BOSTON — A "Battle of the Soxes" is playing out this week at Fenway Park, where the Boston Red are hosting the Chicago White for three games.

Round 1 went to the home team, which exploded for six runs in two separate innings, blasted four home runs and took the series opener 14-2.

The Boston bats were on White Sox starter Davis Martin like bloodhounds in the bottom of the first inning. Nick Sogard’s leadoff double began a nine-batter, six-run bottom of the first in which Caleb Durbin hit his first career grand slam and Jarren Duran followed with a solo home run to the bullpens.

It had been two whole days since the Red Sox last hit back-to-back home runs, in their last game at Dodger Stadium.

Durbin’s slam brought his home-run total to 11, matching his total from 136 games in his 2025 rookie season. Tuesday was his 105th game of the year, but all 11 homers came in the last 81 games.

But these are not the same White Sox that lost at least 101 games each of the last three seasons. These White Sox arrived in Boston with a three-game lead on the rest of the American League Central and a roster full of former Red Sox prospects, and did not let Boston’s barrage of a first inning bury them (though third baseman Miguel Vargas lost both of Chicago’s ABS challenges by the top of the third). They pestered starter Patrick Sandoval, and took advantage of the fact that he struggled to keep his pitches in the zone.

Chicago loaded the bases on Randal Grichuk’s leadoff double, a two-out single by trade deadline acquisition Brenton Doyle, and a walk to former Red Sox first-round pick Braden Montgomery, but a weak groundout by Luisangel Acuna saved Sandoval from damage.

While Sandoval struggled as the night went on, Martin grew sharper. After his teammates left the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, the White Sox starter pitched his first clean inning in the bottom of the frame. Martin ultimately pitched into the sixth, but finished the night with nine earned runs on 10 hits (including three home runs), two walks and one strikeout, on 91 pitches, 59 for strikes.

Former Red Sox prospect Chase Meidroth and Munetaka Murakami opened the top of the fifth with back-to-back singles. Vargas’ sacrifice fly, caught by Jarren Duran at the foot of the Monster, brought Meidroth home for the first White Sox run. But the strong defense Boston has grown to expect this season ensured Chicago would only get one, as Andruw Monasterio, Sogard and Willson Contreras turned a smooth inning-ending double play on Grichuk.

It took three Red Sox pitchers to complete the top of the sixth. Sandoval’s night ended on a leadoff walk to designated hitter Colson Montgomery, his fourth free pass of the game, but it was his deepest start of the year.

Greg Weissert relieved Sandoval and recorded two outs, but was unable to prevent the inherited runner from scoring. On came Erik Miller, the 6-foot-5 lefty reliever acquired from the San Francisco Giants for Marcelo Mayer at Monday’s deadline. Boston’s newest bullpen arm struck out pinch-hitter Tristan Peters looking to end the threat.

Answering back immediately is becoming a Red Sox specialty. After the White Sox scored a run in the top of the fifth, Wilyer Abreu brought the lead back to six in the bottom of the inning; his 18th home run of the year soared 430 feet to center.

The Red Sox have homered at least once in each of their last eight games, their longest streak of the season. Their 16 round-trippers are the most in an eight-game span since April 22-30, 2025.

When the White Sox at last managed to score a second run in the top of the sixth, the Red Sox parried again. This time, with a 10-batter, six-run bottom of the sixth that made Monday the first time the Red Sox scored at least six runs in two separate innings of a game since their 17-0 defeat of the Chicago Cubs at Fenway on April 27, 2024.

Durbin’s leadoff walk and Duran’s single put two on to begin the bottom of the inning, and knocked Martin out of the game. Duran promptly stole second, and Monasterio greeted Erick Fedde with a two-run single, rocketed straight through the unguarded middle infield.

Abreu’s second homer of the night was the final nail in a coffin already six feet under. It soared 419 feet to dead-center in the eighth, as the sold-out crowd of 37,669 roared in approval. It also marked the first time the Red Sox homered four or more times in back-to-back games since July 19 and 21, 2021.

Brayan Bello easily handled the final three frames, which allowed interim manager Chad Tracy to stack an additional rest day for his high-leverage relievers for the first game of a 16-day marathon without a day off.

The Red Sox are 61-51.

____

©2026 The Boston Herald. Visit at bostonherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.