A four-run first inning carried the Cleveland Guardians to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.

Boston had the game-tying run on base when Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to open the ninth, but Cleveland closer Cade Smith struck out the next three batters to collect his 20th save.

Cleveland’s four-run first included RBI singles by Rhys Hoskins and Angel Martinez, a Ceddanne Rafaela error that allowed Hoskins to score, and a Patrick Bailey sacrifice fly that drove in Kyle Manzardo.

All four runs were charged to Tyler Samaniego (0-3), who was used as an opener before giving way to Brayan Bello after one inning. Samaniego allowed six hits in the inning.

Bello pitched seven scoreless innings. He limited Cleveland to four hits, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.

The Guardians received two hits from both Manzardo and Chase DeLauter.

The Red Sox pulled within a run by scoring three times in the fifth. After Marcelo Mayer drove in Mickey Gasper with an RBI single and Kiner-Falefa scored on Caleb Durbin’s double, Mayer made it 4-3 by scoring on Jarren Duran’s sacrifice fly.

Cleveland starter Slade Cecconi was pulled with one out in the fifth. He gave up three runs on seven hits. Colin Holderman (3-0) picked up the win for recording the next four outs after Cecconi left the mound.

Boston’s Willson Contreras extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the fourth inning. Contreras also singled with two outs in the eighth.

Nick Sogard pinch ran for Contreras in the eighth and moved to third on Masataka Yoshida’s single, but both runners were stranded when Gasper grounded out to first to end the inning. Gasper, Mayer and Kiner-Falefa each had two hits in the loss.

Boston was seeking its fourth straight road victory.

–Field Level Media

Nia Coffey had 20 points and eight rebounds and Natasha Howard scored 14 as they triggered a third-quarter surge that sparked the visiting Minnesota Lynx to a 79-58 victory over the Chicago Sky on Friday night.

Olivia Miles added 17 points and six assists, Courtney Williams scored 10 points and Coffey went 6-for-9 from 3-point range to offset her teammates making just 2 of 19 from beyond the arc. The Lynx (6-2) won their fourth consecutive game, which includes an 85-75 victory in Chicago six days earlier.

Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and 13 rebounds and Skylar Diggins scored 14 points to lead the Sky (3-5), who made just 5 of 30 3-point attempts and finished 0-4 on their homestand.

Howard scored the first six points of the third quarter and Coffey added consecutive 3-pointers as Minnesota opened a 45-30 lead. Diggins made a jumper for Chicago’s first points of the half, but Coffey made another 3-pointer in the middle of a 7-0 run that pushed the lead to 20 points.

The Sky got as close as 10 points before Miles had four points and Kayla McBride had two free throws during an 8-0 run that gave the Lynx a 64-46 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Chicago crept within 69-58 on two Cardoso free throws with 3:39 remaining, but Minnesota scored the last 10 points.

At the outset, the lead changed hands three times and the score was tied three times before a 3-pointer by Coffey, a layup by Miles and a 3-pointer by Maya Caldwell gave the Lynx an eight-point lead. Natasha Cloud’s free throw ended that 8-0 run, as well as a three-minute scoring drought, as the Sky trimmed the lead to 19-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Minnesota scored the first four points of the second quarter and led by 11 points a second time before consecutive layups by Aicha Coulibaly and Diggins pulled Chicago within 27-20.

Howard’s layup ended a nearly four-minute scoring drought for the Lynx and extended their lead to 29-20. Cloud and Rachel Banham made consecutive 3-pointers to help the Sky close within 33-30 at halftime.

–Field Level Media

Two days after straining his left hamstring, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez landed on the 10-day injured list Friday, and the man who replaced him in left field was sent to the minors, too.

Hyeseong Kim had never played left field before Wednesday, when Hernandez got hurt running out a ground ball in the second inning against the Colorado Rockies.

Kim finished that game, and the team was idle on Thursday before he was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday ahead of the opener of Los Angeles’ three-game home series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

To fill the roster vacancies, the Dodgers recalled infielder/outfielder Ryan Ward from Triple-A Oklahoma City and re-signed infielder/outfielder Santiago Espinal.

Hernandez, 33, has a .276 batting average, seven home runs and 31 RBIs through 51 games this year. He was on a hot streak when he got hurt, hitting .375 with three home runs and 14 RBIs over his past 14 games.

The two-time All-Star owns a career .261 average, .317 on-base percentage, .482 slugging percentage, 224 home runs and 692 RBIs in 1,150 career games. He has played for the Houston Astros (2016-17), the Toronto Blue Jays (2017-22), the Seattle Mariners (2023) and the Dodgers.

Kim, 27, produced a .259/.323/.328 batting line with one homer and 11 RBIs in 43 games this year. He made his major league debut for Los Angeles last year, batting .280/.314/.385 with three home runs and 17 RBIs in 71 games.

Espinal, 31, was outrighted to Oklahoma City on Thursday after clearing waivers. He hit .220 with one homer and four RBIs in 26 games for Los Angeles this season before he was designated for assignment on Monday.

Ward, 28, joined the Dodgers for his major league debut last month. He went 2-for-6 across two games during Freddie Freeman’s stay on the paternity list.

Ward was hitting .254 with six home runs and 31 RBIs in 47 games in Triple-A this year after amassing 36 home runs and 122 RBIs for Oklahoma City last year. He has 156 home runs over seven minor league seasons.

Left-hander Blake Snell, who had left elbow surgery earlier this month, was transferred to the 60-day IL to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Espinal.

–Field Level Media