BOSTON — On the first Sunday of the NFL season, the Red Sox — fittingly — won with a football score.
Boston avoided a three-game sweep and broke a four-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over the Orioles on a rainy day at Fenway Park. Triston Casas’ three-run homer in the sixth inning broke things open as the Sox got back to three games above .500 at 73-70.
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After a 42-minute rain delay, Baltimore got on the board first with a three-run second inning against righty Brayan Bello, who gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning before Aaron Hicks made it 1-0 with an RBI single. The next batter, Adam Frazier, plated another run with a single and Hicks raced around to score from first when Alex Verdugo bobbled the ball in right field. The play was originally ruled an error by Verdugo before being changed to a two-run triple.
Boston answered with two runs in the third when Rafael Devers and Justin Turner both scored on a Ramón Urías fielding error with two outs. In the fourth, Reese McGuire tied things up with an RBI triple that plated Luis Urías, who doubled off Grayson Rodriguez to start the inning. Devers put Boston ahead with an RBI single.
Two innings later, Casas launched his 24th homer of the season into the Green Monster seats to five the Sox a four-run lead. Bello was generally sharp, holding the O’s to three runs on seven hits in five innings. Bello struck out four and didn’t issue a walk.
Another rain delay during the bottom of the inning lasted an hour and 28 minutes, meaning the game didn’t wrap up until after 6:30 p.m. ET. Reliever Nick Robertson closed the door on the Orioles, striking out Austin Hays to end a 1-2-3 ninth.
Rafaela makes nice catch
Making his first big league start in center field, rookie Ceddanne Rafaela didn’t take long to show why scouts are so excited about his defense. With a runner on first in the third inning, Anthony Santander laced a 1-04.3 mph line drive into the left-center gap. Rafaela raced to his right and made a leaping catch up against the wall for the first out of the inning.
Whitlock returns
Reliever Garrett Whitlock, who was activated off the bereavement list before the game, pitched two shutout innings of relief and struck out three.
Yankees up next
Starting Monday, the Red Sox will welcome the Yankees to Fenway Park for a four-game series that will represent the final meetings between the teams this season. Here’s the schedule (with pitching probables):
Monday, 7:10 p.m. ET — RHP Clarke Schmidt (9-8, 4.54 ERA) vs. RHP Kutter Crawford (6-7, 4.36 ERA)
Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. ET — LHP Carlos Rodón (2-5, 6.60 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (9-8, 4.54 ERA)
Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. ET — TBA vs. RHP Tanner Houck (4-9, 5.28 ERA)
Thursday, 7:15 p.m. ET — TBD vs. RHP Michael King (4-5, 2.82 ERA)
