By Laura Soukkavong –
BOSTON — The Red Sox have spent much of the season searching for consistency. On Wednesday night at Fenway Park, they looked like a club beginning to put all the pieces together.
Behind six scoreless innings from rookie left-hander Payton Tolle and a 15-hit offensive performance, Boston rolled to an 8-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles before a sellout crowd of 36,872. The win improved the Red Sox to 26-34 on the season and gave them victories in three of their last four games.
Tolle delivered one of the strongest performances of his young career, allowing seven hits while striking out five and walking two over six shutout innings. The rookie threw a career-high 99 pitches and recorded the first scoreless start of his major league career.
The outing continued an impressive stretch for the 23-year-old, who has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his eight starts this season. Tolle improved to 3-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.28.
Boston’s offense provided support immediately.
The Red Sox jumped ahead in the first inning when Wilyer Abreu lined an RBI single to score Jarren Duran for a 1-0 lead. Two innings later, Abreu struck again, launching a two-run home run to right field that extended the advantage to 3-0. The blast ended a 20-game homerless streak for the outfielder and highlighted a productive night in which he finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs.
While Tolle kept Baltimore quiet, Boston’s lineup continued to pressure Orioles pitching.
The Red Sox broke the game open in the fifth inning with five runs. Mickey Gasper delivered the key blow, ripping a two-run triple for the first triple of his major league career. Caleb Durbin followed with an RBI double, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa added another run-scoring double as Boston built an 8-0 lead.
Gasper continued his strong stretch at the plate, extending his hitting streak to six games. Durbin stayed hot as well, collecting two hits, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base while extending his extra-base hit streak to six consecutive games.
Willson Contreras was one of several Red Sox hitters to enjoy a big night. The veteran first baseman went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk, reaching base four times while extending his on-base streak to 15 games. During that stretch, Contreras is batting .411 with a 1.172 OPS.
Ceddanne Rafaela added three hits, including an RBI single and a double, while Boston finished with 15 hits and went 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
Baltimore finally got on the board in the seventh inning when Adley Rutschman tripled home Taylor Ward, spoiling the shutout bid. Rutschman finished with two hits and an RBI, while Ward collected three hits and reached base four times. Gunnar Henderson added a double for the Orioles.
Despite collecting nine hits, Baltimore struggled to capitalize on opportunities. The Orioles finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners on base.
Chris Bassitt took the loss after allowing three runs on six hits in just three innings. It marked only the second time this season the veteran right-hander failed to complete four innings.
Ryan Watson worked the final three innings for Boston, allowing one run while earning his first save of the season.
The victory continued a trend that has defined much of Boston’s success this season. The Red Sox improved to 20-2 when their starting pitcher works at least six innings, further underscoring the importance of strong starting pitching as they attempt to climb back into contention.