BOSTON -- All afternoon on Saturday at Fenway Park, both teams were waiting for their big hit. The Red Sox got theirs in the seventh with a three-run shot from Rafael Devers for the first runs of the game. Then came the Indians’ big hit, down to their last strike in the ninth: A game-tying pinch-hit two-run homer courtesy of Franmil Reyes.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, Boston got another crucial hit in the ninth inning -- a walk-off RBI single from Alex Verdugo to send the Indians to a 4-3 loss, and a series loss with one game to go.

It was a pitchers' duel for the first 6 2/3 innings, with starter Eli Morgan (5 2/3 innings, three hits, no runs, four walks and seven strikeouts) pitted against Red Sox righty Tanner Houck, who also gave up three hits, striking out seven over five innings. Both teams then deployed four relievers, with the Red Sox sending righty Adam Ottavino out to close the ninth. Reyes’ homer, which left the bat at 105 mph and traveled a projected 417 feet per Statcast, was the first long ball Ottavino has served up in his 59 outings this season.

Amid a mini slump (1-for-19 in his last five games), Reyes had been given the day to rest. Having noticed that Reyes had been fouling off fastballs and taking balls in for strikes, acting manager DeMarlo Hale settled on a day off for the designated hitter, though he noted Reyes was still very much in play to come off the bench in the “right situation.”

“I would not hesitate [to use] him in the right situation that comes because of his threat,” Hale said ahead of the game. “So when it comes time, and the situation calls for him to pinch-hit, he’s the guy that will come off the bench to change the game or to put us up more. So whenever that situation happens, I won’t hesitate to use him.”

You can’t script a more “right situation” than being down two runs with one on and two outs in the ninth inning. Reyes stepped up to the plate and exercised immediate discipline, waiting on two fastballs to jump out to a 2-0 advantage in the count. The pinch-hitter watched an 81 mph slider go by for his first strike before fouling off the next two fastballs. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Reyes found his pitch: An 80.5 mph slider that he sent soaring over the Monster onto Lansdowne Street.

“Well, I kind of mentioned to him even before the game, ‘I’m going to try to use you in a spot that, you know, is big,’” Hale said. “Him missing the fastball [in the pitch before the homer] ... I thought that it was a little bit better timing. And I think him being a little bit more focused or engaged, you know, he got the slider and put a good swing on it. I just thought his body language said something a little different, and that’s good to see."

The ninth-inning blast marked Reyes’ third career pinch-hit homer, and extended the Indians’ home run streak to 18 consecutive games -- tied with the Astros for the longest such streak in the Majors this season. Dating back to the start of full pitch-count data (1988), Reyes’ homer marked Cleveland’s fourth game-tying blast when down to its last strike. The 26-year-old DH is now responsible for the club’s last two, having last done it on Aug. 25, 2019, against the Royals. Reyes’ ninth-inning shot also marked Cleveland's first pinch-hit, game-tying home run with the team down to its last out in the ninth inning or later since Eddie Taubensee did so against Detroit on May 23, 2001.

Hale credited his team for their resilience and fight throughout five “good games” so far vs. Boston this season, a message personified by José Ramírez in the top of the ninth before Reyes homered, when the third baseman hung over the dugout rail and motioned to Devers that it wasn’t over yet.

“I compliment this team that they’re going to keep fighting,” Hale said. “I think they understand I’m going to try to do what I can to put players in situations to have some success, geared toward coming back. But you know, we’ve played these guys five times and they’ve been good games. … We come back, these guys put themselves in position. Like I said, it’s been five good games with these guys and I don’t expect nothing different tomorrow, just hope the outcome is better.”