Orioles vs Red Sox Recap: Alonso's 1st-inning HR keys 4-2 win

The Baltimore Orioles rolled into Fenway Park riding a three-game winning streak and ready to keep it rolling. The Boston Red Sox were struggling at home with a 9-20 record, and you could feel the difference in energy right away. Shane Baz took the mound for Baltimore and looked sharp from pitch one. In the bottom of the first inning, Wilyer Abreu lifted a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Jarren Duran and put Boston on the board first, 1-0. But the Orioles weren't about to let that bother them. They had big bats in the lineup—Pete Alonso, the powerful first baseman, and young Coby Mayo were locked in and ready to swing.

In the second inning, Coby Mayo came up and Connelly Early wound up to pitch. The ball exploded off Mayo's bat on a 79-mile-per-hour curveball and sailed 364 feet into the air. It landed in left-center field for a home run. Baltimore took the lead 1-1, and the game flipped. One inning later, Pete Alonso stepped into the box. He swung hard on an 84-mile-per-hour changeup and crushed it to left field—400 feet of pure power. The ball screamed over the wall. Adley Rutschman scored right behind him, and suddenly Baltimore led 3-1. The Orioles' bats were waking up in a big way, and Boston's pitchers were struggling to find answers.

The fourth inning brought more Baltimore magic. Blaze Alexander stepped up with Tyler O'Neill on base and two outs. Early threw him a curveball, and Alexander swung right through it for a strike. But Alexander wasn't done. He hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored O'Neill and pushed the Orioles' lead to 4-1. Then in the fifth inning, Boston fought back a little. Marcelo Mayer hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Mickey Gasper and made it 4-2. But that was all the Red Sox could manage. Shane Baz pitched seven strong innings and the Orioles' bullpen shut the door tight. Final score: Baltimore 4, Boston 2. The Orioles improved to 30-32 and stayed hot.