Arizona Diamondbacks at Boston Red Sox

· Major League Baseball

Arizona Diamondbacks

73-56, 36-30 Away

Final
12 - 2

Boston Red Sox

67-61, 29-34 Home

Suarez hits grand slam, Nelson pitches six strong innings as Diamondbacks beat Red Sox 12-2

Suárez’s 19th home run was also the ninth grand slam of the season by the Diamondbacks, who continue to sit atop the NL wild-card standings. Arizona finished with 16 hits with Josh Bell and Geraldo Perdomo getting three hits apiece.

“The offensive numbers happen when you go out there and play loose and free,” Nelson said.

Nelson (9-6) gave up two runs and five hits while striking out seven and walking one to help Arizona win its fourth straight — all on the road. During one stretch, the right-hander retired eight straight and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third inning.

“(Arizona catcher Adrian Del Castillo) was hanging with me back there. Maybe they were thinking something else,” said Nelson, who was informed by the media after the game that manager Torey Lovullo said pregame he will remain in Arizona’s starting rotation.

“Can’t let that change anything. Have to stay with my process and go out there and give this team the best chance to win,” Nelson said.

Bryan Bello (11-6) took the loss for Boston, which entered the game trailing by 3 1/2 games for the final AL wild-card playoff berth. The right-hander was charged with five runs and seven hits. He walked three and struck out two.

“The walks put him in a bad spot. When you do that at this level, you’re going to pay the price,” Boston manager Alex Cora said.

Rob Refsnyder, a late addition to Boston’s starting lineup, hit a solo home run. Wilyer Abreu drove in the other run with a double.

“That was a tough one,” Refsnyder said after the Sox fell to 29-33 at Fenway Park this season. “We’ve been playing well on the road, but we’ve got to step it up at home especially with the fans still coming out and cheering us on. We owe the fans a lot better.”

Bello settled down after a rocky opening inning that saw Arizona’s first four hitters reach and score twice. Bell drew a bases-loaded walk while Lourdes Gurriel lifted a sacrifice fly that staked Nelson to a 2-0 lead before he threw a pitch.

Boston got one run back in the bottom of the first as Jarren Duran led off the inning with a double and scored Abreu’s double. It remained a one-run game in Arizona’s favor heading into the sixth when the Diamondbacks chased Bello from the game. The pitcher didn’t help his cause with a throwing error on an infield base hit by Adrian Del Castillo.

The hit-and-error sequence was followed by three straight run-producing hits that helped Arizona pull away. Suárez singled in one run, then Luis Guillorme doubled in another run. Perdomo stretched the lead to 5-1 with an RBI single.

Refsnyder’s eighth homer of the season landed over the right-field bullpens but that was as close as Boston would come over the final three innings. The Red Sox were on their second relief pitcher of the night as Suárez jumped on a 1-0 pitch from Josh Winckowski and sent it into the Green Monster seats for his fifth career grand slam.

Arizona added two more runs in the ninth as Perdomo doubled for his second RBI of the game and Corbin Carroll had a sacrifice fly.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Diamondbacks: Manager Torey Lovullo announced before Friday’s game that LHP Jordan Montgomery will pitch out of the bullpen going forward. Signed by Arizona as a free agent after the season opener, Montgomery has a 6.44 ERA in 19 starts this season.

Red Sox: OF Tyler O’Neill was in Friday’s original lineup but was scratched 90 minutes before first pitch with finger inflammation on his left hand. ... LHP James Paxton’s season is over after the Red Sox transferred him to the 60-day injured list on Friday. The 35-year-old suffered a calf strain that forced him to leave his Aug. 11 start against Houston. ... Boston selected LHP Joely Rodriguez to the active roster. To make room, RHP Greg Weissert was optioned to Triple-A Worcester. ... Manager Alex Cora said SS Trevor Story (shoulder) could go on a rehab assignment sometime over the next two weeks. Story hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since undergoing surgery in April. ... LHP Rich Hill tossed two innings for Worcester on Friday night. The Red Sox signed Hill to a minor-league deal earlier in the week.

Arizona RHP Zac Gallen (9-8, 3.85) is scheduled to start Saturday against Boston RHP Kutter Crawford (8-10, 4.25).

How can I watch Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Boston Red Sox?

TV Channel: Diamondbacks at Red Sox 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLBN.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Red Sox: 51.7%

Diamondbacks: 48.3%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	D. Jansen grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Gasper out at second.
	9th Inning	Gasper walked.
	9th Inning	Gasper hit for Yoshida
	9th Inning	Refsnyder struck out looking.
	9th Inning	Floro relieved Mantiply
	9th Inning	Smith at first base.

Statistics

ARI		BOS
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
1	Hit By Pitch	0
19	Ground Balls	12
5	Strikeouts	10
12	Runs Batted In	2
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
16	Hits	6
0	Stolen Bases	0
5	Walks	2
0	Catcher Interference	0
12	Runs	2
0	Ground Into Double Play	1
2	Sacrifice Flies	0
40	At Bats	32
1	Home Runs	1
1	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
17	Runners Left On Base	8
0	Triples	0
1	Game Winning RBIs	0
0	Intentional Walks	0
2	Doubles	3
18	Fly Balls	10
0	Caught Stealing	0
150	Pitches	140
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	1
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
0	Is Qualified In Steals	0
21	Total Bases	12
48	Plate Appearances	34
162.0	Projected Home Runs	162.0
3	Extra Base Hits	4
10.0	Runs Created	2.5
.400	Batting Average	.188
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.525	Slugging Percentage	.375
.250	Secondary Average	.250
.458	On Base Percentage	.235
.983	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.610
1.1	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	1.2
10.4	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	2.5
71.0	Batter Rating	23.0
40.0	At Bats Per Home Run	32.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.13	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	4.12
.125	Isolated Power	.188
1.00	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.20
.104	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.059
-.150	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	.063
24.0	Runs Produced	4.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.6	Patience Ratio	0.4
0.4	Balls In Play Average	0.2
114.8	MLB Rating	72.5
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0