The Red Sox should have had an unassailable lead, but Jean Machi made it a close contest in the ninth.
The Red Sox started the game off with a golden, but largely wasted opportunity in the first. The first three batters of the game to face Adam Morgan would reach base, with Xander Bogaerts singling home Mookie Betts and leaving the Red Sox in position to score more. But David Ortiz, Travis Shaw, and Allen Craig went down in order to keep it a one-run game.
That wastefulness would ultimately leave them behind come the fourth. Joe Kelly had been doing fairly well through the first three innings, but started off the fourth in trouble by allowing a leadoff single and hitting Aaron Altherr to give the Phillies a chance with runners in scoring position and zero outs.