It took six tries but the Boston Red Sox finally beat the Baltimore Orioles. Brayan Bello (6-2, 4.18 ERA) got rocked for three runs in the bottom of the first inning but pitched solid through the fifth inning. Meanwhile the normally dormant Sox offense came to life, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first and going up 4-3 in the second. Rafael Devers had four big hits in this one including putting the Sox up in the second. The key to the game was the bottom of the sixth when the O's had the bases loaded and nobody out, but Brennan Bernardino pulled a houdini to get out of the jam. A Connor Wong rbi single in the eighth and a 3 run rally in the ninth put the game away. The Sox bullpen locked the door in the later innings and Boston finally beat the Orioles 8-3 at Camden Yards.
The Sox wasted no time getting to Rodriguez in the top of the first inning as Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Wilyer Abreu clobbered his sixth home run of the season to put the Red Sox on top and Rob Refsnyder doubled to center. Rafael Devers got a base hit to center to score Refsnyder but Connor Wong struck out swinging. Dominic Smith walked but Vaughn Grissom lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Bello gave it all right back in the bottom of the first as Gunnar Henderson doubled to left to start. Adley Rutschman walked but Ryan O'Hearn forced him at second. Colton Cowser got a base hit in the hole at second to score Henderson and Anthomy Santander was plunked to load the bases. Jordan Westburg got a base hit to right to score O'Hearn and Cowser to give the O's the lead. Kyle Stowers struck out swinging and Cedric Mullins grounded out to second to end the inning with the O's up 3-2.
The Sox fought back in the top of the second as David Hamilton struck out swinging to start. Ceddanne Rafaela singled to center and Duran doubled to center to score him to tie the game. Abreu struck out swinging but Refsnyder was hit with a pitch. Devers blooped a base hit over Henderson's head to score Duran with the go-ahead run. Wong flied out to the left field wall to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-3.
Bello rebounded in the bottom of the second as Jorge Mateo struck out swinging to start. Henderson went down hacking and Rutschman swung at air to end the inning.
Smith struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Grissom also went down hacking. Hamilton swung at air to end the inning. O'Hearn struck out swinging to open the bottom of the third before Cowser was frozen for strike three. Santander grounded out to short to end the inning.
Rafaela grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth before Duran struck out swinging. Abreu also went down hacking to end the inning. Westburg grounded out to second to begin the bottom of the fourth but Stowers got a base hit to right. Rafaela made a great catch to rob Mullins of extra bases and Mateo went down hacking to end the inning.
Refsnyder grounded out to short to open the top of the fifth but Devers got a base hit to left. Wong forced Devers at second then took off for second. Rutschman thre the ball away to allow Wong to reach third on the error but Smith grounded out to first to end the inning. Henderson hit one up the elevator shaft to start the bottom of the fifth before Rutschman grounded out to second. O'Hearn walked but Cowser grounded out to third to end the inning.
Grissom flied out to right to start the top of the sixth before Hamilton flied out to left. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning. The O's knocked out Bello in the bottom of the sixth as Santander got a base hit to right to start. Westburg was hit with a pitch and that was it for Bello. He went 5 plus innings allowing 3 runs off 5 hits and 2 walks. Brennan Bernardino came in and Ryan Mountcastle pinch hit for Stowers. Mountcastle walked and Austin Hays pinch hit for Mullins, only to strike out swinging. Mateo forced Santander at home and Bernardino pulled the Houdini by striking out Henderson swinging to end the inning.
Cionel Perez came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Duran lined out to right to start. Abreu did the same and Refsnyder grounded out to second to end the inning. Rutschman struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh before O'Hearn lined out to left. Cowser took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox got another run in the top of the seventh when Devers somehow hit a triple to left to start. Yennier Cano came in to face Wong and Connor got a base hit to right to score Devers. It looked like Wong had stolen second but O's manager Brandon Hyde challenged that he was out. Sure enough, the call was overturned and Wong was out. Smith flied out to center and Grissom did the same to end the inning with the Sox up 5-3.
Justin Slaten came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Santander grounded out to second to start. Westburg got a base hit to left but Mountcastle flied out to center. Hays struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox blew it open in the top of the ninth with Keegan Akin on the mound as Hamilton got a base hit to right to start. Rafaela walked but Duran got Ceddanne thrown out at second on a bunt attempt. Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Abreu and hit a sac fly to center to score Hamilton, moving Rafaela to third. Refsnyder then pounded his second home run of the year to ice the game. Devers took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 8-3.
Greg Weissert came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Matero grounded out to short to start. Henderson lined out to right but Rutschman got a base hit to right. O'Hearn got a base hit to center but Cowser struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-3.
Hero of the Night is Brennan Bernardino. The O's had the bases loaded and nobody out and he escaped without giving up a run in the sixth inning.
The Good:
Romy Gonzalez hit a sac fly for a run in his only at-bat.
Rob Refsnyder was 2 for 4 with a hit by pitch, a 2 run home run and 2 total runs scored.
Rafael Devers was 4 for 5 with 2 rbis and a runs scored.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Greg Weissert pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Vaughn Grissom was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run and scored a run.
Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but the one hit was a home run.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but stole a base and scored a run.
Dominic Smith was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
David Hamilton was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Brayan Bello got the win but was knocked out after 5 plus innings allowing 3 runs off 5 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 7.
Final Thoughts:
That was a good win against a good team for the Red Sox. They swept Tampa out of Tampa last week but the Orioles had their number so far this season. Rafael Devers pitched in big time with four hits including two rbis but the star of the show was Bernardino's houdini act in the sixth to save the day. Why they wanted Joely Rodriguez over him to start the year is anyone's guess. Bello got rocked in the first inning but hung on to get to the sixth. As mentioned before, he was hyped up to be the ace of the team and instead he's the right handed Felix Doubront. To be fair, the injury to Lucas Giolito and the trade of Chris Sale put him in a spotlight he didn't really deserve but he hasn't been totally incompetent. Abreu hit another home run and they need the power since Tyler O'Neill is back in Boston getting his knee looked at. Hopefully Tyler is okay but if not, that's yet another injury they can ill-afford with Trevor Story out for the season and Triston Casas out till July. Still, the Sox can sneak into the playoffs with a hot streak so its no time to panic just yet. The Sox are only a game over .500 but in this day and age, they're right in the thick of things. The win improved the Sox to 28-27, 8.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to take 2 of 3 from Baltimore tomorrow night when Kutter Crawford (2-3, 2.89 ERA) goes up against O's ace Corbin Burnes. The game begins at 6:35 PM at Camden Yards.
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