Game result and context
Boston Red Sox edge Baltimore Orioles 6-5 in series opener, hold top wild-card spot
The Boston Red Sox scored in each of the final four innings to beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Nick Sogard's two-run homer in the eighth gave Boston the lead, and Roman Anthony's solo shot in the ninth held up. Boston moved to 76-65 and remained the wild-card leader, while Baltimore fell to 69-72.
Final result
The Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 in nine innings at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Attendance was 19720.
Boston improved to 76-65. Baltimore dropped to 69-72.
How the game changed
The game turned in the top of the eighth, when Nick Sogard hit a two-run homer to put Boston in front. Until then, the Red Sox had spent most of the night chasing.
The teams traded single runs in the first inning, with Adley Rutschman homering for Boston. Baltimore took a 3-1 lead in the fourth, when Luis Robert Jr. and Pete Alonso each hit a solo home run.
Boston chipped away. Rutschman homered again in the sixth, and the Red Sox scored once more in the seventh to tie it. After Sogard's drive in the eighth, Roman Anthony added a solo homer in the top of the ninth.
That insurance run proved necessary. Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, but the Orioles finished one run short.
Key performances
Rutschman went 2 for 4 with two home runs, two RBIs and three runs scored. Sogard was 1 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs, and Anthony went 1 for 4 with a homer and an RBI.
For Baltimore, Encarnacion-Strand went 2 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs. Alonso was 1 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs, and Robert was 1 for 3 with a homer and an RBI.
Boston out-homered Baltimore 4 to 3 in a game decided almost entirely by the long ball.
Season and playoff context
Boston sits third in its division, 7.5 games back, with a division elimination number of 14. The Red Sox rank second in the wild-card standings and lead the wild-card race, sitting 5.5 games clear of the cutoff.
Baltimore is fifth in its division, 14.5 games back, with a division elimination number of 7. The Orioles rank sixth in the wild-card race, 1.5 games out, with a wild-card elimination number of 18. A one-run home loss to a team ahead of them in the race made that climb a little steeper.
Series context
This regular-season game was the first of four in the series. Boston leads the set one game to none.