'Are you crazy?': Abreu's 2nd straight 2-HR game extends winning streak to 12

Wilyer Abreu hit two home runs in the Boston Red Sox's 12th straight win on Saturday at Fenway Park. In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Red Sox trailing by one and two outs, Abreu launched a 412-foot home run that gave Boston a 7-6 lead. "After he threw three balls in a row, I didn’t want to get too excited," Abreu said. "He gave me a really good pitch to my strengths, and I took advantage of it."

The victory marked the Red Sox's first time over .500 this season at 49-48, a significant turnaround after starting the season 1-0. The team initially fell behind 2-0 but responded in the second inning with two runs. Abreu, who gave Boston a brief lead with a monstrous 435-foot homer in the third, displayed impressive power, with his shots both coming off left-handed pitchers.

"Every mistake, he's hitting out of the yard," Rays starter Ian Seymour commented, reflecting on Abreu's impressive performance. After going down 5-2 in the fourth inning, the Red Sox surged back to score four runs in the seventh, reclaiming the lead.

Abreu celebrated his second homer, his 15th of the year, with excitement, yelling, "Are you crazy?" towards the dugout, as the crowd of 33,077 erupted in cheers. He became the first Red Sox player with back-to-back multihomer games since Mookie Betts in 2016. This season, Abreu has excelled against lefties, batting .357 with a 1.023 OPS.

Despite the Red Sox's strong streak, starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval had a challenging outing, yielding five runs on nine hits in five innings following a rain delay. However, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy commended Sandoval's performance. Reliever Ryan Watson earned his first win by allowing just one run in two innings, while closer Aroldis Chapman secured his 21st save despite some struggles in the ninth.

The Red Sox matched their longest winning streak in the 21st century, replicating a run from June 2006. They aimed for a 13th consecutive win on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. "I’ve trusted these guys since day one," said center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. "There are a lot of games left, and we’re going to keep playing our hardest to win ballgames."