Red Sox Notes: Boston’s Bullpen Continues To Come Through

It was an eventful Saturday afternoon, but the Red Sox weathered the storm to earn another win over the Orioles.

Rafael Devers played hero for Boston when he hit the walk-off single to beat Baltimore 6-5 at Fenway Park. It was a tight contest that began with an in-game rain delay, but the bullpen stepped up to only give up one run in six innings.

“Satisfying doesn’t do service on this one. We needed to win that game,” Alex Cora told reporters after the win, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We went all in. We put all the chips in. I was thinking about what was going to happen in the next inning, what’s going to happen in the second game and tomorrow. That’s the way I see it. We won. We have two already out of four. …Hopefully, we can swing the bat well and help the pitching staff.”

Hunter Dobbins impressed with seven strikeouts, but the Red Sox had another starter pitch less than five innings. It added more strain to the bullpen that had to pick up the slack. But they’ve stepped up to the occasion when called upon.

“They did an amazing job. Everybody threw the ball well. It wasn’t easy. It hasn’t been easy since, shoot, it’s been a week,” Cora said. “We’re not getting enough from the starters. We’re getting a lot from our bullpen. The good thing about this is it’s a four-game series, and we got two already. …”

Boston’s bullpen in Game 1 combined for five strikeouts in six innings while only giving up two hits. Greg Weissert came up clutch in the top of the 10th inning to hold off the ghost runner. The right-hander was comfortable with his fastball, topping out at 95 mph, and he got Jorge Mateo to strike out swinging.

Justin Slaten also came big in a high-leverage situation. The 27-year-old had been one of Boston’s most reliable relievers after a slow start. The right-hander hasn’t allowed a run since May 4 against the Minnesota Twins.

Here are more notes from Game 1 of the Red Sox-Orioles doubleheader Saturday:

— Baltimore chose to pitch to Devers in the bottom of the 10th inning, believing that left-hander Gregory Soto could handle one of the hottest hitters in baseball. That didn’t end up working, and Boston earned its fifth walk-off win of the season.

— Devers had been on fire in 21 games this month with five doubles, seven home runs and 29 RBIs off a 1.278 OPS.

— The Red Sox officially placed Alex Bregman on the 10-day injured list due to a right quad strain. Boston selected Marcelo Mayer to the major league roster from Triple-A Worcester, and he’ll wear No. 39. Triston Casas was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

— First pitch for Game 2 of the Red Sox-Orioles doubleheader is scheduled at 6:35 p.m. ET on NESN.