All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 8-6 win over the Orioles, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Late-inning thump saves Sox: After belting 11 homers over the course of two games Thursday and Friday, the Sox hit just one on Saturday. They managed two more on Sunday, and they couldn't have come at bigger moments. First, Marco Hernandez tied the game with one out in the ninth, giving the Sox some life after they had frittered away a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth. Then, as the game went to extra innings, the Red Sox again used the long ball to re-take the lead. Rafael Devers snapped a 3-3 tie with a mammoth shot in the top of the 10th and the Red Sox never again trailed. The homer was measured at 458 feet and was one of the longest of the season by a Red Sox hitter. That marked the 14th go-ahead RBI of the season for Devers, third most among American League hitters. It isn't always necessary to hit six homers in a game, as the Red Sox did in the series opener. Sometimes, it's about when you hit them -- and the Sox chose wisely in the series finale.
Bullpen does the job...for a while: For the second time this week, the Red Sox asked a lot of their bullpen. In the homestand finale, a poor outing from David Price had them getting 7.2 scoreless innings from a long line of relievers. It was almost the same thing Sunday after Brian Johnson was lifted without getting an out in the fourth inning. For a while, the bullpen was up to the challenge again as Colten Brewer got them through the fourth, Mike Shawaryn provided two outs and Josh Taylor got out of a bases-loaded mess he inherited from Shawaryn, then had a dominant sixth. Marcus Walden was sharp in the seventh and it looked good for the pen. But Walden came unglued in the eighth as he and Travis Lakins combined to give up two runs as the Orioles surged ahead. After the Sox come back to tie it in the ninth, Brandon Workman kept it that way in the bottom of the ninth. But it's a good thing the Sox scored five in the top of the 10th because Josh Smith was tagged for three runs on two homers before finally, mercifully, ending it.
Fifth starter problem not solved yet: Johnson was making his first start of the season, so it's too soon to rush to judgment on him. But it was a battle from get-go as Johnson battled control issues -- two walks and two wild pitches in the first three innings. He went back out for the fourth, but quickly allowed two more hits and was lifted after 70 pitches to record just nine outs. Johnson deserves another chance as Nathan Eovaldi continues to work his way back to the rotation, but the Sox have to hope that they get more from Johnson the next time around, since they can't afford to keep going to their bullpen in the first half of games and think that's a successful strategy going forward. The Sox can't expect an ace in the fifth spot, but they need to have someone who can at least give them a chance to win.
TURNING POINT: The way this one ended, the Red Sox needed everything they got. A two-run, 10th-inning single by Christian Vazquez -- the fourth and fifth runs of that inning -- seemed like mere window dressing as the Red Sox stretched their lead to 8-3. But when Josh Smith, pitching in the final inning with a lead for the second time in four days, coughed up two homers and three runs in the bottom of the inning, those "insurance'' runs proved very necessary.
TWO UP:
Mookie Betts: Betts showed some life at the top of the lineup, reaching base four times in six plate appearances, including a ninth-inning triple and a two-run single in the 10th that proved key when the Orioles kept scoring off Josh Smith in the bottom of the inning.
Marco Hernandez: Hitless in his first three trips, Hernandez bought the Red Sox another chance when he homered with one out in the top of the ninth, tying the game at 3-3.
TWO DOWN:
Christian Vazquez: He redeemed himself somewhat in the 10th with a two-run single, but there was no excuse for falling asleep in the eighth and allowing Jonathan Villar to steal third base by lobbing the ball back to the mound. Villar went on to score on a wild pitch, tying the game.
Marcus Walden: Asked to pitch a second inning, Walden came unglued, issuing a leadoff walk, and allowing the tying run to score on a wild pitch.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"That's probably the hardest(-hit) ball I've seen since 2004 when Barry (Bonds) was hitting home runs against the Dodgers all the time.'' Alex Cora on the home run hit by Rafael Devers in the 10th.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- At four hours and 45 minutes, this was the longest game by time this season for the Red Sox.
- The game-tying homer from Marco Hernandez was his first home run of the season and first since 2017.
- The win sent the Sox to five games over .500 for the first time this season.
- Boston scored a total of 27 runs in the sweep.