Red Sox lose Chris Sale to injury, still get by Reds

Starting pitcher Chris Sale exited the game early due to soreness in his left shoulder, but the Boston Red Sox ended a three-game losing streak by beating the visiting Cincinnati Reds 8-2 on Thursday night.

Sale left the contest after Red Sox personnel made a second medical visit to the mound in the fourth inning. The left-hander allowed a run on five hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one.

It was a 2-2 tie until Boston scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Rafael Devers had two hits in the game, including an RBI double in the eighth that drove in Alex Verdugo to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. After Raimel Tapia made it 4-2 by scoring on a balk, Enrique Hernandez delivered a two-run single before Connor Wong belted a two-run home run.

All six runs in the eighth were charged to Kevin Herget (1-2) as Cincinnati's five-game winning streak ended.

Chris Martin (1-1) allowed one run in one inning but was credited with the win.

Hernandez hit a solo home run in the seventh inning that put Boston up 2-1, but Cincinnati answered by tying the game in the top of the eighth. Kevin Newman (3-for-4) doubled, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a Matt McLain single with the infield pulled in. The single extended McLain's hitting streak to 10 games.

Cincinnati's Hunter Greene pitched six innings (109 pitches) and held the Red Sox to a run on two hits. He struck out eight and walked three.

The Reds struck first on back-to-back doubles by Curt Casali and Newman in the top of the third. The Red Sox tied the game in the fourth when a Devers fly ball got lost in the lights and fell in for a double and Justin Turner followed with an RBI single.