Boston: Xander Bogaerts blooped a winning single with one out in the ninth inning and the Boston Red Sox won a game that included a couple of much harder hits, edging the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 Friday night.
Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez held the Red Sox hitless for 3 2-3 innings before being ejected when he plunked Pablo Sandoval with a pitch. In the second, Sandoval took out second baseman Jonathan Schoop with a hard slide on a force play. Sandoval missed Boston’s previous game Wednesday, a day after bruising his left foot when he was hit by a pitch.
Mike Napoli began the ninth with a walk from Brian Matusz (0-1) and Daniel Nava sacrificed. Tommy Hunter relieved, and Bogaerts hit a ball over Schoop and in front of right fielder Travis Snider.
Napoli easily beat the throw home on Boston’s fourth hit of the game.
Koji Uehara (1-0) struck out two in a perfect ninth.
The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Snider singled, took third on a single by Adam Jones and scored on a double-play grounder by Chris Davis.
Caleb Joseph led off the fourth with his first homer of the year just inside the right field foul pole for a 2-0 lead. Shane Victorino hit his left side hard against the wall trying to catch it. He stayed in the game before Nava pinch hit for him in the sixth.
The Red Sox tied it in the fifth when Bogaerts singled off Kevin Gausman for their first hit and Ryan Hanigan hit his first homer.
The game matched two pitchers who each allowed one hit in seven innings in his first start. Boston’s Joe Kelly gave up two runs and four hits and left with two outs in the sixth after throwing 118 pitches, the most in the majors this season. The previous high was 113 by Jeff Samardzija with the Chicago White Sox against Minnesota on April 11.
