New opponent, new uniforms, new hero.
Marwin Gonzalez had his biggest swing since joining the Red Sox, hitting a lead homerun against Codi Heuer in the eighth inning to lift Boston to a 7-4 victory over the White Sox in the first of four games at Fenway Park .
Two other newcomers also left their mark on Saturday. Adam Ottavino had his best outing in a Red Sox jersey – though a bright yellow jersey designed to match the Boston Marathon color scheme for the Patriots’ Day weekend – to give Gonzalez a chance to break the tie and the the top of the eighth. Kiké Hernández was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Boston’s longest-serving player also had a day of his own, as Xander Bogaerts was 4-for-5 and increased his average to .412 this season. His two-run double-cap covered Boston’s four-run eighth to open the game wide.
The Red Sox have now won 10 out of 11 games and improved to 10-4.
Nick Pivetta gave up two runs on four hits and four walks during 3 2/3 innings, striking out three times. The offense took him off the hook with a few runs in the fourth when Alex Verdugo and Rafael Devers each got an RBI with a sacrifice fly against Chicago-starter Dylan Cease, who gave up three basehits in the inning.
The Red Sox took their first lead in the game in the sixth on Hernández’s RBI-single against Evan Marshall, but the Boston bullpen was unable to get up. Tim Anderson singled, stole second base and moved to third base on an error, which led to Yoán Moncada’s tying sacrifice fly in the seventh.