CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Dane Myers lined a single to left field in the bottom of the 11th inning Saturday afternoon, scoring designated runner TJ Friedl to give the Cincinnati Reds a 6-5 walk-off victory over the Boston Red Sox in a back-and-forth contest at Great American Ball Park.

The hit off Boston reliever Justin Slaten handed the Reds a split of the first two games of the season after Boston won the opener 3-0 on Thursday. A crowd of 38,298 watched the 3-hour, 32-minute affair that saw the Reds build an early lead, the Red Sox claw back and Boston’s Wilyer Abreu deliver a dramatic, two-out, solo home run in the ninth to force extra innings.

Cincinnati struck quickly against Boston starter Sonny Gray. Friedl led off the first with a single, Matt McLain walked and both moved up on a groundout. Sal Stewart’s RBI single scored Friedl, and McLain came home on a fielder’s choice by Eugenio Suárez for a 2-0 lead.

The Reds added a run in the second when McLain doubled home Ke’Bryan Hayes, who had reached on an error. Boston got on the board in the third when Trevor Story launched a solo homer to left-center, but Stewart answered in the bottom half with a solo shot of his own to center, restoring Cincinnati’s three-run advantage at 4-1.

The Red Sox began their comeback in the fourth against Reds starter Brady Singer. Carlos Narváez and Ceddanne Rafaela singled, and Roman Anthony drove in Narváez with a single to right. Boston then pulled within a run in the seventh when Jarren Duran walked and scored on Abreu’s RBI double.

Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz homered to right field in the fifth to make it 5-3, a run that proved crucial as Boston kept chipping away. The score held until the ninth, when Abreu stepped in against Reds closer Emilio Pagán. With two outs and the count full, Abreu connected on a Pagán offering, sending it over the right-field wall to tie the game at 5 and stun the home crowd.

Both bullpens held firm through the 10th. Boston’s Ryan Watson, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. For Cincinnati, Tony Santillan, Sam Moll and Connor Phillips kept the Red Sox off the board, with Phillips striking out three over two perfect frames.

In the top of the 11th, Boston threatened but ran into a double play. With Rafaela as the designated runner at second, Trevor Story lined out sharply to McLain at second, who doubled off Rafaela for an inning-ending double play.

In the bottom half, Friedl started at second as the automatic runner. Slaten walked McLain intentionally to set up a potential double play. After striking out Elly De La Cruz, Slaten faced Myers, who entered as a pinch-hitter. Myers drove the first pitch he saw into left field, and Friedl raced home easily with the winning run.

Phillips earned the win with his two innings of work, while Slaten took the loss. Singer went four innings for Cincinnati, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out five. Gray lasted five innings for Boston, surrendering five runs, four earned, on seven hits.

The victory evened the Reds’ record at 1-1, while the Red Sox fell to 1-1. The teams conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon. Boston then travels to Houston for a three-game set starting Monday, while Cincinnati welcomes Pittsburgh for a three-game series beginning Monday.