Red Sox finish off best month in franchise history with comeback win over the Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — For the Dodgers, virtual locks for the postseason, all before then matters little. They have won back-to-back World Series, are running away with the NL West, and care mostly about ensuring their guys are healthy for when their real games start.

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For the Red Sox, desperate to taste October again, every single night matters, because such is reality with this kind of midseason turnaround.

Those dynamics help explain the specifics of the Sox’ 9-4 win over Los Angeles on Friday night, another late comeback for the hottest team in baseball, this one coming against perhaps the best team in baseball.

Ceddanne Rafaela hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh, Andruw Monasterio added a key two-run double later in the frame, and Brayan Bello tossed the final four innings to pick up his first win since May 5.

The assist came from the Dodgers, who handed the bulk of the game to lefthander Cole Irvin, a 32-year-old journeyman who signed a minor league contract in February, had 55 strikeouts (43 walks) in 98 innings in Triple-A, and was called up earlier Friday from Oklahoma City.

Because Shohei Ohtani is only hitting, not pitching, right now because of knee and bicep issues, the Dodgers have a hole in their rotation. They plugged it Friday with a bunch of relievers and Irvin.

Irvin entered in the third, and for a while he stifled the Sox (58-51). But when the Dodgers got to the seventh with a lead, they stuck with him. When Rafaela went deep, Irvin still. When Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, and Caleb Durbin (bunt) singled to load the bases for Monasterio, more Irvin.

When the Red Sox batted again in the eighth … well, you get it.

By the end, Irvin threw 102 pitches across six innings of relief. He gave up six runs, eight hits, and three walks and struck out five.

He had a counterpart of sorts in Bello, a starter by trade appearing in long relief — to much greater effect.

His biggest out came to end the sixth inning, when Eliezer Alfonzo grounded out to strand the bases loaded. It was the Dodgers’ last move before the Sox rallied in the seventh.

Bello handled the rest of the game, affording the Sox’ high-leverage relievers a full day off, which could prove relevant in the coming days.

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In three appearances since returning to the majors, Bello has allowed one run in 13⅔ innings (0.66 ERA).

The Red Sox finished July with a 21-4 record. That .840 winning percentage is the best in a calendar month (minimum 20 games) in franchise history, beating out August 1950 and June 1901 (.800).

The Red Sox jumped ahead early, scoring three runs (one earned) off the Dodgers’ second reliever, righthander Will Klein, who lasted 1⅓ innings.

Jarren Duran, in his first at-bat since his outward unhappiness midgame Thursday, rolled a single up the middle for a two-out RBI in the second inning.

In the third, the Sox loaded the bases with one out, causing Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts to pull Klein in favor of Irvin. First baseman Freddie Freeman misplayed Masataka Yoshida’s bouncer, allowing two runs to score.

The Dodgers started chipping away against lefthander Ranger Suarez in the fourth. Ohtani opened the frame with a double, then scored on Freeman’s two-out single.

Suarez began to crumble in the fifth, walking Kyle Tucker, allowing a single to Kiké Hernández, and giving up a run-scoring single to Alfonzo.

Interim manager Chad Tracy pulled Suarez for Jovani Morán, who immediately gave up a go-ahead two-run homer to Ohtani.

Suarez was charged with three runs and four hits in 4⅔ innings. He struck out two, walked two, and threw 65 pitches, one more than in his previous start, which marked his return from a groin strain.

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