*Photo from the Boston Herald*
The Boston Red Sox were 0-3 after getting swept by the Baltimore Orioles to start the season a week ago. I think they've turned it around. JD Martinez crushed 3 homers, Rafael Devers added two more, and the Red Sox rolled over the Orioles with a 14-9 win Sunday afternoon to sweep the Orioles at Camden Yards.
The Red Sox started the scoring in the 3rd inning, when Alex Verdugo hit a 3 run homer, and Martinez hit a solo homer, making it 4-0 Red Sox early on. In the 4th, the Orioles got on the board from a Maikel Franco RBI single. In the 5th, Martinez hit an RBI single, Devers hit a 3 run homer, and Kike Hernandez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, making it 9-1 Red Sox. In the 6th, Martinez hit a solo homer, but Franco hit a 3 run homer for Baltimore, making it a 10-4 lead.
In the 7th, the Orioles pulled the deficit down to 10-7 thanks to a 3 run homer by Trey Mancini. In the 8th, the Red Sox re-ignited. Martinez hit his 3rd homer, this one a solo shot, Devers hit a two run homer, and Marwin Gonzalez scored on two errors, making it a 14-7 game. In the bottom of the 9th, the Orioles got two runs on a groundout and a walk to make it 14-9, but the Red Sox closed it out from there.
Martinez said of his 3 homer game that "After that first at-bat, I felt like everything just kind of sped up on me. I went to the cage and I was like, ‘All right, we need to dial this up. We can get it going. Wake up.' After that, I felt a lot more in control and I felt really good."
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Martinez's hot streak to start the season that "He's locked in. You can tell. This is the guy I saw in 2018 and 2019, he has an idea of what he wants to do. He doesn't deviate from his process. I think the last swing he was just hoping for a strike to see if he could hit it in the air. That wasn't the case."
Nick Pivetta got the win for the Red Sox, matching Tim Wakefield as the only pitchers in Red Sox history to win their first 4 starts with the Red Sox. Pivetta allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, striking out 7 hitters in 6 innings pitched. Phillips Valdez finished things in the 9th to secure the win. Austin Brice threw 2/3 of an inning in relief, and Hirokazu Sawamura threw 1 1/3 innings.
On the other side, Jorge Lopez got the start for the Orioles, and did not have the best time, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits and one walk, striking out 4 hitters over 4 innings pitched. Paul Fry was the only Orioles pitcher to have a scoreless outing, throwing a scoreless 9th inning. Mac Sceroler, Tyler Wells, and Shawn Armstrong all gave up at least one run in their relief outings.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde put the struggles on the bullpen, saying after the game that "We just had a tough time out of the bullpen getting guys out. Proud of our offense, the way we kept scratching back."
The Red Sox head to Minnesota to face the Twins this afternoon, with Martin Perez starting for the Red Sox. Baltimore hosts the Seattle Mariners, with Dean Kremer starting for the O's.
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