Boston Red Sox Pull Off Historically Improbable Win Over Philadelphia Phillies

The Boston Red Sox, needing a win Wednesday to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies, didn't get off to the hottest of starts.

Lucas Giolito ran into trouble right out of the gates, giving up back-to-back home runs to Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the first inning. Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott joined in on the action in the third and fourth, respectively, adding homers of their own to make it a 6-0 ballgame.

Rob Refsynder and Jarren Duran finally got Boston on the board with bases-loaded walks in the top of the fifth, just before Romy Gonzalez vaulted his team ahead with a grand slam. Aroldis Chapman couldn't preserve the lead, though, giving up a home run to J.T. Realmuto in the eighth.

Both teams scored in the 10th, before rookie catcher Carlos Narváez delivered a two-run homer in the 11th. That gave the Red Sox the insurance they needed to weather Johan Rojas' RBI single in the bottom of the frame and pull out the 9-8 victory.

According to OptaSTATS, the Red Sox are the first team in MLB history to strike out at least 15 times, give up at least five home runs and face a deficit of at least five runs and proceed to win the game anyways.