Homers power White Sox to third straight win at Fenway

SHARE Homers power White Sox to third straight win at Fenway
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BOSTON, MA - JUNE 22: Brett Lawrie #15 of the Chicago White sox returns to the dugout after hitting a home run in the eighth inning during the game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on June 22, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

BOSTON – Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie took a walk to the top of the Green Monster Wednesday afternoon.

Then they poked a couple of shots over it Wednesday night.

Frazier’s blast, his 21st homer of the season and second in two nights, was a game-tying shot in the sixth inning against Eduardo Rodriguez, and Lawrie’s was a go-ahead homer in the eighth against Koji Uehara in a 8-6 victory at Fenway Park, the Sox’ third in a row at the historic venue.

Lawrie’s homer followed Melky Cabrera’s tying two-run shot to right field. Cabrera, who doubled in the Sox’ first run, added an RBI single in the ninth to finish 4-for-5 with four RBI.

Frazier and Lawrie, who were joined by Tim Anderson before the game, both said historic Fenway and the energy it brings was rejuvenating. Perhaps it was what the Sox (36-36) needed after getting swept in Cleveland over the weekend.

“It was cool, man,’’ Frazier said of his first view from atop and the home run, which landed “pretty close to the same spot where I was at.’’

Four of Lawrie’s eight homers have given the Sox a lead.

“I think it pumped us up,’’ Lawrie said of this this week’s entire Boston experience. “You come into this stadium, playing in Fenway is already a bonus because it’s such a great stadium. But coming in we knew who we were up against and how well they were playing so it pumped everyone up and the rest is history.’’

“We continue to be a group in here, we fight every single day.’’

And so it went in a wild and wacky victory for the Sox (36-36), who finally scored some runs (four) for support-starved Jose Quintana, only to see Quintana walk a career-high six and endure his worst start of the season.

With closer David Robertson and eighth-inning specialist Nate Jones resting after pitching three consecutive days, manager Robin Ventura turned to right-hander Michael Ynoa to protect the 7-6 lead in the eighth. Ynoa struck out Dustin Pedroia and Chris Young, but not before surviving near-miss homers by Xander Bogaerts and Young. A fan in the first row above the Monster touched Bogaerts’ blast, and a review in New York could not determine that it was touched in home-run territory, so it stood as a ground-rule double.

Ventura then visited Ynoa on the mound and called for an intentional walk of David Ortiz, putting the potential go-ahead run on first. Ynoa struck out Young, but not before Young barely missed the top of the left-field foul pole.

“I’ve never seen a guy get closer to giving up two homers that got through it, but he did a great job,’’ Ventura said.

Zach Duke, two nights after escaping a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam, pitched the ninth for his first save.

Quintana, who had received a total of five runs of support in his last seven starts, could only say “it’s a crazy game” when asked about pitching poorly when he finally got some. He enjoyed the outcome nonetheless.

“It was amazing,’’ he said. “We take a lead against a right-handed setup guy, it’s really good for us, especially when you play a team like them.’’

The Sox will attempt to complete a four-game series sweep in Boston for the first time since June, 1927, on Thursday afternoon.

“They just continue to grind,’’ Ventura said of his players. “You can sit there and feel sorry for yourself, and it’s not going to get you anywhere. You take the abuse and everything else of what that record did to you [after a 23-10 start], but they’ve weathered it. They’re getting a little momentum back and a little of the spark we had early.’’


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