Adley Rutschman helps Red Sox overcome Diamondbacks grand slam to take series

Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald on Aug 18, 2026

Published in Baseball

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BOSTON — For the first three months of the season, the Red Sox needed to go on the road to win.

Those springtime struggles are long forgotten by now, though as Fenway Park is the ultimate home-field advantage once more. Fresh off a 2-5 road trip to Toronto and Pittsburgh, the Red Sox are 2-0 to begin this six-game homestand, after clinching the Arizona Diamondbacks series with a 9-4 win Tuesday night.

The Red Sox are 19-6 at home since June 25, including 14-4 since the All-Star break. That’s a promising sign for a team that entered the week with 21 home games in their remaining 38 of the regular season.

Boston got on the board in a hurry in the bottom of the first. Their 3-0 lead came on back-to-back singles by leadoff man Nick Sogard and Gold Glove center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, a bases-loading walk to Wilyer Abreu and a two-run single by new catcher Adley Rutschman. Caleb Durbin’s sacrifice fly pushed the lead to three before Arizona starter Merrill Kelly finished the frame with a Jarren Duran lineout to left.

The Diamondbacks threatened to make things interesting with a brief, but big blowup in the third inning. Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez recorded two quick outs, then gave up back-to-back singles to left fielder Ryan Waldschmidt and second baseman Ildemaro Vargas, the latter of which flared over shortstop Andruw Monasterio’s outstretched glove and into left. Suarez loaded the bases on the very next pitch by plunking right fielder Corbin Carroll.

Gabriel Moreno then bashed Boston’s lead to smithereens. The designated hitter’s go-ahead grand slam soared high and 428 feet deep to the center-field end of the Green Monster seats to put the visiting team up 4-3. A fielding error by Durbin allowed shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to reach base before Suarez finally ended the eight-batter inning with a groundout of first baseman Tim Tawa.

Boston didn’t let the deficit last long. Rutschman tied the game with one out in the bottom of the third, his first Red Sox home run scorching 401 feet past the Pesky Pole at 107 mph.

The Red Sox added on, and on, and on. Durbin followed Rutschman’s homer with a single and steal of third. Then, like the legendary Red Sox “Dirt Dogs” he idolized growing up, Durbin retook the lead by sliding into home plate on a wild pitch by Kelly.

No. 9 hitter and DH Mickey Gasper drew a leadoff walk in the fourth before Kelly retired the top-third of the Red Sox order in a scoreless inning.

The reprieve lasted only moments. The Diamondbacks starter lasted two batters into the fifth inning: a Willson Contreras leadoff double, and a walk for Rutschman that catcher James McCann challenged unsuccessfully. Kelly allowed six earned runs on seven hits, walked four, struck out two and had one wild pitch. He threw 86 pitches, 53 for strikes.

Reliever Jonathan Loaisiga did not fare better when he took over for Kelly. Loaisiga recorded the first two outs then gave up an RBI single to Andruw Monasterio that scored the sixth Red Sox run before the throw from Waldschmidt to McCann was in time to tag Rutschman out at home to end the inning.

Suarez’s night ended on Perdomo’s one-out double in the sixth, but righty Tyron Guerrero worked around it and his own single to Tawa. The top of the sixth ended on the latest nifty catch by the soon-to-be three-peat Gold Glove Award winner Abreu in right.

The Diamondbacks bullpen arms had more difficulty with the home team. Gasper led off the bottom of the sixth with his second home run in as many nights, a 414-foot blast to dead-center off righty Kevin Ginkel. The lineup turned over, and kept coming. Sogard singled and advanced to third, a base apiece on groundouts by Rafaela and Abreu, and scored on Contreras’ pop-up RBI single to Vargas at second.

Gasper’s career-high fourth time on base was a first-pitch RBI single in the seventh that plated the ninth Red Sox run in Duran, who singled with one out and stole his 18th base of the year.

Guerrero (1 2/3 innings), Erik Miller and Wyatt Olds finished the Diamondbacks off so completely that by the end of the two-hour and 53-minute contest, the third inning was a mere dot in the horizon of the rearview mirror.