It took the Boston Red Sox 14 games to score seven or more runs in a contest.

It took them less than 24 hours to repeat, and then surpass the feat, in Sunday’s 9-3 series-winning victory over the Cardinals in St. Louis.

The Boston bats wasted no time Sunday afternoon. Willson Contreras’ two-run homer, after Caleb Durbin reached via hit-by-pitch, got the Red Sox on the board 2-0 in the top of the first. Roman Anthony plated the third run, with his RBI-groundout in the second inning, and Jarren Duran’s bases-clearing double and Contreras’ RBI single added four runs in the fourth. Story’s ninth-inning double scored two and made the finale Boston’s highest-scoring game of the season.

“Winning’s always good,” a smiling Contreras told NESN’s Jahmai Webster on the field postgame.

Boston tallied 12 hits, including four apiece by Contreras and Trevor Story, three walks and struck out just four times. They went 3 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.

Contreras went 4 for 5 with a run scored and three RBI, and wasn’t retired until the top of the ninth. It was his first four-hit game since June 25, 2023, and the second four-hit, three-RBI performance of his career (May 11, 2018). He became the first Red Sox player with a four-hit, three-RBI game since Story on July 4 of last year, and the fourth major leaguer with such a game this season.

“I feel OK,” Contreras said with a chuckle, when Webster asked how locked in he feels at the plate. “When you believe in yourself and you know what you’re capable of doing … having that confidence in yourself, that trust in yourself, I think it’s the basis of everything.”

Boston’s new first baseman was equally instrumental on defense, as highlighted by the fifth inning when Bello put the first two batters on via his first walk (Ramón Urías) and a single (José Fermín). Contreras ensured Bello needed just two pitches to escape the jam; the new Red Sox first baseman completed a difficult double play on Thomas Saggese’s first-pitch groundout, and ended the inning with an unassisted out for Victor Scott II.

The Red Sox acquired Contreras from St. Louis during the offseason to shore up first base after losing Triston Casas to injuries for most of the last two years. Thus far Contreras is batting .302 with a .957 OPS. Baseball Savant puts him in the 90th MLB percentile in Run Value for both batting and fielding, 91st percentile in walk rate and 93rd percentile in Outs Above Average.

“I mean, there’s a reason we got him, right?” Manager Alex Cora told reporters postgame. “We needed a right-handed bat, and we got more than that. We got a guy that is playing great defense at first base, he controls the strike zone, he’s becoming a leader in the clubhouse. It’s fun to have him around.”

Big day for Bello

While Cardinals pitchers gave up at least one hit in each of the first five innings, Brayan Bello made quick work of their lineup and completed the deepest start by a Red Sox pitcher this year: 6 2/3 innings, six hits, two earned runs, two walks and two strikeouts.

“Like I said yesterday, if we pitch we’re going to be in good shape,” Cora said.

Bello led with his sinker (52%), which produced 23 swings, including 10 called strikes and whiffs. His cutter was a strong second, and produced 10 swings and six called-strikes out of 22 total pitches.

“I was able to locate it down,” Bello said of his sinker, “and I was having a lot of positive results with that pitch.”

Jordan Walker’s MLB-leading seventh home run led off the bottom of the second, but Bello recovered and retired nine of the next ten batters. The Red Sox righty looked every bit the weak contact master as he induced 12 outs via groundout.

“When I’m staying in the zone, this is the result that you get,” Bello told reporters via translator. “I feel like when I’m executing all of my pitches, being aggressive in the zone, this is what happens.”

Bello exited after he recorded the first two outs in the seventh, his pitch count at 94 (61 strikes). St. Louis native Danny Coulombe finished the inning, and Zack Kelly pitched the remainder. Aside from a solo homer by Alec Burleson in the eighth, the Cardinals managed nothing in the later innings.

Overall St. Louis collected seven hits, two walks and struck out four times. They were 1 for 4 with runners in scoring position and stranded five.

Facts and figures

The Red Sox are 6-9 on the season, and have won four of their last five games. This marks their second consecutive series win, after losing their first three of the year.

The New York Yankees, who come to Fenway Park next week as the second half of the upcoming homestand, have lost five games in a row.

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