BALTIMORE — David Ortiz got his 36th home run, a three-run shot in the seventh inning, and the Boston Red Sox extended their winning streak to six games with a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.
Boston increased its lead over Baltimore to five games in the American League East. The Orioles have lost three out of four, but still hold a narrow margin for one of the two wild-card spots.
Eduardo Rodriguez (3-7) picked up his first win since July 16 — a span of 11 starts — at the expense of his former team. He was charged with two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts over 6⅓ innings.
Mookie Betts continued to pound Orioles’ pitching and went 3-for-5 with two runs, while Jackie Bradley Jr. got his 26th homer.
The Orioles’ Trey Mancini, who was the team’s minor league player of the year in 2015, homered as the designated hitter in his major league debut. Mancini became the third player in franchise to accomplish that feat, joining Larry Haney (1966) and current second baseman Jonathan Schoop (2013).
Ortiz gave the Red Sox a 5-1 lead with a towering home run that ended Kevin Gausman’s night. Gausman (8-11), who had won his past five starts, allowed five runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts over 6⅓ innings.
J.J. Hardy cut the lead to 5-2 with a two-out infield single in the seventh off Matt Barnes. That was as close as the Orioles would get against Red Sox relievers Brad Ziegler, Koji Uehara and Craig Kimbrel, who picked up his 28th save.
Boston has won 11 of 14 and leads the season series with the Orioles 9-8 with two games remaining.
Gausman worked out of jams in the first and second innings to keep the game scoreless. The Red Sox broke through in the third on singles by Betts and Ortiz that put runners on first and third. Hanley Ramirez then provided a 1-0 lead on a fielder’s choice.
While the Orioles’ bats were silent, Bradley provided a 2-0 an inning later lead when he drilled a one-out homer to straightaway center.
Rodriguez retired 11 consecutive batters before allowing a two-out walk to Manny Machado in the fourth. Mancini delivered the homer in his second at-bat, pulling the Orioles to within 2-1 in the fifth.
NOTES: Orioles LHP Wade Miley is feeling better after leaving in the fourth inning Sunday with a strained back muscle, according to manager Buck Showalter. Miley could pitch over the weekend series against Arizona if there are no setbacks. Miley will go on paternity leave following Sunday’s game. … Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia was out of the lineup Tuesday to get treatment on his sore left knee. Manager John Farrell said Pedroia twisted the knee in a series against Toronto earlier this month. “I would be hopeful that he will be back on the field (Wednesday),” Farrell said. … Baltimore OF Joey Rickard, who is on the 60-day DL with a right thumb ligament injury, has not been cleared to continue training at the team’s minor league facility in Sarasota, Fla. Rickard has experienced some discomfort in his right hand.
Yankees 5, Rays 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Trailing in the seventh inning, the New York Yankees got three singles to tie the Tampa Bay Rays, then a three-run home run from Gary Sanchez to rally for a 5-3 win Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.
The Yankees (78-72) bounced back from a four-game sweep against Boston that had them losing seven of eight games and falling to 4½ games back in the wild-card chase. The Rays (64-86) had won four of six coming in but couldn’t play the spoiler role they’ve played with the rest of the American League East in the past month.
Tampa Bay had a 2-1 lead in the seventh, thanks to a strong start from lefty Drew Smyly, who held the Yankees to four hits in six innings. Reliever Brad Boxberger matched that in the seventh alone, giving up singles to Ronald Torreyes, Mason Williams and Brett Gardner, the last tying the game at 2-2. With two outs, Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey visited the mound and opted to keep Boxberger in, and Sanchez crushed the next pitch for a three-run home runs — his 17th this season — for a 5-2 lead.
The Rays scored a run in the eighth when Logan Forsythe tripled off the wall in left field and scored on a wild pitch, cutting the lead to 5-3. Yankees closer Dellin Betances pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save of the season.
Smyly, who came in with a 2-0 record and 2.08 ERA against the Yankees this season, was sharp again Monday, holding New York to one run on four hits through six innings.
He worked out of jams in the first and sixth. Aaron Hicks singled and Billy Butler doubled in the first, but with two in scoring position, Mark Teixeira popped out to third to end the inning. In the sixth, Sanchez walked and Butler again doubled, but this time the Rays walked Teixeira to load the bases with two outs. Smyly came through again, getting Didi Gregorius to pop out to left field and preserve a 2-1 lead.
The Rays were held in check for the most part by Yankees starter Michael Pineda, but they scored two runs in the third with a two-out rally. Logan Forsythe singled and Evan Longoria reached on an infield single where Donovan Solano’s throw to first was high, pulling Teixeira off the base. That kept the inning alive for Brad Miller, who tripled off the wall in left-center to score both runners for a 2-0 Rays’ lead.
The Yankees answered in the fourth on a solo home run by Teixeira, his 13th of the season, to make it 2-1.