CHICAGO -- Those inside Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday hardly had time to settle into their seats before the Red Sox put the game¡¯s first tally on the scoreboard.

And in fact, Jarren Duran's leadoff home run off White Sox starter Jake Woodford¡¯s second pitch was only the beginning for the Red Sox. Boston knocked off Chicago, 14-2, behind a persistent offensive effort.

¡°They were relentless today,¡± Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.

Boston arrived in Chicago to face a White Sox team that had lost straight 13 games, dropping its record to an MLB-worst 15-47 record, entering Thursday. But for as much as Chicago has struggled, the Red Sox know better than to look past any opponent -- even with a big homestand against the Phillies and Yankees on deck.

¡°You gotta respect the fact that they're a big league club and they can pitch,¡± Cora said pregame Thursday. ¡°You just gotta play baseball at this level. Stuff-wise, everybody's capable of going out there and shutting you down. We haven't been great. We¡¯re a .500 team, so we cannot take anything for granted.¡±

Message received. Every player in Boston¡¯s lineup tallied at least one hit, and four players had multiple. Duran went 4-for-5, Rob Refsnyder 3-for-6, Dominic Smith 3-for-5 and Ceddanne Rafaela 4-for-6.

The offense¡¯s big night backed another strong start by Tanner Houck, who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Houck threw seven innings and allowed two runs on three hits, with nine strikeouts and no walks.

¡°It¡¯s always nice to get into rhythm on the offensive side,¡± Duran said. ¡°We got into a good spot early, and we just kept it rolling. We didn't settle, which was really good on us, and I love that out of us.¡±

Boston scored 11 runs in the game¡¯s first six innings, which included a big swing by Enmanuel Valdez. The second baseman connected on a three-run homer off Woodford in the fourth inning, which pushed Boston's lead to 6-0. The Red Sox scored four times in both the fourth and sixth innings.

When Jamie Westbrook hit his first career home run in the seventh inning, a Statcast-projected 388-foot solo blast, it pushed the lead to 12-1.

Westbrook made his Major League debut on Sunday after more than 10 seasons in the Minor Leagues. Thursday was the latest first for the 28-year-old, who recorded his first career hit in Wednesday¡¯s win over the Braves.

As he rounded the bases after Thursday¡¯s homer, Westbrook cracked a smile.

¡°I was trying to just slow down, because I didn't want to be sprinting around the bases,¡± Westbrook said. ¡°I don't know how fast I was going or not. But I wanted to take a moment to smile and appreciate it and just have that one for myself, because it's special, man. It really is.¡±

When Westbrook got back to the dugout, Duran placed the team¡¯s celebratory home run medal around his neck. Westbrook was then greeted by high-fives from his teammates. Loud cheers and applause could be heard from outside the Red Sox¡¯s clubhouse postgame as the team celebrated Westbrook¡¯s achievement.

Cora light-heartedly pointed out it took Westbrook less than 10 plate appearances to get hit by a pitch, record his first hit, first home run and catcher¡¯s interference.

¡°It was fun, man,¡± Cora said. ¡°It's been such a good week for him, and for us, because stuff like that gives us energy, and everybody was excited regardless of the score.¡±

Westbrook¡¯s homer only added on to the Red Sox¡¯s big advantage, which was more than enough support for Houck. The 27-year-old continued his stellar start to the season, lowering his ERA to 1.91 in 13 starts.

Even with a big lead, Houck¡¯s performance pitching deep was important for a Red Sox pitching staff that will rely on its relievers in a bullpen game in Sunday¡¯s series finale. Houck has thrown seven innings in three of his last four starts.

¡°I take a lot of pride in it,¡± Houck said. ¡°I think in years past, I always expected better out of myself. I never wanted to only go five innings. I never wanted to only go through the lineup twice. I always knew that I could do this.

"It was just about putting it all together and continue to show up each and every day ¡­ and just putting in that work and trying to get better and everything. But it's just a long time coming. I've always had this plan to work out this way. God is good.¡±