Field Level Media
05 Jul 2025, 09:45 GMT+10
(Photo credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images)
Christian Encarnacion-Strand's seventh-inning grand slam sparked a Cincinnati comeback as the visiting Reds defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-4 in the finale of a three-game series on Wednesday night.
Encarnacion-Strand joined Tyler Stephenson, Gavin Lux and Matt McLain with multiple hits for the Reds, who erased a 3-0 deficit by scoring five in the seventh and three in the eighth. They remain the lone major league team that has not been swept this season.
Despite trailing for most of his outing, Cincinnati right-hander Nick Martinez (6-8) wound up working 6 2/3 innings in his second straight winning start. He allowed four runs on nine hits and no walks with two strikeouts.
Boston errors helped fuel both of the Reds' big innings, which included seven of their 12 total hits. Stephenson led off both frames with singles.
In the seventh, Stephenson reached second on Red Sox third baseman Abraham Toro's fielding error on a Rece Hinds fielder's choice before Lux walked to load the bases. Encarnacion-Strand then crushed a 439-foot slam to deep center.
The Reds continued the inning against Red Sox reliever Greg Weissert (2-3) with a one-out double from TJ Friedl, who scored on Elly De La Cruz's two-out single.
Trevor Story went 3-for-4, Ceddanne Rafaela had two hits and Wilyer Abreu (home run) and Romy Gonzalez each had two RBIs for Boston, which won the first two games of the series.
Back-to-back doubles by Marcelo Mayer and Gonzalez pulled the Red Sox within 5-4 in the seventh. Gonzalez, though, was thrown out trying to take third, as left fielder Austin Hays fielded the ball high off the Green Monster.
After Stephenson's single in the eighth, a fielder's choice, a walk and an Encarnacion-Strand single loaded the bases ahead of Santiago Espinal's RBI hit to right. Friedl then reached on shortstop Story's error, turning a fielder's choice into two runs.
Rafaela gave Boston a lead in the second, doubling to deep center field and reaching third on Friedl's fielding error before scoring on a Gonzalez sacrifice fly.
Red Sox opener Brennan Bernardino (1 2/3 innings) and the duo of Jorge Alcala (1 1/3 innings) and Chris Murphy (2 2/3 innings) allowed Boston's lead to stand up through two-thirds of a bullpen game. The trio allowed three hits and no runs through the first 5 2/3 innings.
Right fielder Hinds took a likely extra-base hit away from Duran to end the fifth, but he just missed grabbing Abreu's two-out, two-run homer into the first row of the corner seats in the sixth. Story's third hit of the game set the table as Boston's lead increased to three.
Encarnacion-Strand was a late lineup addition after the Reds scratched Spencer Steer, whose right hand was swollen from getting hit by a pitch Wednesday afternoon during the completion of a game suspended Tuesday night.
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Cincinnati Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Cincinnati Sun.
More InformationPresident Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Paramount has agreed to pay US$16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump over...
LONDON, U.K.: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won a vote in Parliament this week to move ahead with changes to the country's welfare...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. President...
GENEVA, Switzerland: A new United Nations report alleges that dozens of global corporations are profiting from and helping sustain...
LONDON, UK - Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have voted overwhelmingly to proscribe the direct-action group Palestine Action as a terrorist...
LONDON UK - U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Independence Day. Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with Greeback Comeback...
SANTA CLARA, California: Nvidia came within a whisker of making financial history on July 3, briefly surpassing Apple's all-time market...
SACRAMENTO, California: California's multibillion-dollar farms are facing a growing crisis—not from drought or pests, but from a sudden...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump says the United States could soon reach a trade deal with India. He believes this deal would...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Grammarly is doubling down on AI-powered productivity tools with the acquisition of Superhuman, a sleek...
NEW YORK, New York -U.S. stock markets closed with broad gains on Thursday, led by strong performances in U.S. tech stocks, while European...