Red Sox' offense keeps rolling in second consecutive rout of Nationals

Boston Globe

05-07-2025

Buehler held the Nationals to three runs (two earned) across five-plus innings, his best outing in weeks.
Perhaps most importantly, he issued zero walks.
All that was a major improvement over his recent messes. In his prior three starts, Buehler had allowed 17 runs and 31 baserunners (14 walks) in 11⅓ innings.
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Ceddanne Rafaela exited the game prior to the bottom of the eighth inning after a couple of physically risky moments. In the top of the eighth, he took a tumble between second and third base on what was officially an RBI double. He got up quickly but grabbed at his back.
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In the sixth, in pursuit of Nathaniel Lowe's triple, he jumped into the center-field wall to break his momentum. He was slow to get up but otherwise appeared fine.
The Red Sox have scored 61 runs in their past seven games. They are 5-2 in that stretch.
Buehler escaped a jam in the second, when Washington put two on with one out. Daylen Lile skied a fly ball to deep left field, but Jarren Duran chased it down with a sprinting catch, saving an extra-base hit and at least one run.
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The Nationals scratched across an unearned run in the third, when first baseman Abraham Toro and second baseman Romy Gonzalez committed errors on the same play — a potential inning-ending double play — to put runners on the corners with one out. CJ Abrams went on to score.
Buehler wiggled out of more trouble in the fourth, when Washington loaded the bases with one out but managed just one run. Roman Anthony's diving catch in right field of Jacob Young's line drive ended the inning.
Manager Alex Cora sought to squeeze an extra inning out of Buehler, sending him back for the sixth at 89 pitches. But Lowe tripled, sending Rafaela racing back to no avail (and jumping into the wall to stop his momentum; he was slow to get up but stayed in the game). When Josh Bell grounded Buehler's 100th pitch (65th strike) up the middle for an RBI single, Cora turned to Greg Weissert.
Nonetheless, it was Buehler's longest outing since June 11.
Using a different-looking lineup — which featured utility man Nate Eaton at the top and Duran dropped all the way to seventh against lefthander Mitchell Parker — the Red Sox got off to a quick start. Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder each had an RBI double in the first inning.
They blew it open with a seven-run third — the third time in five games that they scored at least that many runs in an inning.
Gonzalez opened the frame with another double, and Anthony scored him with a single. With two outs, Duran lined a two-run triple to right-center field. Parker's fielding error — on a weak grounder by Toro — brought in Duran and opened the floodgates for five unearned runs.
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Rafaela blasted his 10th home run of the year to left field. Gonzalez's third hit in as many innings concluded the scoring.
Parker managed to last six innings, finishing with nine runs (four earned) allowed.
Tim Healey can be reached at