G124: Red Sox 5, Cleveland 1

Red Sox   - 002 000 300 - 5 12  2
Cleveland - 001 000 000 - 1  4  0

Xander Bogaerts hit two home runs and drove in four runs as the Red Sox cruised to victory on Wednesday afternoon. Bogaerts – who came into the game with a .176 average in his last 12 games – was on base four times, with a walk, single, and the two dongs (#s 26 and 27 of the season and #s 100 and 101 of his career).

The day after going 6-for-6, Rafael Devers had hits in his first two plate appearances; a single in the first and a home run (#25) in the third. He and Bogaerts went back-to-back with one out. The Globe's Alex Speier noted that Devers is on pace for 94 extra-base hits (he leads MLB with 71 right now). "Only one player has ever had more in his age-22 season: DiMaggio in 1937 (96)."

Mookie Betts doubled off Nick Goody with one out in the seventh. Goody walked Devers intentionally and Bogaerts (who knows it's never Tribe Time) followed by slamming a full-count pitch out of the park to left-center.

It was a bullpen day for the Red Sox and seven pitchers took the mound. Brian Johnson (2.2-2-1-2-1, 52) allowed an unearned run in the third. Francisco Lindor singled to shortstop and went to second on Bogaerts's throwing error. A fielding error by Devers on Oscar Mercado's grounder put Lindor on third. He scored on a wild pitch.

A leadoff single in the seventh was Cleveland's last baserunner. ... Nathan Eovaldi pitched two innings. ... Andrew Benintendi and Christian Vázquez also had two hits each.

Brian Johnson / Shane Bieber

Betts, RF
Devers, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Martinez, DH
Benintendi, LF
Travis, 1B
Hernández, 2B
Vázquez, C
Bradley, CF

On July 28, Baseball Reference's Playoff Odds gave the Red Sox a 41.2% chance of making the postseason. This morning (17 days later), that chance is down to 1.2%.