BOSTON (AP) - After a stint on the disabled list before even throwing a pitch this season, Drew Pomeranz made his season debut a memorable one.
Pomeranz struck out six and allowed just one run in six innings for the Red Sox, who tagged Baltimore for 15 hits while beating the Orioles 8-1 on Tuesday night.
“I felt like I waited forever to get that first start in,” said Pomeranz, who opened the season on the DL with a strained left forearm.
“Things clicked in warmups today and I just felt really good out there. I took that to the mound and just tried to hold out there for as long as I could.”
Pomeranz exceeded all expectations with the way he threw and how long he stayed out there for the Red Sox. He had a shutout going through six innings and held the Orioles to four hits before getting pulled in the seventh with Boston hanging on to a 2-1 lead.
Pomeranz’s teammates delivered some extra offense late to turn the game into a rout, which was fine with Pomeranz as he got his first win in Fenway Park.
“I was letting it fly out there a little bit. I was trying to be aggressive,” Pomeranz said. “It didn’t matter if I was throwing 90 like I was at the end or 95. It was still coming out how it needed to come out.”
Dustin Pedroia drove in four runs, including two on a bases-loaded single in the seventh, and Christian Vazquez capped off a 4-for-4 game with a two-run triple in the eighth.
Boston put together back-to-back three-run innings in the seventh and eighth to blow open what had been a close game.
“I thought we did a great job with the aggressiveness on the basepaths. We bunched a number of hits together late,” Boston manager John Farrell aid.
Pablo Sandoval had a sacrifice fly in the second and Pedroia had one in the fifth off Dylan Bundy (1-1), who was also strong through the first six innings. Bundy pitched 6 1-3 innings, allowing three runs and seven hits.
Bundy was pulled after walking Sandoval with one out and Boston up only 2-1. The Red Sox caught a break when shortstop J.J. Hardy botched a grounder that could have started a double play and get the Orioles out of the threat.
“It’s just one of those nights where a lot of things fell their way,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said.
Instead, Chris Young reached and Vazquez followed with a single to load the bases. Pedroia blooped a single just out of Jonathan Schoop’s reach in shallow right to drive in two, then Andrew Benintendi added an RBI single to make it 5-1.
“It just turned into ugly baseball after I didn’t make that double play,” Hardy said.
Chris Davis scored Baltimore’s only run, leading off the seventh with a single and scoring later on a fielder’s choice.
STRONG START
Pomeranz showed no lingering effects from the strain that delayed his first start of the season. He was good early and got stronger as the game continued.
Adam Jones’ one-out double in the sixth was just the third hit for the Orioles and ended a run of 12 straight outs for Pomeranz, who preserved the shutout by getting Manny Machado on a pop out to first and Mark Trumbo’s fly ball to right. Jones was the first baserunner for the Orioles since the second inning.
“I thought he settled into a good rhythm,” Farrell said. “I’m sure there was quite a bit of adrenaline which would be expected for the first start of a season, but he was able to stay in his delivery very good.”
HARD LUCK
Hardy said Young’s grounder appeared to be the start of a routine double play before he bobbled the ball and Boston loaded the bases. He credited reliever Darren O’Day with getting the ground ball the Orioles were looking for to keep the game close.
“When you get the ground ball that you’re looking for to end the inning and it doesn’t happen, I think it’s very deflating,” Hardy said. “It just kind of unraveled. It all started with that routine double play.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: RHP Chris Tillman (right shoulder bursitis) pitched two innings in extended spring game Tuesday in Sarasota, Fla. … Manager Buck Showalter said some of his players are battling through the bug that has been making its way around the majors. “I know we’ve got a lot of guys that aren’t 100 percent with it, but so do a lot of clubs,” Showalter said. “So nobody really wants to hear somebody else complain about it. Our guys have done a good job not broadcasting it to the world.”
Red Sox: Placed CF Jackie Bradley Jr. (right knee sprain) on the 10-day DL retroactive to April 9. Bradley worked out Tuesday and said he felt great, but will let the knee recover fully before returning to the lineup. “Whenever it’s ready. I am not going to rush it. I just want to make sure I am able to make all the same powerful moves I made before with no hesitation.” … SS Xander Bogaerts returned from the bereavement list after missing four games.
UP NEXT
Orioles: Send RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (0-0, 10.38 ERA) out for his second start as Baltimore wraps up its two-day visit to Boston.
Red Sox: RHP Steven Wright (0-0, 5.40) is coming off a no-decision in his season debut last week in Detroit. Wright allowed four runs and seven hits, striking out four and walking three over 6 2-3 innings Friday against the Tigers.
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