Orioles spoil Red Sox' home opener with 7-1 win at Fenway Park
BOSTON -- The Red Sox started their season by playing some excellent baseball on the West Coast. Upon finally returning home on Tuesday, that stretch of crisp play ended, with the Red Sox limping away with a 7-1 loss at the hands of the Orioles.
The Red Sox mustered just four base runners all game -- two hits, two walks -- while making a pair of costly errors in the field. The Orioles, meanwhile, racked up 13 hits off Red Sox pitching, turning a 3-1 lead through six innings into a 7-1 lead in the ninth. The loss dropped the Red Sox to 7-4 on the season, with the Orioles improving to 6-4.
After lasting five innings in each of his first two starts, Brayan Bello couldn't get much deeper on this day. He was pulled after throwing 89 pitches in 5.1 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Corbin Burnes put forth an ace-like performance for Baltimore, allowing just one run on two hits with two walks and six strikeouts over seven innings of work. He needed just 90 pitches to get through those seven innings. Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb each threw a perfect inning in relief for Baltimore.
Burnes improved to 2-0 with the win and lowered his ERA to 1.93, while Bello dropped to 1-1.
Tyler O'Neill got the scoring started in his first Fenway at-bat as a member of the Red Sox, launching a 413-foot homer that soared over the Green Monster to give Boston a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
It was O'Neill's sixth home run of the young season.
The Orioles got that run back in the top of the second inning when Colton Cowser's double off the Monster allowed Cedric Mullins to score easily from second base.
Cowser struck again in the fourth inning, making a Jarren Duran error in left field sting for the home team. After Duran dropped what should have been the third out of the inning, Cowser sent another ball into left field. This one was a line drive over shortstop and it allowed two base runners to cross the plate, giving Baltimore a 3-1 lead.
The Orioles added another run in the seventh inning, with Gunnar Henderson doubling down the right-field line and then stealing third against Josh Winckowski. Adley Rutschman sent a single up the middle to drive Henderson home.
Some shoddy defense hurt the Red Sox again in the eighth, with David Hamilton -- starting at shortstop with Trevor Story being out for the season -- allowing a potential double-play ball from Ryan Mountcastle get past him with one on and nobody out. Hamilton then made a sliding attempt to field a Cedric Mullins ground ball in the next at-bat but couldn't corral it, leading to a bases-loaded, nobody-out scenario for Baltimore. Cowser -- Baltimore's big RBI man on this day -- sent a towering sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Ryan O'Hearn to score with ease to give Baltimore a 5-1 lead.
The Orioles added two more runs in the ninth inning, with Josh Winckowski getting tagged for four runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk over 2.2 innings of work.
The Red Sox and Orioles resume their series on Wednesday night, though the Red Sox won't have expected starter Nick Pivetta available, as he was placed on the 15-day IL on Tuesday. The Orioles will send Cole Irvin (0-1, 7.20 ERA) to the mound for the 7:10 p.m. start.
