BOSTON — The Chicago Cubs hit four home runs Wednesday night and completed a sweep of their three-game interleague series against the Boston Red Sox with a 16-9 rout at Fenway Park.
Justin Ruggiano, Mike Olt, Wellington Castillo and Nate Schierholtz all went deep for the Cubs (37-46), who are in last place in the National League’s Central Division.
Combined with Tampa Bay’s sweep of the New York Yankees, the loss left the Red Sox (38-47) only one game in front of the last-place Rays in the American League East.
Mookie Betts’ first major-league home run in the bottom of the fifth inning was the highlight for the Red Sox.
Ruggiano ripped a two-run shot off Boston starter Brandon Workman in the first. Starlin Castro’s RBI single made it 3-0.
Boston got one run back in the third when Johnny Gomes plated Dustin Pedroia with a sacrifice fly off Travis Wood, but the Cubs chalked up three additional runs in the fourth. Olt’s two-run blast preceded a Chris Coghlan sacrifice fly.
David Ortiz’s sacrifice fly and Gomes’ RBI single whittled the deficit to 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth. Again, Chicago answered in the next frame with a home run, this one a two-run Castillo clout at the expense of Felix Doubront.
And Chicago continued to wreak havoc against the Sox bullpen. Ruggiano’s RBI single off Burke Badenhop increased the lead to 9-5 in the sixth. Schierholtz left the yard against Mujica in the eighth.
Mike Napoli drove in a run in the bottom of the eighth.
The game ended with a wild ninth inning — six runs by the Cubs and three for the Red Sox.
Pedroia and Brock Holt each had three hits for the Red Sox. Slumping Xander Bogaerts was the only member of the starting lineup without a hit.
No. 9 hitter Darwin Barney was 4-for-5 to lead the Cubs. Wood worked only 3 2/3 innings before giving way to Carlos Villenueva.
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