Crochet allowed two solo homers in the first inning but then settled in. The lefty led the Red Sox to a 4-2 victory over the Dodgers in front of a sold-out, mixed crowd of 36,687. “The first inning, I‘ve never seen anything like that,” Cora said. “Credit to them.”

Jordan Hicks melted down in the bottom of the ninth inning, the climax of a highly unusual — and very long — final frame.

Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman sat out Boston’s game Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins to rest the right quadriceps he strained earlier this season. Red Sox manager Alex Cora