The Red Sox survived an eighth inning scare and beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-5 at Camden Yards, tacking on two important insurance runs with some help from the Orioles bullpen in the top of the ninth.
Ryan Brasier, entrusted with a three-run lead, gave up two in the bottom of the eighth and needed Matt Barnes to bail him out a jam that saw the O's put the potential tying run on third base.
The first six Red Sox runs all came via homers. J.D Martinez hit a two-run shot in the first, Xander Bogaerts added a solo homer in the fourth and Mitch Moreland hit a three-run belt in the fifth to put the Sox ahead to stay.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles
WHEN: 7:05 p.m.
WHERE: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: Orioles 3-2
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Hector Velazquez (0-2, 3.72) vs. RHP David Hess (1-4, 5.34)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93. 7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
9:46 For the second time on this trip, Ryan Brasier ineffective. He gave up a three-run homer in Chicago to blow a 3-2 lead in the road trip opener and he surrenders two runs on three hits in the eighth, forcing Matt Barnes into the game with two down.
9:31 Workman's amazing season continues. He retires the side in order and has now allowed just two hits in 49 at-bats for a batting average of .041.
9:14 Three outs, and two of them the result of spectacular diving plays from the Red Sox outfield -- first, Bradley came racing in to grab a sinking liner by Ruiz. Then, two outs later, Betts goes into the right-center gap and lays out to take extra bases away from Wilkerson.
8:45 Sox have hit nine homers in the last six games on this road trip.
8:43 Mitch Moreland goes the other way and belts a three-run homer to put the Sox back up by three. Fifteen of his 23 hits this season have gone for extra bases.
8:32 Marcus Walden, who had been scored against in just one of his first 15 appearances, leaves a sinker up to Hanser Alberto, who cranks one into the Orioles bullpen to tie the game. Second homer allowed by Walden this season.
8:21 Terrific play by Chris Davis at first to cut down a grounder by Vazquez, but with Davis sprawled and feeding the second baseman behind his back, how does Devers not score from third there?
8:18 Tells you how Bradley's going that the Sox have him bunting with the No. 9 hitter due next.
8:10 Xander Bogaerts extends his arms a bit and smashes a fastball on the outer half over the center field fence. That's his third homer on the road trip.
8:07 Efficient inning by Velazquez, who needed just 10 pitches. Seems positioned to get through at least four innings; to date, his longest start has been 3.1 innings this season.
7:44 Traditionally, no good comes from walking the No. 9 hitter on four pitches...
7:25 Red Sox' 2-0 lead doesn't last long -- Rio Ruiz get an inside pitch and powers it into the first row of the seats in RF.
7:20 Just a thought: Martinez has traditionally hit his homers in bunches. Wouldn't be a big surprise if he want on a little run here, especially given the ballpark.
7:14 That was Martinez's 200th career homer; he had gone 62 at-bats since his last homer.
7:11 Hess mislocates with a two-seamer and J.D. Martinez turns on a pitch down and in and hits it out to the Sox bullpen in left- center, scoring Betts (walk) ahead of him.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Benintendi LF
Betts RF
Martinez DH
Morealnd 1B
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Chavis 2B
Bradley CF
Vazquez CF
ORIOLES
Vllar SS
Mancini RF
Smith Jr. DH
Ruiz 3B
Davis 1B
Wilkerson CF
Alberto 2B
Rickard LF
Winns C
WHAT'S UP: The Sox are 6-2 in their last eight games and 8-4 in their last 12...Although they were limited to just three hits and one run Monday night, they lead the majors in runs scored (42) in the month of May and are tied for third (10) in homers...Monday night's loss ended three long on-base streaks: Mookie Betts (15 games), Rafael Devers (19) and Michael Chavis (12)....Ryan Weber became the first Red Sox pitcher to pitch four or more scoreless innings in his Red Sox debut since Nathan Eovaldi (July 29, 2018) and before that, Rich Gale (June 10, 1984)….The Red Sox have already lost as many games to the Orioles (three) this season as they did all of last year....Since April 12, the Red Sox have their fourth-best starter ERA in the major leagues...Sox starters have turned in quality starts in four of the last five games and nine in the last 12...Andrew Benintendi, who was out of the lineup Monday night, has a five-game hitting streak...Xander Bogaerts has reached base in 18 of the last 20 games...Michael Chavis is hitless in his last eight at-bats....Rafael Devers is hitting .343 in his last 20 games...J.D. Martinez has seven RBI in his last 10 games...Christian Vazquez has six hits in his last eight at-bats...Fourteen of Mitch Moreland's 22 hits have gone for extra bases...Hector Velazquez makes his fifth start of the season tonight and is 0-2, 3.72 ..Since the start of 2018, the Red Sox are 7-5 in games started by Velazquez...He's yet to allow a homer in his start this season...In his career, he was 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in seven appearances, three of them starts...Trey Mancini is 4-for-8 against Velazquez while Dwight Smith is 1-for-5...Benintendi is 3-for-8 with three homers against Hess in his career while Martinez is 2-for-5 with two homers.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- David Price threw on flat ground Tuesday afternoon in Baltimore, his first activity since feeling some discomfort in his elbow following last Thursday's start. "He's feeling good,'' Alex Cora told reporters. "We're not going to get ahead of ourselves, but it was good. We'll see how he reacts (Wednesday) and go from there.'' Price is eligible to come off the IL Monday.
- Brian Johnson (elbow) threw one inning in a simulated game Tuesday, facing mostly coaches. It's possible he could begin a rehab assignment later this week.