Nick Loftin plates two as Royals crush Cardinals

Contreras victimized Giants’ ace Logan Webb for the titanic shot over the Green Monster in the third inning, giving the Red Sox a 3-1 lead they would never relinquish. He also worked a pair of walks in the contest, finishing the night 1-for-2. On the season, the 34-year-old slugger is now slashing .285/.396/.541 to go along with 26 long balls and 78 RBI.

Abreu singled off of Logan Webb in the third inning and rode home on a three-run blast by Willson Contreras. He then capped off the Red Sox’ scoring with an RBI triple in the sixth inning. The 27-year-old outfielder is having a very productive season in the middle of the Red Sox’ lineup, slashing .262/.341/.474 with 22 homers and 68 RBI in 545 plate appearances.

Chapman made things a bit interesting as he issued a one-out walk to Buddy Kennedy to bring the tying run to the plate, but he rebounded to strike out Christian Koss and Jonah Cox to end it. He has now converted 28 of his first 30 save chances on the season while posting a minuscule 1.92 ERA and a 56/20 K/BB ratio across 42 2/3 innings of work.

Gray racked up six strikeouts on the evening while issuing a pair of free passes. The Giants scratched out a run against him in the third inning, then added three more in the fourth on back-to-back homers from Drew Gilbert and Rafael Devers. Gray buckled down after that though and kept them off the board the rest of his night. He got nine swings and misses on 97 pitches on the evening, registering a CSW of 26 percent. Now 16-3 on the year, he’ll carry a stellar 2.79 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and a 123/36 K/BB ratio (138 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s battle against the Marlins in Miami.

Devers received mixed reactions from the fans at Fenway Park, as there were plenty of cheers mixed in with a chorus of boos every time he strolled to the dish. He then slugged a 412-foot (107.1-mph EV) solo shot as he ambushed a first-pitch fastball from Sonny Gray in the fourth inning, pulling the Giants to within a run at 5-4. That would be as close as they would get. Devers finished the night 1-for-3 plus a walk and is now hitting .245/.321/.475 with 26 homers and 70 RBI on the season.

Webb also issued a pair of walks in the abbreviated outing while striking out one. All of the damage against him came in the third inning, as Willson Contreras clobbered a three-run homer before the Red Sox tacked on another pair. It’s the shortest start that Webb has made all season. The 29-year-old hurler got just four whiffs on 70 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 30 percent. He’ll try to put this one behind him as he brings a 3.75 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and a 112/35 K/BB ratio (141 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Reds.

Garcia needed just 12 pitches to get through the inning, with his strikeouts coming against Chandler Simpson and Jorge Mateo. This is Garcia’s first save since July 27th, as the O’s continue to cycle through different relievers in save situations.

There was no replay needed for this one, as Alonso’s 451-foot homer in the fifth inning made its way to deep left-center to put the Orioles up 5-3 over the Rays. It was the 30th homer of the season for Alonso, who has now slugged 30-plus homers in six straight seasons. The Polar Bear has been on a tear for the O’s this month. He’s hit safely in 13-straight games and is slashing a blistering .380/.443/.704 with seven homers and 16 RBI.

Piper’s first career homer came in the top of the second inning off O’s starter Trevor Rogers. Piper made the most of a fastball thrown right over the middle of the plate, smashing it 430 feet into left-center to put the Rays up 3-1. It’s the second hit of the season for Piper, who was playing in just the second game of his career and his first since August 3rd.

Peralta got off to a bit of a rough start in this one. After allowing back-to-back hits to lead off the inning, one of which was an RBI single by Pete Alonso to score Jackson Holliday from second, he then walked Gunnar Henderson to put runners on first and second with no outs. He was fortunate enough to get out of the inning thanks to a double play ball by Samuel Basallo, but in the top of the second inning he would surrender a leadoff homer to Dylan Beavers to cut the Rays’ lead to 3-2. Peralta wouldn’t allow a run over the next two innings, but a sacrifice fly by Jackson Holliday in the fifth inning followed by a two-run homer by Pete Alonso put the O’s back on top 5-3. Peralta wouldn’t allow another run over his last two innings of work, but the Orioles got the best of him after managing just two runs against him when they faced off last week. Peralta’s next start is set for Wednesday on the road against the Tigers.