Wilyer Abreu went 3-for-5 and was one of three players to hit their first home runs of the season for the Boston Red Sox in an 8-1 win over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
Boston’s offense pounded out 12 hits en route to its second win in a three-game span.
Rob Refsnyder and Ceddanne Rafaela each drove in a pair with the help of their first homers of 2024, while Triston Casas also left the yard for the Red Sox. Enmanuel Valdez added a two-run double.
Refsnyder and Connor Wong were each 2-for-5.
Brayan Bello (3-1) earned his second consecutive win in dominant fashion, allowing only one hit — Jack Suwinski’s leadoff double to left in the second — and two walks while striking out seven over six innings.
Chase Anderson and Cam Booser worked in relief of Bello. Booser, who allowed Pittsburgh’s only run, was making his MLB debut.
The Red Sox jumped out to a quick lead against Pittsburgh starter Quinn Priester (0-1), socking a pair of first-inning solo homers before scoring another run in the second. The opening run came just one out into the game as Abreu’s 421-foot blast nearly left the ballpark in right.
Casas doubled the Boston lead two batters later with two outs, clearing the fences in left-center field.
After Bello worked around two baserunners in Pittsburgh’s half of the first, Ceddanne Rafaela’s RBI fielder’s choice upped Boston’s lead to 3-0. Bobby Dalbec crossed the plate following a leadoff double, his first hit of the season.
Priester worked a 1-2-3 fourth, but Refsnyder’s two-run homer with one out in the fifth knocked him out of the game. The Pittsburgh starter allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits across 4 1/3 innings.
After Abreu sent a one-out single into right, Refsnyder left the yard to the opposite field in right-center field to extend the Boston lead.
Boston’s onslaught continued against Pittsburgh reliever Roansy Contreras in the sixth, as Rafaela hit a towering shot that fell just over the left-center-field wall.
In the seventh, consecutive two-out walks set the table for Valdez to crush a two-run double down the right field line and into the corner.
The Pirates were held to just four hits and were shut out until pinch hitter Edward Olivares’ RBI groundout scored Alika Williams following a leadoff triple in the ninth.
