Trevor Story’s power bat and aggressive baserunning helped the Boston Red Sox build an early cushion, and despite a late Miami rally, Boston held on for a 7-5 win over the Marlins on Saturday at Fenway Park.
Story crushed a three-run homer in the third inning, part of Boston’s four-run frame that staked Brayan Bello to a big lead. He also set the tone in the opening inning by legging out an infield hit, swiping his 22nd stolen base in as many tries, and later scoring on Masataka Yoshida’s two-run single.
Roman Anthony and Alex Bregman, hitting atop the Red Sox lineup, each collected two hits. Bregman added an RBI single in the fourth to make it 7-0, capping the early surge.
Bello (9-6) delivered a strong outing, allowing two runs on four hits across 6 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two before turning it over to the bullpen.
Cal Quantrill (4-10), facing the Red Sox for the first time since last July’s bench-clearing incident at Fenway while pitching for Colorado, struggled from the outset. He was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings, including Jarren Duran’s RBI double just ahead of Story’s 19th home run of the season.
Miami, which dropped its seventh game in its last eight, showed late fight. Rookie Troy Johnston hit his first career homer in the fifth, and Agustín Ramírez added his 18th of the season with a solo shot into the Green Monster seats in the seventh.
Down 7-2 entering the ninth, the Marlins put the tying run at the plate against reliever Isaiah Campbell. Heriberto Hernández lined a two-out RBI single, Eric Wagaman followed with an RBI triple, and Derek Hill added a run-scoring single to make it 7-5.
Boston then turned to Aroldis Chapman, who ended the threat by getting Javier Sanoja to roll a grounder to shortstop, sealing his 22nd save.
Story’s all-around effort in the first inning set the tone. His infield single and stolen base led to Boston’s opening runs, before he delivered the big three-run homer in the third that blew the game open.
With three doubles and one home run, the Red Sox continued to flex their offensive muscle. They lead MLB in both doubles (254) and extra-base hits (424).
The win improved Boston to 41-22 at Fenway Park this season, reinforcing their home-field dominance as they continue their playoff push.
