Orioles Beat Red Sox 13-9 In Slugfest
BALTIMORE-- Matt Wieters reached on an error that gave the Orioles the lead for good and later added a two-run single as Baltimore scored a 13-9 victory over the Boston Red Sox in a slugfest on Wednesday night.
The game swung back and forth early and was tied at seven going into the fourth. Baltimore (29-22) eventually took the lead in the sixth when second baseman Dustin Pedroia made an error on a possible double-play grounder from Wieters off Clay Buchholz (3-6).
The ball squirted through Pedroia's legs and into right field, letting Chris Davis score and snap an 8-8 tie. Ryan Flaherty made it 10-8 later in the inning on a groundout.
Wieters then added his two-run single off Matt Barnes in the seventh which gave the Orioles a 12-8 lead.
The Red Sox (32-21) hit five homers after banging out four in Tuesday's win. They belted four in the first three innings off starter Mike Wright and held a 7-5 lead at one point.
Lead-off hitter Mookie Betts homered in each of the first two innings for the second straight game. Chris Young also hit two homers, a two-run shot in the second and a solo blast in the eighth and drove in three runs overall.
David Ortiz added a solo homer in the third. The Red Sox pounded Wright for six runs on seven hits in just 2 2/3 innings.
After that, the Baltimore bullpen quieted the Red Sox. Vance Worley gave up two runs in 2 2/3 innings before Brad Brach (5-0) threw 1 2/3 shutout innings. Darren O'Day gave up the Young homer in two-thirds of an inning before Zach Britton registered the final four outs for his 15th save.
Jonathan Schoop, Manny Machado, Mark Trumbo and Flaherty each drove in two runs while Hyun Soo Kim and Pedro Alvarez both had three hits.
Boston starter Joe Kelly ran into just as much trouble as Wright. He allowed seven runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings but both starters emerged with a no-decision.
Betts gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead when he homered to right-center off of Wright on the right-hander's second pitch of the night.
But the Orioles answered with four runs in the bottom of the first. Trumbo sliced a two-run single to right. Matt Wieters then hit a sacrifice fly, and Pedro Alvarez followed with an RBI double.
Boston quickly erased the lead in the second.
Young hit a two-run shot to left, and Betts followed two batters later with his second homer of the game, a solo blast to left that tied the game at 4.
The Orioles made it 5-4 in the second on a Machado sacrifice fly. Ortiz tied the game with a one-out solo homer in the third off Wright, and the right-hander gave up four homers in only two innings.
Vance Worley replaced Wright with two outs and gave up a two-run single to Ryan Hanigan that gave Boston a 7-5 lead in that third inning.
Baltimore rebounded with three more runs in the third.
Jonathan Schoop ended starter Joe Kelly's night with an RBI double before Ryan Flaherty greeted reliever Tommy Layne with a game-tying single. Machado later gave the Orioles an 8-7 lead with a two-out RBI single.
NOTES: The Orioles recalled LHP T.J. McFarland from Triple-A Norfolk. Manager Buck Showalter said he wanted another long reliever in the bullpen. The team optioned LHP Ashur Tolliver back to Triple-A Norfolk. ... Showalter said C Caleb Joseph will come into the locker room when he can walk with comfort. He's on the 15-day disabled list with a testicular injury after getting hit during Sunday's game. Joseph subsequently had surgery, and Showalter said it's uncertain when the catcher will be ready to return. ... Red Sox OF/IF Brock Holt, on the disabled list since May 20 with a mild concussion, took batting practice for the first time before the game. He also took ground balls and fly balls, but manager John Farrell said there's no timeframe yet for live at-bats or when Holt can return. ... The Red Sox showed plenty of offense in May. In 28 games, Boston hit .305 and averaged 6.5 runs with 46 homers, 68 doubles and eight triples.
