Bregman has 6 RBIs, Devers adds 4 hits as Red Sox rout Cardinals 18-7 to sweep doubleheader

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer and tied a career high with six RBIs, Rafael Devers went 4 for 4 and drove in three runs, and the Boston Red Sox rolled to an 18-7 win and a doubleheader sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night.

Wilyer Abreu added three RBIs for Boston, which finished with a season-best 22 hits and won its fifth straight. It was the 14th career four-hit game for Devers, who also scored four runs. Bregman had four hits for the 10th time, and Jarren Duran had three hits and scored three runs.

All that offense made for an easy night for Hunter Dobbins (1-0), who scattered five hits and gave up two runs over five innings to win his major league debut. Cooper Criswell allowed four runs in the ninth, but went three innings for his first save.

St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas (0-1) permitted nine runs — eight earned — and 11 hits in 2 2/3 innings. Thomas Saggaese hit a three-run homer in the ninth and Brendan Donovan had three hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals. St. Louis extended a team record with its ninth straight game getting at least 10 hits.

In the makeup of Saturday's rainout, Abreu singled off the Green Monster to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Red Sox rallied for a 5-4 victory in the opener. Devers, who began the season 0 for 21 with 15 strikeouts, hit his first homer of the year.

Pedro Pagés replaced St. Louis catcher Iván Herrera in the first game after he exited with left knee inflammation. In an interview on the ESPN broadcast, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said initial testing came back clean and Herrera’s knee was structurally sound. But he added the inflammation will require a stint on the injured list.

Boston took control in the second, scoring five runs on an RBI single by Ceddanne Rafaela and two-run doubles by Bregman and Abreu. Mikolas threw 41 of his 81 pitches during the inning. The Red Sox had another five-run inning in the sixth.

The Red Sox scored five runs in the second and four in the third. It marked the first time they scored four or more runs in back-to-back innings since Aug. 24, 2023, at Houston, and the first time at Fenway Park since Sept. 27, 2022, against Baltimore.

LHP Matthew Liberatore (0-0, 4.50 ERA) will start as the Cardinals open a three-game series Monday in Pittsburgh. The Red Sox had not announced a starting pitcher for the opener of their four-game series against Toronto.

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St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Michael Siani chases the ball after Boston Red Sox's Carlos Narváez hit for a double in the seventh inning during the second baseball game of a doubleheader, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pagés, left, meets with pitcher Gordon Graceffo (44) on the mound in the seventh inning during the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox's Alex Bregman hits a three-run home run in the third inning during the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas throws in the first inning during the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox's Alex Bregman gestures as he rounds the base after hitting a three-run homer in the third inning during the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox pitcher Hunter Dobbins throws in the first inning during the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cadinals, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox's Trevor Story, left, and Alex Bregman, right, celebrate Bregman's three-run homer in the third inning during the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Thomas Saggese, left, tags out Boston Red Sox's Romy Gonzalez (23) in the seventh inning during the first baseball game of a doubleheader, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers, right, high fives teammate Alex Bregman, left, after Devers hit a home run in the fifth inning during the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers dons a mascot head in the dugout after hitting a home run in the fifth inning during the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers (11) gestures as he runs the bases after hitting a home run in the fifth inning during the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Boston Red Sox's Romy Gonzalez, right, reacts after getting tagged out by St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Thomas Saggese, left, in the seventh inning during the first baseball game of a doubleheader, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

St. Louis Cardinals' Pedro Pagés hits for a double in the sixth inning during the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Russian-American woman freed by Moscow arrived back in the United States late Thursday as part of a prisoner swap completed as the two countries aim to repair ties.

A plane carrying Ksenia Karelina landed around 11 p.m. EDT at Joint Base Andrews, where she was greeted by her fiancé. Morgan Ortagus, President Donald Trump's deputy special envoy to the Middle East, presented her with a bouquet. She was released earlier in the day in exchange for a Russian-German man who'd been jailed in the U.S. on smuggling charges.

Karelina was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in February 2024 and convicted of treason on charges stemming from a donation of about $52 to a charity aiding Ukraine. U.S. authorities have called the case “absolutely ludicrous.”

“They released the young ballerina and she is now out, and that was good. So we appreciate that,” President Donald Trump said at a Cabinet meeting Thursday. He said the release followed conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Arthur Petrov was released as part of the swap in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, according to the Federal Security Service, or FSB, Russia's main security and counterintelligence agency. Petrov was arrested in Cyprus in August 2023 at the request of the U.S. on charges of smuggling sensitive microelectronics to Russia and extradited to the U.S. a year later.

Karelina was among a growing number of Americans arrested in Russia in recent years as tensions between Moscow and Washington spiked over the war in Ukraine. Her release is the latest in a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges Russia and the U.S. carried out in the last three years — and the second since Trump took office and reversed Washington's policy of isolating Russia in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe hailed “the CIA officers who worked tirelessly to support this effort.” The CIA also emphasized that “the exchange shows the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship.”

Meanwhile, Russian and U.S. diplomats met in Istanbul for a second round of talks on normalizing embassies' work, following the first such meeting in February. The State Department said the delegations “exchanged notes to finalize an understanding to ensure the stability of diplomatic banking for Russian and U.S. bilateral missions.”

It said the U.S. reiterated its concerns about the Russian ban on hiring of local staff, “the key impediment to maintaining for stable and sustainable staffing levels at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow."

Alexander Darchiyev, Russia’s ambassador to Washington, who led Moscow’s delegation in the talks, praised their “positive atmosphere” and noted the parties agreed to continue discussions to facilitate diplomats’ travel. He added that the Russian side also pushed for a quick return of its diplomatic property seized by U.S. authorities.

In February, Russia released American teacher Marc Fogel, imprisoned on drug charges, in a swap that the White House described as part of a diplomatic thaw that could advance peace negotiations. That same month, Russia released another American just days after arresting him on drug smuggling charges.

Karelina, a former ballet dancer also identified in some media as Ksenia Khavana, lived in Maryland before moving to Los Angeles. She was arrested when she returned to Russia to visit her family last year.

The FSB accused her of “proactively" collecting money for a Ukrainian organization that was supplying gear to Kyiv's forces. The First Department, a Russian rights group, said the charges stemmed from a $51.80 donation to a U.S. charity aiding Ukraine.

“I am overjoyed to hear that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina is on her way home from wrongful detention in Russia,” Karelina’s fiancé, professional boxer Chris van Heerden, said in a statement. “She has endured a nightmare for 15 months and I cannot wait to hold her. Our dog, Boots, is also eagerly awaiting her return.”

He thanked Trump and his envoys, as well as prominent public figures who had championed her case, including Dana White, a Trump friend and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Trump also credited White, too, saying the UFC boss had called him about the case.

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said on X, “President Trump and his administration continue to work around the clock to ensure Americans detained abroad are returned home to their families.”

The exchange was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The United Arab Emirates' state-run WAM news agency released photos of Karelina boarding a plane and one of her standing next to Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to the U.S.

The FSB, which said Putin had pardoned Karelina before the swap, released a video showing her being escorted to a plane somewhere in Russia. The footage then featured what appeared to be the scene of exchange at the Abu Dhabi airport, with Petrov walking off a plane and shaking hands with Russian officials on the tarmac.

The video showed Petrov undergoing medical checkups on a flight to Russia. “I have no particular complaints, just a bit tired,” he said.

Another video released by the FSB later in the day showed him walking off a plane after arriving in Russia.

Petrov was accused by the U.S. Justice Department of involvement in a scheme to procure microelectronics subject to U.S. export controls on behalf of a Russia-based supplier of critical components for the country's weapons industries. He was facing a 20-year prison term in the U.S.

Abu Dhabi was the scene of another high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the United States. In December 2022, American basketball star Brittney Griner was traded for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The UAE has been a mediator in prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine, while the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai has become home to many Russians and Ukrainians who fled there after the start of Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.

Ksenia Karelina and her fiancé, professional boxer Chris van Heerden, talk with Morgan Ortagus, deputy special presidential envoy to the Middle East, Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Ksenia Karelina arrives Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Ksenia Karelina greets her fiancé, professional boxer Chris van Heerden, as she arrives Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE – Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was exchanged for U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, speaks to the media at an opening for an exhibition of his artworks at the Mosfilm studio in Moscow, Russia, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Basketball player Brittney Griner listens to her verdict while standing in a cage in a courtroom in Khimki, outside Moscow, Russia, Aug. 4, 2022. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump greets Marc Fogel on the South Lawn at the White House, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina speaks with her lawyer while standing in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

This photo released by the state-run WAM news agency shows Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the U.S., left, standing next to U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina after her release at an airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (WAM via AP)

This photo released by the state-run WAM news agency shows U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina getting on a private jet after her release at an airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (WAM via AP)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.(AP Photo/File)