Alex Bregman belts eighth home run in win Saturday

Monasterio came up with the bases loaded against Devin Williams in the ninth and worked a walk even after declining to challenge a called strike on a clear ball to begin the at-bat. That gave the Red Sox their first run before Jarren Duran tied the game with a shallow flyball. Before that, Monasterio had Boston’s only extra-base hit of the game off Zach Thornton. He’s 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI the last two days, raising his OPS from .629 to .694. The win was Boston’s ninth in a row, with sweeps over the Angels, White Sox and Mets. It’s the first time since 1977 that they’ve gone 9-0 on a road trip.

After calling up Brayan Bello, the Red Sox hinted before the game that this could be a short start for Tolle and that obviously turned out to be the case, even though Tolle was plenty effective with his 66 pitches. Tolle finishes off the first half with a 3.11 ERA and an 87/25 K/BB in 84 innings. Throw in his three Triple-A starts and he’s at 99 innings for the season. He finished at 108 last year in his first season as a pro, so there might be more managing of his workload going forward.

Bello hadn’t pitched in 11 days and wasn’t particularly effective during his stint in Triple-A, but one would never know it from his performance today. After taking over from Payton Tolle in the fourth, he faced 14 batters and got 13 outs. A solo shot from Francisco Lindor accounted for the only damage. Bello seemed likely to return to Triple-A after pitching today, but following such a nice showing, we’ll have to wait and see. He could start the fifth game after the break if Ranger Suarez isn’t ready to come off the IL.

The Red Sox used Aroldis Chapman in a tie game in the ninth, and he got the win after the team scored in the top of the 10th. Whitlock then retired Jorge Polanco, Brett Baty and Bo Bichette in order. He has a 2.18 ERA and a 37/6 K/BB in 33 innings this season. Whitlock is likely one of the pitchers the Red Sox will consider moving if they opt to sell at the deadline, but a nine-game winning streak to end the first half has made it more likely that most everyone is going to stick around.

This should have been Thornton’s first big-league victory, but Francisco Lindor botched a game-ending double play in the ninth and Devin Williams couldn’t pick him up afterwards. Thornton allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out five, using only 82 pitches to get his 21 outs. He definitely made a good case for sticking around as the Mets’ fifth starter, and interim manager Andy Green confirmed after the game that he’d keep the spot following the break. He’s an option in NL-only and deep mixed leagues.

Williams gave up a leadoff single, but he then got a routine double play ball with one out, only for Francisco Lindor to boot it and retire no one. Two walks followed, with the second forcing in a run. Jarren Duran then hit a little popup behind second that dropped in. It was a ball that the second baseman would have handled if the infield hadn’t been drawn in, and Carson Benge came up just a tad short of catching it while racing in from right. That tied the game before Masataka Yoshida lined into a double play to prevent further damage. It’s Williams’ second blown save in a week, but while he owns the walks, this was much more Lindor’s doing than his.

Lindor supplied the offense, doubling in a run in the first and homering in the fifth, but he cost the Mets by mishandling what should have been a game-ending double-play ball in the ninth. Lindor got no outs on the play, and the Red Sox went on to score twice to tie the game before winning it in the 10th.

Bichette didn’t start any of the three games against the Red Sox because of right leg soreness. Barring something unexpected, he should be back in the lineup after the break.

Troy left Saturday’s game versus the Dodgers with a right shoulder contusion. The 24-year-old remains day-to-day, and it seems like there’s a good chance he’ll be back in the lineup after the All-Star break, assuming there’s no structural damage, of course.

Campusano is available off the bench, so this is all precautionary, and not related to the oblique injury that shelved him in late June. The 27-year-old should be considered day-to-day, with a good chance to return after the All-Star break.