BALTIMORE (AP) — Rafael Devers homered and the Boston Red Sox scored twice in the 10th inning on a wild pitch and an RBI single by Christian Vázquez to extend their winning streak to five games with a 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night.
“It’s a good vibe," Boston manager Alex Cora said. “A lot of people don’t feel like we have any superstars. This is a good baseball team. They did everything right toward the end of the game.”
Baltimore outfielder Trey Mancini hit his first home run since his return from cancer surgery that caused him to miss the 2020 season. It was Mancini’s first homer since Sept. 28, 2019.
“Our dugout exploded when he hit that homer,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “It seemed like there was a lot of relief for Trey coming into the dugout after that.”
The Orioles scored twice in the eighth to take a 4-3 lead on a fielder’s choice by Maikel Franco and an RBI single by Freddy Galvis off Adam Ottavino. Boston tied it in the ninth on a fielder's choice by Bobby Dalbec against César Valdez, who had converted his two previous save chances.
“As soon as I hit it, I was just flying. ... I mean, flying for me," said Dalbec, batting only .095 this year. “I knew that was a big-time run there obviously and I was just trying to leg it out.”
Michael Chavis, recalled from the alternate training site earlier in the day, entered as a pinch-runner in the 10th and scored on a low pitch by Dillon Tate (0-1) that rolled to the backstop. Vázquez added an insurance run with a single off Wade LeBlanc.
Matt Barnes (1-0) struck out two in the ninth and Matt Andriese earned Boston's first save of the season.
Devers had two RBIs for the Red Sox, who have won five consecutive games for the first time since August 2019. They opened the season with three straight losses.
The Orioles were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position.
Boston took a 2-0 lead in the first. Devers hit an RBI single and then got picked off first, but stayed in a rundown long enough to allow Xander Bogaerts to score from second.
Mancini and Anthony Santander responded with back-to-back homers off Garrett Richards in the bottom half.
Devers broke the deadlock with a towering homer to right-center off rookie left-hander Bruce Zimmermann in the sixth.
Zimmermann, a Maryland native who grew up rooting for the Orioles, made his third career start, but it was his first game at Camden Yards with fans in attendance (9,307). Zimmermann allowed three runs and seven hits with four strikeouts and a walk over six innings.
“All in all it was an outpouring of support that a hometown kid can only dream of having at the ballpark behind him," Zimmermann said. "It was just incredibly special to hear that and to hear the crowd call my name in the first inning when I got announced and everything, it was pretty awesome.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: DH/OF J.D. Martinez has cold symptoms and was placed on the COVID-19 injured list. Martinez underwent testing and the team is awaiting the results. “We do believe he will be back with us (Sunday),” Cora said.
Orioles: OF DJ Stewart (left hamstring) was reinstated from the 10-day IL. He has not played since March 5. “I was worried it was going to be a lot longer,” Stewart said before the game.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: RHP Nick Pivetta (1-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his first career start at Camden Yards. He was solid in his season debut, throwing five scoreless innings of two-hit ball in an 11-2 win over the Rays on Monday.
Orioles: RHP Jorge Lopez (0-1) will look to avoid the sweep against Boston. He struggled in his last start, allowing four runs, three hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings in a 7-0 loss to the Yankees.
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