The Baltimore Orioles had all kinds of trouble with Steven Wright’s knuckleball in two matchups last season.
Not on Wednesday night.
A night after Boston’s bats put up eight runs, Baltimore returned the favor against Wright by tagging him for six in a first inning that included back-to-back homers from Mancini and Jonathan Schoop. Adam Jones and Chris Davis each added a solo shot in the second.
Mancini hit his second home run in the third, marking the first multi-homer game of his career. He finished with four RBIs.
Wright (0-1) lasted only 1 1/3 innings, allowing eight runs and eight hits. He also threw a wild pitch and hit a batter. He called the outing “terrible.”
“It felt pretty good in the bullpen. Then I came out and obviously I kind of shot myself in the foot with the first pitch of the game,” Wright said. “Then after they went into swing mode, and the knuckleball just wasn’t doing anything.”
Baltimore reliever Mychal Givens (2-0) got the win after starter Ubaldo Jimenez pitched his way into a bases loaded jam and was pulled in the fifth.
Jimenez, who has lost three straight decisions to Boston, started strong but gave up five runs and eight hits. He’s given up five runs in each of his first two starts this season, both no-decisions.
Wright was able to stifle Baltimore’s powerful bats last season, beating the Orioles twice in two appearances while allowing five earned runs in 16 1/3 innings.
The 2016 All-Star seemed set up for a similar performance, facing an Orioles lineup that had been outscored 15-4 in two straight losses after starting the season with four consecutive wins.
Instead, Baltimore’s hitters jumped on him early in the count, hitting balls hard and into the gaps when they weren’t going out of the ballpark.
Davis, who also had three hits, an RBI and scored two runs, said he likes the way his team is playing right now.
A day after Orioles manager Buck Showalter perhaps took a subtle jab at the issues several Red Sox players have had fighting the flu this season, Boston manager John Farrell shrugged off any suggestion his team was using it as a crutch.
Next — The Red Sox host the Pittsburgh Pirates today.
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