Bobby Dalbec had three hits and three RBI, and Nick Pivetta pitched a very solid 6.0 innings on the mound Friday night as the Boston Red Sox opened up a three game series with an 8-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.
Boston (67-51) got all they needed when they sent eight men to the plate and scored four times in the second inning. Jarren Duran had an RBI single, Dalbec a two-run double, and Kike Hernandez a sacrifice fly for an RBI made it 4-0. Duran added an RBI double in the fourth, and Xander Bogaerts, Dalbec, and Hunter Renfroe each added solo homeruns. Richie Martin had a solo homer for the only run for Baltimore (38-76), who have now lost nine games in a row.
Pivetta (9-5) allowed one run on three hits with two walks and eight strikeouts to earn the win. Garrett Richards, out of the bullpen for the first time since being moved out of the rotation, earned a save with 3.0 innings of relief. Renfroe, Kevin Plawecki, and Duran all had two hits with Duran chipping in the two RBI. Pedro Severino had two hits for Baltimore, while Spenser Watkins (2-4) took the pitching loss allowing six runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings. The day that alot of Red Sox fans have waited for comes Saturday in game two at 4:10 p.m. when Chris Sale returns to the rotation and pitches for the first time since 2019 after Tommy John surgery. Sale will be opposed by Jorge Lopez (3-12, 5.75 ERA) for the Birds.
