BOSTON — The Red Sox snapped a six-game losing streak with an 13-9 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the second match of a four-game set before 30,765 on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox were mired in their longest slide of the season that included a four-game sweep by the Yankees in the Bronx. Boston’s last win was a 5-3 victory at Cincinnati on Sept. 20. The Red Sox are 8-9 against the Birds this season and 4-4 at Fenway.
The Red Sox will look to take a 2-1 lead in the series when lefty Rich Hill (7-7, 4.81) goes up against Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer (8-5, 3.07). The last time the Orioles won a season series against the Red Sox was in 2017, when they went 10-9.
The game lasted three hours and 57 minutes and 13 pitchers were used.
Red Sox starter Michael Wacha gave up bases in bunches in the opening four innings of his 22nd start of the season.
Seven of the first eight hits Wacha allowed consisted of three solo home runs, three triples and a double before he left the game with one out in the fourth.
Catcher Adley Rutschman hooked a flyball around the Pesky Pole in right for his 13th of the season. Left fielder Anthony Santander followed with a lined shot into the bleachers behind the Red Sox dugout. The Orioles have hit back-to-back home runs 11 times this season.
Ramon Urias smacked his 13th homer in the top of the fourth while Austin Hays followed with an RBI triple. Santander added a two-run homer off Matt Strahm in the fourth for the 10th multi home run game of his career and fifth this season.
Santander’s home runs came from opposite sides of the plate and he has 34 on the season. Wacha went 3.1 innings and allowed six runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
The Red Sox took an 8-3 lead with six runs in the bottom of the third inning that required very little leg work.
The Red Sox collected their crooked number on two hits, a double and a single, five walks, a hit batsman and a sacrifice fly. Alex Verdugo started the rally with an opposite field leadoff double and scored on the hit batsman. Leadoff hitter Tommy Pham had a two-run single to center. The Red Sox sent 11 batters to the plate.
The Red Sox took a 13-8 lead with five runs, three earned, in the bottom of the fourth with a minimum of heavy lifting. Tristan Casas and Rob Refsynder opened the frame with singles that reached the outfield.
Kike Hernandez loaded the bases with an infield single down the third base line. Casas scored the first run on an error by second baseman Rougned Odor, the first of two in the frame. Refsynder scored when Pham was hit by a pitch.
With the infield in for a play at the plate, Rafael Devers lofted a two-run bloop single to center. Pham scored on Odor’s second error.
Orioles’ manager Brandon Hyde deployed his guys into a right infield shift when the left-handed hitting Devers made his first plate appearance in the bottom of the first.
Shortstop Gunner Henderson was stationed on the back edge of the grass to the right of second base. Second baseman Rougned Odor was centered 10 feet deep in right field while first baseman Ryan Mountcastle well played off the bag. The ploy failed when Devers ripped an opposite field single to left off Baltimore starter Kyle Bradish.
Since being called up on Sept. 4, Casas has added the long ball to the Red Sox lineup. The Red Sox were down 1-0 when J.D. Martinez opened the bottom of the second with a single to right. Casas got ahold of a 2-0 fastball and launched over the wall in left center for his fifth dinger in 20 games.
