The Red Sox had one hit through five innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.
If you think that was going to stop them, you must not have been paying attention…
Boston, as it has done over and over against throughout the week, took its time to get going and entered the seventh inning trailing and immediately ran into two outs. Double. Single. Tie Game. Boston then took the lead just one inning later, doing so once again with two outs. Single. Fielder’s Choice. Strikeout. Home Run.
It’s not pretty, but this team continues to scratch and claw — scoring 14 runs in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings since Sunday — and was rewarded with a 6-5 victory at Camden Yards.
Adley Rutschman: If there was ever a time to rediscover that you’re the best two-way catcher in the game…
Rutschman, in his first game against the team that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, belted two home runs in one of the coolest subplots of the season. The Red Sox offense literally didn’t have a hit aside from those two until the seventh inning, and when the rest of the club got things going he was on base to score the game-winning run.
ESPN Insights shared that he is now the fourth former top pick to hit a home run in his first plate appearance against the team that drafted him, and first since Kansas City Royals first baseman Jeff King did it against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1997.
Nick Sogard: OH. HELL. YEAH.
Sogard home runs in his first 91 games? 0. Sogard home runs in his last 15 games? 4.
Jake Bennett: The Red Sox starting rotation hasn’t been able to contain opposing offenses in the last couple of weeks, so this was a fresh breath of air.
Bennett allowed three runs through six innings, which isn’t stellar but it sure is quality and enough for a win. That’s all that matters in September.
Roman Anthony: If he doesn’t hit this home run in the top of the ninth inning, we would have been going to extras.
“CLASS ACT, THAT GUY” MOMENT OF THE GAME
Rutschman didn’t just hit two home runs, but he got two standing ovations in his return to Oriole Park.
Carlos Narvaez, one of the men in which he was traded for, helped facilitate the first when he took a stroll in front of home plate to allow the crowd to cheer the former face of the franchise — with the two sharing a moment together behind the dish whenever the other would step up to the plate.
