Red Sox rally past Angels with help of two catcher’s interference calls in one inning
BOSTON — Yu Chang ended an 0-for-28 drought with a two-run homer and delivered a go-ahead, two-run single after the Angels’ Matt Thaiss was called for his second catcher’s interference in the eighth inning, lifting the Boston Red Sox to a 9-7 comeback win Saturday at Fenway Park.
“It’s just a matter of gaining confidence,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Chang. “He made a comment that when he was [at the World Baseball Classic], how confident he was playing. Then he comes here and it gets harder. We understand that.”
Rafael Devers hit his seventh home run, a two-run shot, and Rob Refsnyder drove in two runs for Boston.
Gio Urshela hit a grand slam and drove in five runs and Mike Trout had three hits, including his 300th career double, for the Angels, who were sloppy in a 5-3 loss in the series opener Friday night.
Third baseman Anthony Rendon was charged with two of the Angels’ three errors Friday night as they suffered a 5-3 road loss to the Boston Red Sox.
Trout became the fourth player in major league history to reach 300 doubles, 300 homers and 200 stolen bases by his age-31 season, joining Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.
Shohei Ohtani had two singles. His second pushed the Angels ahead 7-6. He extended his on-base streak to 36 games, the majors’ longest current active stretch.
Thaiss’ two catcher’s interference calls came in three batters to help Boston load the bases in the eighth against Ryan Tepera (1-1) before Chang drove his single to left. Tepera walked Refsnyder with the bases loaded.
“It is rare,” said Red Sox catcher Reese McGuire, who was the second player to reach on interference. “It doesn’t happen that much. But it does happen when the hitter is seeing the ball deep, trying to go the other way.”
Chang felt it was a relief to get that first hit.
“I’m so happy that the team gave me that consistent opportunity to play every day, even though I didn’t hit well in the beginning,” Chang said through a translator. “What the coaches expressed to me is: They don’t want me to think about the past. They want me to do the same routine and have the same consistency and grab any opportunity you have coming.”
Ryan Brasier (1-0) got the win, and former longtime Dodger Kenley Jansen recorded the final three outs for his fourth save of the season and the 395th of his career.
A day after the Angels made three errors, gave up a run on a passed ball, hit a batter and walked six in their loss, Urshela’s first-inning slam into the first row of the Green Monster seats gave them a 4-0 lead.
Devers hit his blast over the Monster in the bottom half.
Chang’s homer came in a three-run fourth that pushed Boston ahead 6-4.
Welcome to the show
The Angels called up highly touted shortstop Zach Neto from double A before the game, demoting shortstop David Fletcher to triple A.
Neto, 22, was the club’s first pick from the 2022 draft, and he’s the first player from that class to make his major league debut. He went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Prospect Zach Neto starts at shortstop Saturday, giving the Angels three players 23 or younger in the lineup, including Reid Detmers and Logan O’Hoppe.
Six in four
Each starter, Boston’s Nick Pivetta and the Angels’ Tyler Anderson, gave up six runs in four innings.
Special guests
There was a pregame ceremony honoring medical personnel, fire and police who came to the aid of the injured near the finish line when two bombs went off at the Boston Marathon 10 years ago. Angela Menino, the widow of then-Boston Mayor Tom Menino, and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick also were on hand.
The father of Krystle Campbell and aunt of Lingzi Lu, two of the three killed that day, threw out ceremonial pitches along with some who were injured. More than 260 were injured.
Trainer’s room
Angels: Urshela collided with second baseman Brandon Drury, ranging far to catch a popup. The two went to the ground hard but stayed in the game.
Red Sox: Cora said outfielder Masataka Yoshida will probably be the designated hitter Sunday and return to left field for the Patriots’ Day morning game, in which Ohtani is scheduled to pitch for the Angels. Yoshida missed his fourth consecutive game because of hamstring tightness.
Up next
Angels: Left-hander Reid Detmers (0-0, 5.59 ERA) is slated to make his third start this season in Sunday’s game.
Red Sox: Right-hander Garrett Whitlock (0-1, 9.00) is set to start for the second time after he began the season on the injured list while recovering from offseason hip surgery.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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