CHICAGO (AP) — Payton Tolle allowed two hits in six shutout innings, Andruw Monasterio and Ceddanne Rafaela homered and the Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox 8-1 on Tuesday night.
Boston (41-48) has won four in a row and nine of its last 11 to close within seven games of .500 for the first time since May 23.
Tolle (5-6) struck out six and walked one, throwing 61 of his 90 pitches for strikes.
Danny Coulombe allowed Chicago's run in the seventh
and left with one out and runners on the corners. Justin Slaten struck out pinch-hitter Jacob Gonzalez and Tristan Peters to keep it 4-1.
Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless eighth and Ryan Watson struck out two in the ninth to close it out.
Noah Schultz (2-6) worked out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. But, Monasterio hit his fourth homer — a one-out solo shot in the second — to put the Red Sox in front. Connor Wong followed with a single ahead of Rafaela's eighth homer for a 3-0 lead.
Jarren Duran doubled leading off the fourth, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Wong's sacrifice bunt for a 4-0 advantage.
Willson Contreras had a two-run double before scoring on a double by Romy Gonzalez as the Red Sox roughed up Brandon Eisert in a four-run ninth. Duran added an RBI single off Trevor Richards.
Schultz gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings. The left-hander is 0-5 in his last six starts, allowing 26 runs in 26 2/3 innings. Eisert allowed four runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Sam Antonacci had three of Chicago's four hits. Kyle Teel's force-out at second with the bases loaded in the seventh drove in Chicago's run.
Red Sox LHP Jake Bennett (3-3, 3.10 ERA) starts Wednesday opposite White Sox RHP Davis Martin (9-3, 3.08).
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