BOSTON — The White Sox hadn’t won consecutive games since stringing together three straight victories June 27-29.
They beat the Atlanta Braves once and then the Colorado Rockies twice during that stretch.
After winning Wednesday at Baltimore, the Sox found themselves in a tight game while trying for two in a row Friday against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
The score was tied in the bottom of the seventh when White Sox reliever Matt Foster engaged in an epic 12-pitch battle with Enmanuel Valdez that resulted in a walk.
Ceddanne Rafaela hit the next pitch over the Green Monster for a two-run home run, and the Red Sox held on for a 3-1 win in front of 32,625.
“That was the key at-bat, even more than the homer,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said of Valdez. “Twelve pitches, making him work, tiring him out and kind of setting it up for the next guy. That was a good at-bat, got a walk, that was the difference today.”
The two-run blast sent the White Sox on the way to their 110th loss — extending the franchise record.
At 32-110, they are 10 losses from tying the 1962 New York Mets (40-120) for the most in modern-day history. With 20 games remaining, the White Sox — who are 5-39 since the All-Star break — must go 11-9 to avoid tying the mark.
There was solid pitching throughout Friday, with White Sox starter Davis Martin allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts and one walk in six innings.
“Stuff felt really good,” Martin said. “Pitched out of some jams, pitched out of some tight spots and kept the team in it.”
Martin gave some love to catcher Chuckie Robinson, including kissing him on the helmet on the way back to the dugout after striking out Tyler O’Neill looking to end the third inning.
“Chuckie was working very hard back there tonight,” Martin said. “Chuckie reached across the plate and stuck it in the other corner (for the strikeout). That’s who he is, he’s just back there grinding for his guys and he wants to win, he wants to see us succeed. So I’m not scared to give him a little bit of love, a little kiss on the helmet on the way in.”
Martin did hit three batters, including Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida to begin the fourth. Triston Casas followed with an RBI single, tying the score at 1.
But Martin limited the damage, getting a lineout to left field and an inning-ending double play.
“That’s the mindset shift, you don’t have to strike everybody out,” Martin said. “You can get a double play. Our infield is really good. Jacob Amaya is doing a great job at short, trust those guys to make a play and they did.”
He exited after 86 pitches as the White Sox remain mindful of his return from Tommy John surgery.
“Want to make sure we’re protecting him as much as we can,” Sizemore said. “Everything we’ve seen from him has been great, competitive, throws strikes, uses all his pitches, just being aggressive. Everything you want, a guy going out and getting deep into the game. Just really controlling the zone.”
Nick Pivetta was just as impressive for the Red Sox, allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks in six innings.
“He used the breaking ball really well, kept guys off the heater by being effective with that breaking ball,” Sizemore said. “It’s a good pitch. It has a lot of depth to it, it was doing different things, it was backing up and breaking hard.
“He kept us off the heater with that, kept us honest. Well-pitched game, good defense on both sides but came down to that seventh inning.”
