BOSTON — Chris Sale struck out eight batters and pitched seven innings of one-run ball Friday night, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Sale (2-3), who helped the Red Sox win one of their nine World Series championships, earned his first win since April 25. The 36-year-old left-hander allowed five hits and an earned run with two walks.
The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner lowered his ERA for the season from 3.97 to 3.62. Also a Gold Glove winner for the first time in his career last season, Sale went down to his knees on a comebacker by Boston’s Nick Sogard and got up and made the play for the first out of the bottom of the fifth.
Sale spent six seasons with the Red Sox (2017-23) and recorded the final out that clinched Boston’s 2018 championship. He is 2-0 against the Red Sox since getting traded to Atlanta ahead of the 2024 season. He was pitching in Fenway Park for the first time since then, with his previous win against his former club coming at Atlanta’s Truist Park.
Matt Olson and Sean Murphy hit consecutive homers in the second inning for Atlanta, and the Braves added two runs in the ninth when Red Sox reliever Brennan Bernardino issued back-to-back walks with the bases loaded.
Raisel Iglesias allowed an RBI single to Boston’s Trevor Story in the ninth inning, then regrouped to earn his eighth save of the season.
The Braves (23-22) became the fifth team in MLB history to move above .500 after losing seven or more consecutive games to open a season. Atlanta, which has reached the playoffs the past seven years, is third in the National League East Division standings, five games behind the first-place New York Mets.
The solo homers were the only runs allowed by Red Sox starter Garrett Crochet (4-3) in seven innings. Crochet, who leads the majors with five starts of at least seven innings this year, struck out eight batters and walked none.
In a span of three pitches in the second inning, the game went from scoreless to Atlanta going up for good. Olson went the opposite way to left-center field for eighth home run of the season. Murphy sent an 0-1 pitch from Crochet into the Green Monster seats above left for his eighth homer of the year.
Jarren Duran had two hits and reached base safely three times, all against Sale, while Rob Refsnyder hit a solo homer in the seventh for Boston (22-24), which is second in the American League East — tied with the Toronto Blue Jays (21-23) and five games behind the rival New York Yankees.
The interleague weekend series continues Saturday with right-handers Grant Holmes (2-3, 4.14) of Atlanta and Lucas Giolito (1-1, 5.51) of Boston the scheduled starters on the mound in the middle game.