Rafael Devers slugged a pair of solo home runs and Brayan Bello recorded his seventh straight quality start as the Boston Red Sox defeated the host Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series
Adam Duvall, Triston Casas, Justin Turner and Yu Chang also went deep for the Red Sox, who have won six straight games and nine of their last 10
Bello (7-5) allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Kenley Jansen recorded the final out with the bases loaded for his 20th save.
Masataka Yoshida went 2-for-5 to extend his multi-hit streak to eight games.
Cody Bellinger matched Devers by hitting two solo shots for Chicago, which has alternated wins and losses over its last six games. Christopher Morel went 3-for-4 and Tucker Barnhart added two hits, while Mike Tauchman had an RBI double.
Kyle Hendricks (3-4) served up four of Boston's season-high six homers during his 4 2/3 innings. He surrendered five runs on eight hits while striking out five and walking none.
Boston grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second thanks to solo home runs from Devers and Duvall. The Red Sox doubled their advantage an inning later when Turner hit a sacrifice fly and Devers followed with another solo shot, his 22nd homer of the season
The Cubs pulled within 4-1 in the bottom of the third when Barnhart led off with a double and scored on Tauchman's double
Casas quickly reestablished Boston's four-run cushion, launching an 0-1 fastball to the center field bleachers to lead off the fourth. Chicago got that run back when Bellinger opened the home half of the frame with a shot of his own to make it 5-2.
Bellinger struck again in the sixth, driving his 11th homer of the season to left-center field to cut the Cubs' deficit to 5-3
However, Yoshida sent a one-out single to center in the seventh to set the stage for Turner, who followed with a two-run homer that effectively sealed the victory.
Chang provided an insurance run in the ninth when he opened the inning with a home run, his fourth of the season.
--Field Level Media