page_title: 2018 Boston Red Sox season
section_title: May
hierarchical_section_title: 2018 Boston Red Sox season / Regular season / May
caption_attribution_description: English: Scoreboard at the conclusion of the Red Sox 5-4 win over the Royals on May 2, 2018, at Fenway Park in Boston
context_page_description: The 2018 Boston Red Sox season was the 118th season in the team's history, and their 107th season at Fenway Park. Under first year manager Alex Cora, the team finished with a 108–54 record, winning the American League East division title for the third consecutive season, and finished eight games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees. The Red Sox were the first MLB team to post 100 wins during the 2018 season, reaching that milestone for the first time since 1946; they were also the first team to clinch a berth in the 2018 postseason.
  The team set a new franchise record for wins in a season by surpassing the prior mark of 105 that had been set in 1912; they also won the most games by any MLB team since the 2001 Seattle Mariners won 116. Mookie Betts finished the season with the Major League batting title, hitting .346, while J. D. Martinez finished second in the majors with .330. Betts also won a Gold Glove and the Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award. Closer Craig Kimbrel became the fastest player in history to reach 300 career saves, finishing the season with 333.
context_section_description: May 1–May 2, vs. Kansas City Royals (cont.)
  
  A blown save by Craig Kimbrel, in giving up a ninth-inning home run to Alex Gordon, sent the second game of the series into extra innings. With the Red Sox down a run in the bottom of the 12th, a home run by Eduardo Núñez tied the game, 4–4. A three-run home run by Jorge Soler in the top of the 13th put the Royals up 7–4, and a Red Sox rally in the bottom of the inning came up a run short, the Royals winning 7–6. The Royals took an early 3–0 lead in the rubber match of the series but the Red Sox tied the game in the fourth with Mookie Betts and J. D. Martinez going yard. Betts then single-handedly won the game for Boston, by taking Danny Duffy deep two more times. This was Betts' fourth three-homer game of his young career, making him the Red Sox' franchise leader for such games, surpassing Ted Williams.
  Red Sox won the series 2–1 (21–17 runs)
  May 3–May 6, at Texas Rangers
  
  In the series opener, David Price lasted only ​3 ²⁄₃ innings while giving up nine runs (seven earned) as the Red Sox lost to the Rangers, 11–5. Mookie Betts followed up his three-homer game with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate, including his 12th home run of the season. In the second game of the series, Rick Porcello held the Rangers to three hits and one run in six innings, as the Red Sox won, 5–1. The Red Sox had four home runs; Betts (his fifth in three games), J. D. Martinez, and two by Rafael Devers. After falling behind 4–1 in the third game of the series, the Red Sox came back to win, 6–5, with Craig Kimbrel getting the save, the 300th of his MLB career. In the fourth and final game of the series, Chris Sale held the Rangers to four hits and one run in seven innings of work, en route to a 6–1 Red Sox victory.
  Red Sox won the series 3–1 (22–18 runs)
  May 8–May 10, at New York Yankees
  
  In the opening game of the series, Boston outhit New York, 8–6, but the Yankees had two solo home runs from Giancarlo Stanton en route to a 3–2 win. It was the Yankees' ninth win in their last ten games, putting them into a tie with the Red Sox atop the AL East, with identical 25–10 records. In the second game of the series, after trailing 4–2 at the end of the third, the Red Sox held a 6–5 lead going into the bottom of the eighth. With runners on first and second with one out, Craig Kimbrel was brought in, for a potential five-out save. A triple by Brett Gardner, followed by an Aaron Judge two-run homer, put the Yankees ahead, 9–6. Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth to give the Yankees the win, and first place in the AL East standings. In the final game of the series, the Red Sox held a 4–0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, with Hanley Ramírez having contributed three RBIs. The Yankees loaded the bases with one out off of Heath Hembree, and were able to push across four runs to tie the game after Joe Kelly came in. The Red Sox re-took the lead in the top of the eighth, on a J. D. Martinez solo home run. Kelly then held the Yankees scoreless in the bottom of the eighth, and Craig Kimbrel pitched a one-two-three ninth, earning his tenth save of the season. The win put the Red Sox back into a tie with the Yankees for first place in the AL East, both teams at 26–11.
  Red Sox lost the series 1–2 (13–16 runs)
  May 11–May 13, at Toronto Blue Jays
  
  In the first game of the series, Chris Sale became the third Boston pitcher, after Roger Clemens and Pedro Martínez, to have a game with 15 strikeouts while issuing no walks. Sale pitched nine innings of a game that would go 12 innings, with Toronto winning 5–3 on a two-run walk-off home run by Luke Maile off of Brian Johnson. In the second game of the series, David Price pitched ​5 ¹⁄₃ innings, giving up two runs and getting the win, after his scheduled start against the Yankees had been pushed back due to numbness in his throwing hand, which was subsequently diagnosed as a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome. Hanley Ramírez had a two-run homer en route to a 5–2 Boston win. In the final game of the series, a first-inning two-run home run from J. D. Martinez put Boston ahe
caption: Scoreboard at the conclusion of the May 2 game
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