KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Rafael Devers’ 440-foot homer snapped a 1-1 tie and Lucas Giolito pitched into the seventh inning for his first win since 2023 as the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 3-1 on Sunday.
Giolito (1-1) allowed two singles and one unearned run in 6 2/3 innings to get his first win for Boston. He missed last season with a partially torn elbow ligament, and his last victory was for Cleveland on Sept. 15, 2023.
Devers — again starting at designated hitter two days after Red Sox homer John Henry flew to Kansas City to meet with the disgruntled slugger over his refusal to play first base — followed up his 4-for-4 performance on Saturday with a monster homer. With one out and a runner on first in the sixth, Devers blasted Seth Lugo’s first pitch to dead center, his seventh longball of the year.
In the third inning, Giolito threw wildly past third on Kyle Isbel’s bunt, allowing Drew Waters to score. He faced the minimum after that.
Wilyer Abreu tied it in the fourth with his 10th homer, a 430-foot shot to right. Abreu had three hits, snapping an 0-for-13 slide.
Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.