Red Sox come back late, prevail in first game post-win streak

Anthony Siegler, who had four hits on the night for the first time in his career, made it 6-4 with an RBI double of his own to put Boston ahead for good.

Reflecting on his emotional night after the game, Sigler credited the people around him for stopping him as he quickly developed into an important cog in the newly minted Red Sox winning machine.

“It felt great,” he told Apple TV’s Tricia Whittaker at the stadium. “Glory be to God. Just having great people around me, teammates, and coaches supporting me. Baseball is tough and we have a long season. They reminded me of that and then I was able to take a step back and take it one step at a time.”

Closer Aroldis Chapman, who had been a bit shaky in recent save situations, took care of business after allowing a leadoff walk. He went 1-2-3 to record the save and put the Red Sox back in the win column.

The Red Sox took an early 4-0 advantage with a leadoff home run by Seigler (the first of his career) in the bottom of the first, a Ceddanne Rafaela homer in the third, and a sacrifice fly by Monasterio in the sixth.

Siegler, who was three shy of the course record, said he wasn’t trying to do much at the plate. He just wanted to drive rounds.

“Just trying to place the ball well. That’s really it,” he said. “Take it one step at a time, then get my teammates in a good position where they can execute. Just go ahead and score from there.”

When Boston scores early, success follows. It took some extra effort for them on this occasion when Greg Weisset allowed a three-run home run by Kazuma Okamoto in the top of the seventh, cutting the Red Sox lead to 4-3.

Garrett Whitlock, who hadn’t allowed a run in over a month (since June 23), let Toronto tie the score at four with Andres Giménez’s sacrifice fly, putting his team in danger of losing back-to-back games since July 1.

Almost as expected, of course, Boston’s bats did what they do best in the eighth inning to erase the bullpen’s errors.

Over their last 24 games, the Red Sox are MLB’s top team at 21-3. They are 16-2 in July, their best record through 18 games to start any calendar month in franchise history.

Not only that, Boston’s win improved their wild card position. It moved from third and last in the American League to second, a major accomplishment for a team that felt its season was over a month ago.

Sigler was asked if he could believe the 180-degree turnaround the Red Sox have undergone, and he answered emphatically, “Yes.”

“I can believe it,” he said. “This is what we do. We knew this is what we are capable of doing and will continue to do.”

Whether you’re watching this collection of matches from home or catching a match in person, it’s impossible not to feel the magic surrounding this club. Sigler said the team did their best to enjoy the excitement by “living in the moment.”

He added: “We are taking each game individually.” “It is clear that we are living in the moment, but it is clear now that we are moving to the next stage. Turn the page quickly and then get ready for tomorrow.”

Time will tell if Boston has another special winning streak in it. The team will look to win its second straight game at 4:10 PM ET on Saturday. Ace Sonny Gray is scheduled to face Dylan Cease.

Callie Brown

Sports product

Callie Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox.