 his first blown save in 17 opportunities. But Matt Barnes (3-3) gave up three straight hits in the top of the ninth - Leury Garcia was caught stealing - including Abreu's 19th homer of the season.Abreu had three hits and four RBIs, and Garcia also had three hits for Chicago. James McCann had an RBI single and added a solo home run against Chris Sale as Chicago pounced on the Boston starter for five runs in the first three innings.Sale, who allowed six of the first seven batters to reach safely, retired the last 10 he faced, striking out the side in the sixth. He avoided the loss when Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run single in a three-run eighth inning to make it 7-6 - Boston's only lead of the game.Rafael Devers, who went 4-for-4 on Tuesday night, had three more hits and scored three times for Boston. J. D. Martinez hit a two-run homer and also had an RBI double for the Red Sox.The Red Sox were scheduled to leave for London after the game to play the New York Yankees.RED SOX RALLYLeading 6-4 in the eighth, Evan Marshall gave up a one-out single to Eduardo Nunez and a double to pinch-hitter Brock Holt. Colome got Mookie Betts to hit a hard grounder and third baseman Jose Rondon came home with it.Nunez slid in safely head-first. Devers grounded out to the pitcher, but Bogaerts bounced a single up the middle to give Boston a 7-6 lead.BAD PLAYSBoth teams gave away runs on bad fielding plays.Ryan Cordell beat out a slow roller to third base in the third inning. Jon Jay, who had been on second, rounded third and scored easily while Red Sox first baseman Michael Chavis was looking at the umpire, delaying the throw home.Devers scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3 when pitcher Reynaldo Lopez failed to cover home.OUCH AT HOMEIn all, Sale allowed six hits and a walk, hitting two batters and striking out 10 against his former team. Before his next start he will have gone 12 starts and an entire year without winning a regular-season game in Fenway Park.OUCH AT HOME IIHome plate umpire Roberto Ortiz needed attention from the Red Sox medical staff in the third inning after taking a foul ball off his right forearm. He had it wrapped but remained in the game.McCann hit the next pitch into the Green Monster seats to make it 4-2.WRIGHT BACKSteven Wright made his season debut after serving an 80-game suspension for violating the policy against performance-enhancing drugs. The knuckleballer pitched the eighth, striking out one and hitting a batter.TRAINER'S ROOMWhite Sox: SS Tim Anderson was in a walking boot a day after spraining his right ankle while fielding a grounder. ... 3B Yoan Moncada was hit by a pitch on the right knee in the first inning and left the game. ... RF Charlie Tilson left the game with flu-like symptoms in the seventh inning.Red Sox: OF Andrew Benintendi was given the second straight day off to rest, but he was available off the bench. Manager Alex Cora said his ''legs felt heavy.'' UP NEXTWhite Sox: Open a nine-game homestand on Friday night. Martin Perez (7-3) pitches the opener against the Minnesota Twins.Red Sox: Travel to London for two-game series against the Yankees, Saturday and Sunday. Rick Porcello (5-7) will face Masahiro Tanaka (5-5) in the first game.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Red Sox LHP Sale takes aim at former clubFLMRed Sox ace Chris Sale will take the mound against his former team seeking a sweep as Boston hosts the Chicago White Sox in the finale of a three-game series Wednesday afternoon.Sale (3-7, 3.59 ERA) renews acquaintances with the White Sox for the fourth time since he was traded to the Red Sox during the 2016 offseason. He beat Chicago last month, pitching six scoreless innings while allowing three hits and striking out 10.That victory was the first of the season for Sale and began a run in which he's gone 3-2 with a 2.34 ERA while striking out 106 batters over 65 1/3 innings across 10 starts. His last time out, the left-hander gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five innings (101 pitches) against the Toronto Blue Jays in a no-decision on Friday.Overall, Sale is 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in his three previous starts against the White Sox. He will be opposed on Wednesday by Chicago right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (4-7, 6.23 ERA).Lopez got the start for the White Sox in their last win, a 5-4, 10-inning victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday in which he allowed three runs on two homers in the first two innings. He settled down from there, pitching 3 1/3 scoreless the rest of the way in a no-decision.Lopez has faced Boston twice in his career, including a defeat against Sale on May 3 in which he was tagged for six runs on eight hits over five innings.The Red Sox have won the first two games of the series, including 6-3 on Tuesday, to complete the first half of their 162-game season with 44 wins."We'll take it," said manager Alex Cora, acknowledging all that went wrong for the defending champions earlier in the season. "We know we can be better. We've got certain goals, and we've got to finish strong before the All-Star break. Tomorrow, come here, finish this series." The day represents an unusual getaway game for Boston, which will travel to London after for its historic two-game series across the pond with the rival New York Yankees. Then the club comes back to North America for series at Toronto and Detroit before the All-Star break.The White Sox, meanwhile, will return home to end the first half with a nine-game homestand that begins Friday against the Minnesota Twins.Chicago was dealt a blow midway through Tuesday's loss when shortstop Tim Anderson sustained a sprained right ankle on a running throw to first base during the fifth inning. X-rays were negative, and he will be re-evaluated Wednesday, the team announced."Your heart falls down because you're not really sure what's going on," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said of seeing Anderson go down. "We'll see." Anderson, 26, is in the midst of a breakout season. After collecting two hits before getting injured Tuesday, he's batting .317 with 11 home runs, 37 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.Enjoying a breakout campaign for the Red Sox is third baseman Rafael Devers, who had four hits, including three doubles, in the Tuesday win. The 22-year-old has remained an offensive force despite playing through a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the team's game Sunday."He's not 100 percent, we know that, but he's able to play and he's playing under control," Cora said.Boston has won five of its first six meetings with Chicago this season.--Field Level Media
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