Kutter Crawford allowed five runs and five hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Jeimer Candelario homered twice, Andrew Abbott struck out a season-high 10 and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2 in the opener of an interleague series on a Friday night.
Candelario hit solo homers off Kutter Crawford (3-7) in the first and third innings. Jonathan India had a solo shot off the Red Sox starter in the second, and the Reds scored two more on a throwing error by reliever Cam Booser in the seventh to halt Boston’s five-game winning streak.
Candelario is hitting .338 in June and pushed his season home run total to a team-high 14.
“He’s done it before in big spots. He’s done it in important situations, all that,” Reds manager David Bell said. “He knew it was just a matter of time.”
Abbott (6-6) allowed two runs — solo homers by Jarren Duran and Connor Wong — and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He gave up a single to Romy Gonzalez to start the sixth and then fanned Tyler O’Neill and Rafael Devers before giving way to Fernando Cruz, who struck out Wong to end the inning.
