Brayan Bello carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and Jarren Duran hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the seventh to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night.
Rafael Devers added his team-high 27th home run for the Red Sox, who are now seven games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East. Baltimore is one game out of the lead despite losing four of their last six games.
Bello allowed only three walks before facing Gunnar Henderson with two outs in the sixth inning. Henderson hit the first pitch over the right-field wall for his 32nd home run, tying the game 1-1. Ryan O’Hearn then singled, but Bello (11-5) ended his strong performance with his sixth strikeout.
“He was really good. He kept them off balance,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “What he did tonight was fun. He was throwing the ball well for a while; the stuff has been there for the last two months. Now it’s about executing, and he did an amazing job.”
Cora did not expect Bello to pitch the whole game, especially since he used 97 pitches to get through the sixth inning. “Pitch count was up,” Cora said. “Right now we’re not looking for no-hitters or perfect games. We’re looking for Ws. And that was a big one for us.”
Bello outpitched Baltimore rookie Cade Povich (1-6), who was called up from the minor leagues and managed to keep the Red Sox at bay for six innings. Povich was taken out after giving up an infield hit in the seventh inning.
Yennier Cano came in and gave up a pinch-hit double to Masataka Yoshida, then got the second out before Duran hit a single up the middle.
Baltimore loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Lucas Sims retired Anthony Santander on a slow grounder to second base.
Devers hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, extending the Red Sox’s lead to 5-1.
Povich gave up two runs and six hits, striking out six with no walks. He was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to give Sunday’s starter, Albert Suárez, an extra day of rest.
