‘Pretty cool’: Shaw’s slam carries Red Sox
Travis Shaw hit a game-ending grand slam in the 11th inning, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 8-4 on Monday at Fenway Park.
Shaw, who entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth, drove a 3-2 pitch off Dennis Santana (2-3) over Boston’s bullpen. He flipped his bat, looked at the dugout, circled the bases and was mobbed at the plate.
It was Shaw’s first hit since he was claimed off waivers from Milwaukee on Aug. 15. He began his big-league career with the Red Sox in 2015.
“It’s pretty cool,” Shaw said. “As the years have gone, you think there’s a lot of things that have happened in my career and you think about moments and things that surprise you, and something like that happens.”
Asked if he knew it was gone, he said: “Yeah, I knew that was gone. That was a good one.”
Alex Verdugo and Hunter Renfroe also homered for Boston in the makeup of Sunday’s scheduled game, which was postponed due to the approach of Hurricane Henri. Garrett Whitlock (5-2) worked 22⁄3 innings for the victory.
The Rangers have the majors’ fewest wins since the All-Star break at 8-26. Andy Ibañez hit a tying two-run double in the ninth off Matt Barnes.
The Red Sox wasted seven dominant innings by Nathan Eovaldi, who allowed an unearned run and four hits.
Yankees 5, Braves 1: Ina matchup of teams on ninegame win streaks, Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo homer and a two-run double for visiting New York. The Yankees’ Jordan Montgomery gave up two hits in five innings, including Dansby Swanson’s 25th home run.
Blue Jays 2, White Sox 1: Pinch-runner Breyvic Valera scored on a wild pitch by Chicago’s Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning for host Toronto.
Pirates 6, Diamondbacks 5: Yoshi Tsutsugo homered and Bryan Reynolds tripled in the seventh to help Pittsburgh rally to beat Arizona at home.
Cubs 6, Rockies 4: Rafael Ortega hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning and Chicago ended a 13-game losing streak at Wrigley Field, the longest in franchise history.
Royals 7, Astros 1: Whit Merrifield had three hits and three RBIs, Salvador Perez extended a career high with his 33rd homer and Kansas City won in Houston. The Royals have won seven of their past eight games.