For the second time in the last four games, the Red Sox rallied from behind in the ninth and won it in extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, the Sox scored twice -- once on a wild pitch, once on a single by Christian Vazquez -- to beat the Orioles, 6-4, and extend their winning streak to five games.
The Sox trailed by a run in the top of the ninth when Bobby Dalbec narrowly beat out a potential double play at first as Marwin Gonzalez scored.
The Orioles had rallied with two runs in the eighth off Adam Ottavino.
A solo homer from Rafael Devers had snapped a 2-2 tie in the sixth, but the lead didn't hold up.
WHO: Red Sox (4-3) vs. Baltimore Orioles (4-3)
WHEN: 7:05 p.m.
WHERE: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: BAL 3-1
SERIES TO DATE: BOS 1-0
STARTING PITCHER: RHP Garrett Richards (0-1, 27.00) vs. LHP Bruce Zimmermann (1-0, 4.50)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM
LINEUPS
SOX
Hernandez CF
Verdugo RF
Bogaerts SS
Vazquez DH
Devers 3B
Gonzalez LF
Arroyo 2B
Dalbec 1B
Plawecki C
ORIOLES
Mullins CF
Mancini 1B
Santander RF
Mountcastle DH
Stewart LF
Franco 3B
Ruiz 2B
Galvis SS
Sisco C
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
Sox go up by two on a wild pitch and a run-scoring single from Vazquez.
T9: Red Sox rally to tie it. With runners at first and third, Bobby Dalbec grounds to short, but the throw to first for the double play is late and Gonzalez crosses the plate. Second time in last four games that Red Sox have tied a game in the ninth inning.
B8: Ottavino got ahead of Freddy Galvis 0-and-2, but a fastball up and away is hit to left, putting the Orioles ahead for the first time tonight. Ottavino out, Josh Taylor on.
B8: Poor call by Bobby Dalbec, who throws home on weak grounder in an attempt to cut down the tying run. But the throw is late, and they're safe all around.
B7: Strong outing from Adam Ottavino, who inherited a baserunner at second, but came after both Mancini and Santander and got out of the jam with a strikeout and groundout.
T6: Devers absolutely crushes a changeup that Zimmermann left up over the middle of the plate. Strange night for Devers, who's been both very good (homer, delaying rundown long enough to get a run in) and very bad (picked off first, forgot how many outs in taking a throw).
B5: Looks like that's it for Richards, who pulled himself out of a first-inning nose dive. Sox would have liked another inning (79 pitches), but given how it began -- two runs allowed by the third batter he faced -- he came back pretty well.
B4: Richards loses the strike zone with consecutive walks with two out in the fourth.
T4: Christian Arroyo doubles into the LF corner, and Marwin Gonzalez tries to score from first base. Couldn't tell if that was a Steinway or Yamaha on his back as he rounded third, but it wasn't close.
B2: Mental mistake by Devers, who lost track of the outs and neglected to put the tag on as Rio Ruiz. Devers took the throw in front of the bag and instead of tagging the baserunner, began trotting off the field.
B2: Richards struggling with control, falling behind nearly every hitter. Hardly a recipe for success.
B1: Not the start Garrett Richards wanted, certainly. On back-to-back pitches, he gives up homers wiping out the 2-0 lead in a hurry.
B1 Big moment for Trey Mancini, who, after missing all of last year battling cancer, homers in his second home game.
T1: Devers gets himself caught off first base but makes amends by staying in a rundown long enough for Xander Bogaerts to score.
T1: Rafael Devers stays back on a slider and serves a single into center, scoring Alex Verdugo.
PRE-GAME STATS: The Sox bring the league's longest active winning streak into Saturday with four straight wins...In that stretch, they have a +21 run differential and are batting .333 with an OPS of .923. On the pitching side, they have a 2.31 ERA and opposing hitters are batting just .184. They've also committed one error in those four games...Three of the four wins have been of the come-fr0m-behind variety...The Sox could become the first team since the 2012 Atlanta Braves to begin the season with three straight losses, followed by a winning streak of at least five games...No American League team has accomplished that since the 2003 Toronto Blue Jays...The Sox have scored six runs or more in each of their last four games....Of the 27 extra-base hits the Red Sox have pounded out, J.D. Martinez and Christian Vazquez can claim 14 of them....Both hitters are also over .400 in batting average....Xander Bogaerts began the season 1-f0r-12, but then went 8-for-12 in the following three before resting Thursday....Red Sox pitchers have allowed nine hits or fewer in six of the seven games, including five hits in each of their last two...The Sox' bullpen is ranked fourth in ERA in the AL at 2.84 and have allowed only one run in their last 14.2 innings...Red Sox starters have thrown five or more innings and allowed three runs or fewer in six of the seven games, including the last four in a row....Last season, the Red Sox didn't have a single four-game stretch in which their starters threw five innings or more...No Red Sox starter has thrown more than 92 pitches this season...Cedric Mullins is 2-for-2 lifetime against Garrett Richards...Christian Vazquez is 1-for-2 lifetime against Bruce Zimmermann while Alex Verdugo is 0-for-5.
NEWS AND NOTES:
- The Red Sox are without their hottest hitter, J.D. Martinez, who is experiencing cold symptoms and has been placed on the COVID-19-related IL. Martinez took one rapid test and then another more reliable PCR test and the Red Sox are awaiting the result of the second one. "We feel pretty confident he'll be with us (Sunday), but we have to wait,'' said Cora. "Obviously we never know with the virus, but he feels pretty confident this is just a regular cold.'' Martinez told Alex Cora he doesn't believe he has the virus, but the Sox, of course, have to be certain. Less than 30 minutes before game time, the Red Sox placed Martinez on the COVID-related IL. There's no minimum stay, and, in fact, he could be back tomorrow, assuming the remaining tests are negative. By placing Martinez on the IL, the Sox recalled Michael Chavis from the alternate site/taxi squad and he's available to them tonight.
- With Martinez sidelined, there was a domino-like effect on the lineup. Cora chose Christian Vazquez as his DH since Vazquez was only going to catch one of the two games this weekend with a night game Saturday night followed in short order by an afternoon game Sunday. With Vazquez as DH, Kevin Plawecki was behind the plate.
- Hunter Renfroe is battling some general soreness after making a sliding catch in Fenway at the end of the homestand and is out Saturday night and Sunday. "We're trying to give him a few days,'' said Cora. "He'll be available tonight if needed, but I'm trying to give him the weekend off so he'll be ready for Minnesota.''
- Cora praised the work of Matt Barnes, without officially conferring upon him the role of closer. "The way he's been throwing the ball has been amazing,'' said Cora of Barnes, who has pitched four scoreless innings, allowing no hits, one walk and nine strikeouts. "He's not as erratic. He's pounding the strike zone. There's something about him this year that he bought into the concept that he put guys away in the strike zone. You look at the numbers the last few years and there's proof that he can get them (out) in the strike zone. No more of that 0-and-2, then a fastball up and a breaking ball down, and then all of a sudden it's 2-and-2. And he still can go up. But he's been making that fastball up more competitive. They have to make a decision and if they make a decision up there, then you can expand the strike zone down. That's what he's doing right now and he's been great.''
- Alex Verdugo has been shuttled between center and right for the first eight games and has only once started in the same outfield spot two days in a row. But being moved around doesn't bother him. "It's just another day,'' he maintained. "I've gotten to the point where I just look at my name in the lineup and see where I'm hitting -- make sure I'm batting in that second spot, and we're good. Doesn't matter -- right, left, center. It's all the same. You've got to make sure you go out there, take a look at your surroundings, see whatever field you're at and get locked in.''