Baltimore Kept Retaking the Lead

The Orioles did enough offensively to make this feel available all night. Tyler O’Neill doubled home Gunnar Henderson in the first, Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit his first Baltimore homer in the fifth and the visitors scored twice in the sixth to move ahead 4-3.

Boston erased that lead in the bottom half when Willson Contreras doubled home Wilyer Abreu. Baltimore tried again in the seventh, moving ahead 5-4 on an O’Neill groundout.

The Orioles kept finding the next run. The problem was that none of their late leads survived Boston’s next turn at the plate.

Boston Refused to Stay Behind

Ceddanne Rafaela tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh with a single that scored Tsung-Che Cheng. It was Boston’s second immediate answer after Baltimore had taken a late lead.

That pattern matters more than a generic description of resilience. The Red Sox did not need to wait for a fresh inning or a different matchup. Each time Baltimore moved in front after the fifth, Boston used the bottom half to reset the score.

Four Orioles errors made that work harder to defend. Boston committed none, and a one-run game eventually charged full price for the difference.

Durbin Ended the Exchange

Caleb Durbin led off the bottom of the eighth against Tyler Wells and drove his 10th home run over the Green Monster. For the first time in the late innings, Baltimore had to answer rather than Boston.

Aroldis Chapman did not allow it. He worked around a one-out single in the ninth, struck out two and secured his 22nd save when Cheng caught O’Neill’s final liner.

The 6-5 win extended Boston’s streak to 14 games. Fenway confidence no longer needs a weather forecast; it has apparently filed for residency.

The Desk Metric: Two Immediate Answers

The verified Lead Answer Count was two. Baltimore went ahead 4-3 in the sixth and 5-4 in the seventh. Boston tied the game in the bottom half both times.

That is the game in one comparison. The Orioles created multiple chances to close the door, but the Red Sox kept reaching the handle before the latch settled. Durbin then supplied the only late lead that lasted through the next half-inning.

The Desk Has Ruled

Desk ruling: Boston’s 14th straight win was less about one unstoppable surge than three correct replies. The Red Sox answered twice, defended cleanly and finally let Durbin end a conversation Baltimore had been unable to finish.