CLEVELAND -- The sixth inning was an inning of peaks and valleys for the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. The valley came early, when Jarren Duran made the first out of the inning at third base trying to advance on a wild pitch.\n\nThe peak ended up being the knockout blow. \n\nFour batters after Duran recorded the first out of the inning at third, Alex Verdugo staked Boston to a 3-2 lead with a 447-foot home run off Shane Bieber. That was all the offense the Red Sox would need, as Josh Winckowski and four relievers locked in to guide the Sox to a 4-2 win.\n\nIn Friday’s opener, Verdugo scalded the ball (four of the five balls he put in play were hit over 90 mph) but only had a double to show for it. He ended up with even more to show for it Saturday.\n\n“I was looking for a heater, and was able to get a curveball that was middle in,” Verdugo said. “I’ve been really locked in over the last couple days, and been using the whole field.”
The home run was the lone blemish allowed by Bieber, who ended up going seven innings. He stifled the Red Sox the first two times through the order (Boston only had one baserunner the second time through), but came undone facing the Red Sox for the third time. After allowing back-to-back two-out singles to J.D. Martinez and
Despite the baserunning mistake in the sixth, Duran had the best game of his professional career, going 4-for-5 with a double, an RBI and two stolen bases. Since being called up June 15, Duran is batting .324 with three RBIs and four steals.\n\n“He’s having fun running the bases and being an athlete,” Cora said. “He didn’t try to do too much. This is what we want.”\n\nThe Guardians’ two runs against Winckowski came in a three-batter span in the third inning. He walked Steven Kwan, then Amed Rosario and José Ramírez manufactured two runs on an RBI triple and a sacrifice fly.\n\nWinckowski’s stable presence has been a boon for a Red Sox squad that’s been without rotational stalwarts Garrett Whitlock and