Final: Baltimore Orioles 8, Red Sox 5 - Red Sox lose first game of series against Orioles

The Red Sox have now lost four games in a row losing their first game of their series against the Baltimore Orioles 8-5. A poor start to the game along with another poor performance at the plate resulted in this loss today.

Sean Newcomb's first start with the Red Sox didn't begin so well. In the 1st inning, the 31 year old lefty allowed 4 earned runs as the Orioles came out to an early 4-0 lead.

The Red Sox were able to cut the lead the following inning with Jaren Duran notching his first triple of the season that brought home two baserunners. Boston again cut the lead in the 3rd inning as Kristian Campbell picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice play.

In the field, the Red Sox were able to regain their momentum. Newcomb bounced back and pitched until the 4th inning without allowing another run. However, at the plate, Boston couldn't get any offense going.

From the 5th inning on, Boston and Baltimore's bullpens pitched scoreless outings until the 8th inning. Garrett Whitlock and Greg Weissert produced three scoreless innings in relief as the Red Sox were still only a run away from tying the game.

Those hopes ended in the bottom of the 8th inning when Justin Slaten came in to pitch. The right-handed reliever struggled to get an out allowing 4 runs on 3 hits which put the game at 8-3 in favor of Baltimore. Slaten ended up getting taken out of the game, and Cooper Criswell got the Red Sox out of the inning.

Down five runs in the 9th inning, the Red Sox managed to score two runs off the bats of Romy Gonzalez and Duran, but it wasn't enough for them to come back into this game. It was a shaky performance on the mound for Felix Bautista, who made his first appearance since coming back from a year and a half long Tommy John injury, but he was able to get the save for Baltimore.

Overall, another game with similar headlines that are going to take place after this game. Rafael Devers again struggled at the plate and still has yet to get a hit in this season. Yet again, Boston hasn't gotten any extra base hits when they need it most, and it's a huge reason as to why they are 1-4 on the young season.

Tomorrow, the Red Sox have off but they will continue their series in Baltimore on Wednesday. First pitch for that game will be at 6:35.

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WHO: Red Sox (1-3) at Baltimore Orioles (2-2)
WHEN: 2:35 p.m.
WHERE: Camden Yards, Baltimore
SERIES TO DATE: (0-0), (0-0)
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Sean Newcomb vs. LHP Cade Povich
TV/RADIO: NESN, MLB Network, WEEI-FM 93.7

LINEUPS

RED SOX

Jarren Duran (L) LF
Rafael Devers (L) DH
Alex Bregman (R) 3B
Rob Refsnyder (R) RF
Trevor Story (R) SS
Kristian Campbell (R) 2B
Romy Gonzalez (R) 1B
Connor Wong (R) C
Ceddanne Rafaela (R) CF

SP Sean Newcomb

ORIOLES

Jordan Westburg (R) 2B
Adley Rutschman (S) C
Tyler O'Neill (R) LF
Ryan Mountcastle (R) 1B
Heston Kjerstad (L) DH
Ramón Laureano (R) RF
Cedric Mullins (L) CF
Ramón Urías (R) 3B
Jackson Holliday (L) SS

SP Cade Povich

WHAT'S UP

The Red Sox travel to Baltimore to take on the Orioles in a three game series at Camden Yards. Boston's Opening Day series against the Rangers didn't start their season off hot, as they went 1-3 in their four game series in Arlington.

Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez will make their season debuts for the Red Sox as Alex Cora will use a righty heavy lineup against left-handed pitcher Cade Povich.

Manager Alex Cora had said during spring training that he plans to use Casas as an everyday player this year, not a platoon player. But Casas is sitting here the first time the Red Sox face a left-handed starter in 2025 (MassLive). “I gotta play everybody here,” Cora said. “We have four games. Ref (Rob Refsnyder) hasn’t played, Romy (Gonzalez) hasn’t played. They gotta play. Today’s the day. It’s not about Casas. It’s about the other guys. They need to play, too.”