Red Sox reach historic MLB milestone not seen since 1969 after sweeping White Sox

The Boston Red Sox kept their remarkable hot streak alive Thursday night, outlasting the Chicago White Sox 12-11 in a wild 13-inning battle at Fenway Park to complete their second sweep of Chicago and secure their eighth consecutive win. The win moved Boston to 26-3 over its last 29 games and 31-5 since June 25.

With the victory, the Red Sox recorded their sixth sweep of a team that entered the series in first place in its division, making Boston the first team to accomplish that six times in a season since divisional play began, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Each of those series included at least two games.

The Red Sox’s recent run also places the team among the best stretches of success in the past 70 years. Boston became only the fourth team during that period to go at least 26-3 across a 29-game stretch, joining a group that most recently included the 2017 Cleveland Guardians.

Thursday night was another example of the Red Sox refusing to quit, finding a way to fight back and overcome another deficit. Chicago opened a 4-0 advantage in the third inning before Connor Wong’s two-run homer got Boston on the scoreboard. The White Sox later built leads of 5-2, 7-5, 10-9 and 11-10, but the Red Sox answered each time.

Wilyer Abreu’s single tied the game in the ninth inning, and Boston then scored the tying run in each of the 10th, 11th and 12th innings. Anthony Seigler contributed three RBI, including a sacrifice fly in the 10th, while Abreu added a sacrifice fly in the 11th. Newcomer Jake Rogers tied the game again in the 12th with a sacrifice fly that scored Jarren Duran.

The Red Sox’s repeated rallies resulted in a historic MLB first. Boston became the first team in the modern era to score in five separate innings from the ninth inning onward during one game, according to OptaSTATS.

The deciding moment arrived in the 13th. After Brayan Bello, the Red Sox’s ninth and final pitcher, kept Chicago scoreless, an intentional walk to Abreu set up Caleb Durbin. Durbin lined a single up the middle against Erick Fedde, bringing designated runner Nick Sogard home for the walk-off win.

Bello earned the win after throwing two innings, while Fedde took the loss as the White Sox’s eighth pitcher. The game lasted more than four hours and was Boston’s longest contest by innings since a 13-inning game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 16, 2023.

The Red Sox improved to 63-51, moving within a half-game of the New York Yankees for second place in the AL East and holding the league’s second wild-card position by 6.5 games.

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