The last time Cal Quantrill faced the Red Sox, he and then-Sox catcher Reese McGuire induced a bench-clearing incident in Colorado.

Quantrill and Rockies got the last laugh that July 2024 day, winning 20-7 and taking the series from a spiraling Boston ball club.

The Red Sox got their revenge Saturday, knocking Quantrill around in a 7-5 victory over the visiting Miami Marlins that wasn’t even close to a competitive ballgame until the ninth inning.

The Boston bats were on the Quantrill from the very first of his 80 pitches in the contest, a Roman Anthony leadoff single. The Marlins righty lasted just 3.2 innings, and yielded seven earned runs on eight hits, one walk, hit one batter and managed just two strikeouts. He managed only two strikeouts, and gave up a three-run Green Monster homer to Trevor Story.

The Red Sox tallied nine hits in the contest. Quantrill had two outs in the first when Masataka Yoshida’s two-run single gave Boston an immediate and enduring lead.

Anthony went 2 for 4 with two runs, a walk and a stolen base. He led off the third with his 17th career double, making him the fourth Red Sox player since 1939 with at least that many two-baggers in his first 55 career games; Jed Lowrie, Dom DiMaggio, and Ted Williams are good company to keep. Anthony’s 94 times on base also tie Yoshida for second-most by a Red Sox rookie through their first 55 career games. Since the 2000 MLB season, Ichiro Suzuki and Yordan Alvarez were the only AL rookies to get on base more in such a span.

As is often the case this summer, though, the biggest blast came from the veteran shortstop. Story’s 19th homer of the season bounced off the top of the Monster near the ‘El Tiante’ tribute to the late, great Luis Tiant, and increased Boston’s lead to 6-0 in the third.

The Marlins bullpen fared better. Tyler Zuber allowed one hit and two walks, but he and Caleb Simpson ultimately combined for 4.1 scoreless innings.

Big things from Bello

Much like Lucas Giolito the night before, Brayan Bello bounced back from a shaky San Diego start in a big way Saturday.

Though Bello only struck out two, he held the Marlins to four hits, including a pair of solo homers, and didn’t issue a walk in 6.1 innings. Though he left a pair of baserunners behind in the seventh, the Fenway Faithful gave him a resounding standing ovation as he walked off the mound for the last time.

“Today he was efficient,” lauded manager Alex Cora of his starter, who needed just 78 pitches (52 strikes) to get through his outing. “Velo was up, the changeup was good. Induced them to weak contact early in counts, and did more than enough.”

“I was able to execute pitches,” concurred Bello (through translator Carlos Villoria Benitez). “It was 6.1, so able to help the bullpen today, so yeah, it was a good outing.”

In 14 games (13 starts) since the beginning of June, Bello owns a 2.97 ERA and has recorded 11 quality starts.

“I feel like the key is has been throwing strikes, get ahead of batters, trying to get quick outs, and for me that’s been the key of the success that I have in that stretch,” Bello explained. “I feel like for me, when I get ahead of counts, I get quick outs. So that’s the plan.”

A Cinderella Story

Story continues to impress on both sides of the ball. He extended his hitting streak to four games with a 2 for 4 performance in which he scored twice and drove in three RBI. His 198th career home run was also his seventh three-run blast of the season, tied with Junior Caminero, Seiya Suzuki, and Pete Alonso for most in the majors. Story also extended his perfect stolen-base record to 22 for 22.

Manning shortstop for the 120th time this season, the veteran leapt, spun and threw with precision, ensuring quick and quiet exits for nearly every Marlins batter.

“It’s been a great season, let’s put it that way,” said Cora. “He had one bad month. So, he’s been very consistent in everything: running the bases, hitting the ball hard, driving in runs, playing great defense, leading the group.

“Since the (Rafael Devers) trade, he was one of the guys, very vocal about it in the clubhouse and making sure that we stayed the course, and I couldn’t be more proud. He’s been amazing for us.”

After hitting .158 with a .432 OPS in May, Story is batting .299 with an .860 OPS in 64 games since June 1. His 56 RBI in that span are tied for second-most in the majors.

“He feels like he has a chance every at-bat,” said Cora. “At one point in May he feels like he was overmatched, and made some adjustments. He’s doing a lot of things great right now. It’s fun to watch.”

What a relief

With Justin Wilson playing fireman for the second evening in a row, recording the remaining two outs to strand runners on second and third, and Steven Matz pitching a scoreless 1-2-3 eighth, the Red Sox had a comfortable five-run lead when Cora put the ninth inning in Isaiah Campbell’s hands.

At first, Agustín Ramírez’s leadoff single seemed a minor blip. Campbell recorded two quick outs.

Then, he unraveled: a two-out RBI single to Heriberto Hernández, and an RBI triple by Eric Wagaman, which caromed high off the center-field end of the Green Monster and prompted Aroldis Chapman to begin warming up.

As has been the case too often of late, Chapman was forced to clean up and close out a game that was no longer close. The All-Star closer got Javier Sanoja to ground out on his third pitch, and easily picked up his 22nd save.

“It’s not perfect, but he came in, did his job, and hopefully we can do it better the next time,” said Cora. “Probably we’ll stay away from him (Sunday)… Somebody else has to step up.”

Facts and figures

The Red Sox are 68-56, including an AL-best 26-12 since the beginning of July.

Their 41-22 (.651) record at Fenway is the fourth-best home mark in MLB and second only to the Toronto Blue Jays (40-20) in the AL. It’s already Boston’s highest home win total since 2022 (43-38).

With a paid attendance of 36,192, Saturday was Fenway’s 13th consecutive sell-out, adding on to what is already their longest streak since 2018.