Jeimer Candelario hits two home runs, Andrew Abbott strikes out ten times, Reds beat Red Sox 5-2

CINCINNATI (AP) — Jeimer Candelario hit two home runs, Andrew Abbott set a season-high 10 strikeouts and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2 in the opener of an interleague series on Friday night.

Candelario hit solo home runs in the first and third innings against Kutter Crawford (3-7). Jonathan India hit solo home runs against the Red Sox starter in the second inning, and the Reds scored two more runs in the seventh on a throwing error by reliever Cam Booser, ending Boston’s five-game winning streak.

Candelario hit .338 batting average in June and increased his home run total this season to 14, a team-high.

“He’s done it in important situations, in all those situations,” said Reds manager David Bell. “He knew it was only a matter of time.”

Abbott (6-6) allowed two runs — solo home runs by Jarren Duran and Connor Wong — and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He allowed a single by Romy Gonzalez to start the sixth inning, then struck out Tyler O’Neill and Rafael Devers before giving way to Fernando Cruz, who struck out Wong to end the inning.

Sam Moll and Nick Martinez followed, both with a scoreless inning, and Alexis Diaz threw the ninth inning for his 17th save.

“I was able to get in the strike zone at every point,” said Abbott, 24. “I was able to win the race with two strikes, like the 1-1 tie. I was able to do some things that I haven’t been able to do in some games this year.”

The Reds held a 3-2 lead in the seventh when they took advantage of two Red Sox errors. The first, a wild throw after a grounder to second base, put Santiago Espinal on first base.

He got to third base thanks to a double by Luke Maile that chased Crawford away. A miss by Booser after a surprise bunt by TJ Friedl allowed both runners to score.

“Honestly, he threw down a pretty good (bunt),” said Wong, the catcher. “He rocked it. (Booser) had to make a really tough play, and it ended up going over my head. The trail runner was able to come around and score. Hindsight is always 20/20, right? It was win or die. It was a great performance. We didn’t get it done.”

Crawford allowed five runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Duran and Wong’s home runs extended their respective hitting streaks to 11 games, a career high for both.

TRAINING ROOM

Red Sox: OF Wilyer Abreu (ankle sprain) is expected to be activated on Saturday. He has been out of action since June 4.

Reds: C Tyler Stephenson is day-to-day with an unspecified injury, which led to C Austin Wynns being promoted from Triple-A Louisville. OF Jacob Hurtubise, who gained attention as only the second West Point graduate to play in the major leagues and one of the first athletes to receive a suspension from his military service to play professional sports, was demoted. The 26-year-old had a .185 batting average in 29 games with the Reds.

NEXT

The Red Sox send right-hander Nick Pivetta (4-4, 3.88 ERA) to the mound to face Reds right-hander Frankie Montas (3-5, 4.62) as the series continues Saturday night.

___

APMLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB