Red Sox 5, Orioles 1
BOSTON -- David Ortiz hit a two-run homer during Boston's five-run, sixth-inning rally, and Clay Buchholz struck out seven as the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 Wednesday night.
Center fielder Mookie Betts had an RBI single in the sixth and extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games for the Red Sox, who ended a six-game skid against the American League East rival Orioles.
Buchholz (5-6) struggled through the first two innings, then settled down and went seven innings to win his second consecutive start. The right-hander allowed one run on eight hits and walked only one batter.
The Red Sox improved to 4-8 against the Orioles, whose six-game winning streak over Boston was Baltimore's longest in a single season since 1961.
The three-game series wraps up with an afternoon game Thursday, and Boston may have some holes to fill in the lineup. Left fielder Hanley Ramirez left Wednesday's game with a bruised left hand after he was struck by a line drive while running the bases in the sixth inning. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia left with a tight hamstring after running out a base hit in the sixth.
Brock Holt, who started at first for Boston, ended up playing three different positions with the defensive changes.
Buchholz and Baltimore right-hander Bud Norris (2-7) were sharp in the early innings.
The Orioles broke the scoreless tie in the sixth when right fielder Chris Parmelee led off with a double and scored on a one-out single by first baseman Chris Davis.
The lead was short-lived. Boston capitalized on two errors and a passed ball by catcher Caleb Joseph while scoring five unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Right fielder Alejandro De Aza reached on an error by Davis and went to second on a passed ball. Catcher Sandy Leon followed with a sacrifice bunt that Norris missed while trying to make a play with his bare hand. Norris received an error, Betts followed with a single to right that tied the score.
Pedroia's single with one out scored Leon and Betts. Ortiz then drove a 2-0 pitch to center, the designated hitter's 11th home run of the season. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts added an infield single with two outs, and that was the end of the night for Norris, who left trailing 5-1 despite not allowing an earned run.
Norris yielded seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one.
NOTES: Orioles recalled LHP T.J. McFarland from Triple-A Norfolk and sent down RHP Oliver Drake. ... Boston's Brock Holt started at first base for the third time this season, then moved to left when Hanley Ramirez exited and later to second base when Dustin Pedroia came out. Holt has started at every position except pitcher and catcher in 44 starts this season. ... Red Sox 1B Mike Napoli was due to get the night off after striking out in all four at-bats Tuesday, but he entered after Ramirez's injury and fanned in both of his at-bats. ... Boston manager John Farrell said C Blake Swihart should be back in the lineup Thursday after missing three games since sustaining a foot injury Saturday at Kansas City. ... The three-game series wraps up Thursday with Baltimore RHP Miguel Gonzalez (5-4, 3.33 ERA) facing Boston RHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-1, 3.13).