The Boston Red Sox opened their 2023 campaign with a series win over the Baltimore Orioles, doing so after a 9-5 victory at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon.
After taking the final two games of the three-game set, Boston improves to 2-1 while Baltimore falls to 1-2.
You can check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Red Sox capped their first series of the season Sunday against the Orioles, and in doing might have answered some questions about their offensive potential. Through three games, Boston’s 4-5 combination of Masataka Yoshida and Adam Duvall have impressed, Rafael Devers continues to do Rafael Devers things while quality at-bats have come from everyone in the lineup.
After scoring nine runs in each of their first two games, the Red Sox scored another nine runs on 14 hits in the series finale. It marked the first time in the franchise’s history that Boston has scored nine or more runs in their first three games.
Making the offensive performance all the more impressive, though, was how Boston’s hitters bounced back in key situations like that of the fifth and seventh innings.
When right-handed starter Tanner Houck (5.0 innings, three earned runs on five hits) allowed three runs on a pair of home runs in the fifth, the Red Sox erased that half inning with three runs of their own. And when reliever Richard Bleier struggled in the seventh, allowing a pair of runs as the Orioles cut the Red Sox advantage to 6-5, Boston then tacked on two more in the bottom half as pinch-hitter Tristan Casas stroked an RBI single for his first hit.
Boston’s 14 hits Sunday marks a season-high after 11 in each of the previous two games.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Duvall, the hero of Saturday’s walk-off win over the Orioles, continued to swing a hot bat one day later. Duvall (3-for-5, two RBIs, two runs) doubled to left in the third inning before he scored on an Alex Verdugo RBI single. Duvall then provided Boston with a 6-3 lead on a two-run single in the fifth and laced a double to left field in the seventh, advancing Yoshida to third after a lead-off single.
— Yoshida (2-for-4, three runs, two RBIs) continued to prove his worth at the dish, reaching base in three plate appearances. Yoshida earned an RBI in the first inning as he grounded out to first, tacked on an RBI single to center in the fifth inning and led off the seventh with a single to left field, where he would come around to score and give Boston an 8-5 advantage. Yoshida scored Boston’s ninth run after a one-out walk in the ninth inning.
— Kiké Hernández (2-for-4, two RBIs, run) hit his second home run in as many days. The Red Sox shortstop followed it up with an insurance RBI in the seventh inning, stroking a single to right to score Duvall.
WAGER WATCH
The first two games of the Red Sox-Orioles series featured run totals of 19 and 17, respectively. This is why some bettors might have done a double-take given Sunday’s total was set at over/under 8.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook. Well, those who used the two-game trend as a reason to bet the Over (-122) earned a win after merely five innings. All three overs this season have cashed for the Red Sox.
ON DECK AS NESN
The Red Sox return to Fenway Park and continue their season-opening homestand Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The first of a three-game series will feature first pitch at 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch it live on NESN following an hour of pregame coverage.
