and hopefully tomorrow we can do the same thing.”
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