Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox Match Player Stats On Jul 26, 2020

Rio Ruiz and Anthony Santander both belted two-run homers as the visiting Baltimore Orioles defeated the Boston Red Sox 7-4 on Sunday afternoon.

The Orioles jumped out to a big lead for the second straight day and won the season-opening series, two games to one. Baltimore is in the second year of a massive rebuilding effort and started last year 4-1 before fading out.

Wade LeBlanc (1-0) pitched into the sixth inning in his first Baltimore start to earn the win. He allowed four runs on four hits, striking out four and walking none in 5 2/3 innings.

After LeBlanc was pulled with a 6-2 lead, Xander Bogaerts lined a two-run single off Miguel Castro.

Ruiz gave the Orioles the early lead with a two-run, two-out homer in the first. Christian Vazquez homered in the second for Boston and cut the lead in half before Baltimore scored the next four runs.

In the third, Jose Iglesias (4-for-5) made it 3-1 with an RBI double. Austin Hays added a sacrifice fly in the fourth followed by Santander's two-run golf shot for a 6-1 edge.

Kevin Pillar hit a solo homer for Boston in the following frame. Bogaerts then added the two-run single in the sixth that sliced the lead to 6-4.

Neither team scored again -- although Baltimore wasted two good chances -- until Chris Davis belted his first hit of the season in the top of the ninth. He lined an RBI double high off the Green Monster that just missed being a home run and gave the Orioles some insurance at 7-4.

The Baltimore bullpen took care of the final 3 1/3 innings, with Cole Sulser earning his first major league save in his eighth major league game. This was his Orioles debut.

Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez confirmed to MLB.com and the Boston media Sunday that he has a heart condition called myocarditis, an inflammation often sparked by a viral infection.

The doctors don't know for sure, but they told the pitcher he probably got it when he had COVID-19 recently. The Red Sox shut him down from all baseball work last Thursday and are unsure of his return.

--Field Level Media