BALTIMORE — After Chris Sale and Jackie Bradley Jr. got Boston to the 12th inning, Andrew Benintendi took it from there.
Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. robs Baltimore Orioles’ Trey Mancini of a home run in the 11th inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Baltimore. The Red Sox won 2-1 in 12 innings. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)
Benintendi delivered the tiebreaking home run, and Boston received a masterful pitching performance from Sale and a game-saving catch from Bradley in a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.
With their fifth win in six games, the Red Sox reached .500 (19-19) for the first time since they were 1-1.
The game appeared to have reached its conclusion in the bottom of the 11th, when Trey Mancini hit a drive to deep center. Bradley ran back, dug his right foot into the barrier for leverage and reached far over the 7-foot wall to snag the ball.
“Just went back, tracked it, and got a good jump on it,” Bradley said. “Timed my footsteps the way I wanted to, and got up there and executed.”
The players in the Baltimore dugout went from jubilant to stunned as Bradley pulled the ball from his glove.
“Good players and great teams make great plays in big spots, and that was an ultra-exceptional play,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.
Mancini tipped his helmet to Bradley to acknowledge the catch, which enabled Ryan Brasier (2-1) to earn the victory.
“It really stinks to be on the losing side of it and think you hit a walk-off, but you’ve got to tip your cap to him there,” Mancini said. “That was insane.”
Not long after that, Benintendi connected off Yefry Ramirez (0-1) and Heath Hembree struck out the side in the 12th for his first save.
With Sale leading the way, the Orioles fanned 22 times — most since the team moved from St. Louis in 1954. In the seventh, Sale struck out the side on nine pitches, a feat known as an immaculate inning.
Sale struck out 14 and allowed one run, three hits and no walks over eight brilliant innings. Vying for his second straight victory after starting 0-5, the lefty was pulled with the score tied after throwing 108 pitches.
“Over the last few starts, my fastball command has helped me out a lot,” Sale said. “I think that was my problem before, along with some other issues.”
Sale kept Baltimore hitless until Joey Rickard lofted a single to center with two outs in the sixth. Mancini followed with an RBI double to knot the score at 1.
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