Red Sox rally to beat reliever Erik Sabrowski, Guardians in series opener at Fenway Park

BOSTON — Guardians reliever Erik Sabrowski allowed two runs in the fifth inning, as the Red Sox broke a tie and beat Cleveland 6-4 at Fenway Park on Monday afternoon. Kyle Manzardo hit a solo homer for the Guardians, who have dropped 13 of 20. Guardians starter Parker Messick, whose career began with two impressive outings, allowed three runs on nine hits over only 3 2/3 innings. Boston's Carlos Narváez had his first career pinch hit, a tiebreaking single off Sabrowski in the fifth and Trevor Story had a strange homer that ticked off right fielder Jhonkensy Noel's glove and then the foul pole. Romy Gonzalez added an RBI single for the Red Sox, who won for the ninth time in 12 games to improve to an AL-best 35-18 since the beginning of July. The victory pulled the Red Sox (77-62) within a percentage point of the Yankees (76-61) for the AL's top wild-card spot. Narváez, a right-handed hitter, singled inside the first-base bag off Sabrowski with the bases loaded, making it 5-3. Brayan Bello (11-6) worked through five innings, giving up three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Aroldis Chapman, who finalized a $13.3 million contract extension Sunday, got the final three outs for his 28th save. Story made it 6-3 in the sixth before Manzardo homered to right. Facing right-hander Jakob Junis, Story hit a 306-foot fly down the right-field line, where Noel tried for a leaping catch. The ball ticked off Noel's glove and then the pole as Story stopped at second and the umpires gathered to discuss the play. It was overturned from being called foul after a crew chief review. Chapman extended his career-best hitless streak to 16 games, the longest in club history. It's the third longest in MLB history. Former Cleveland top prospect George Valera was added to the roster from Triple-A Columbus and made his MLB debut seven years after joining the organization, serving as the designated hitter and batting seventh. The oft-injured outfielder went 0-for-1 with a walk and run scored before being lifted for pinch hitter David Fry. "Before, I expected it to be more overwhelming than it was, like early on in my career, when I was to get called up," Valera said prior to the loss. "But being here now, I just feel like a lot of stress has been off my shoulders. I have a lot of people here that support me and take care of me, and it just feels like I'm at home. "The toughest point was thinking that it wasn't my time. At the beginning, I thought it'd be nice and quick, but I've had a lot of things that I couldn't control. A lot of injuries I had, especially the one last year, where I had some doubts of, like, 'Will I be able to play the game again with this big injury I had?'" Up next RHP Slade Cecconi (5-6, 4.41 ERA) is expected to start for the Guardians on Tuesday night against Red Sox ace LHP Garrett Crochet (14-5, 2.40).