The Baltimore Orioles circled the bases more often than ever before under Buck Showalter, twice scoring six runs in an inning and pounding out 20 hits without even batting in the ninth.
After the infield dirt had finally settled, however, Showalter was far more interested in talking about his starting pitcher.
It was Baltimore’s most prolific offensive showing since an 18-9 win over Cleveland on April 19, 2006, and the most runs the Orioles ever scored against Boston.
Norris (1-2) didn’t need to be sharp. But he was, and that was important because he came into the game with a 17.42 ERA. Norris didn’t allow a runner past second base until Pablo Sandoval hit a three-run drive in the seventh, his first home run with Boston since signing as a free agent in November.
Hanley Ramirez followed Sandoval’s long ball with a solo shot off Jason Garcia and added a three-run homer off Garcia in the ninth.
None of that mattered, because the Boston pitching staff had its worst outing since a 20-2 loss at Oakland in August 2012.
Baltimore went ahead 7-0 with a sixrun third inning and led 12-0 in the sixth. Davis, Jimmy Paredes and Steve Pearce each contributed three RBIs to the Orioles’ second straight win following a five-game skid.
Friday night
Brock Holt hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Darren O’Day in the eighth inning, and the Red Sox beat Baltimore, 7-5.
David Ortiz and Ramirez also connected for the Red Sox.
Jimmy Paredes and Chris Davis homered for the Orioles.
After Tommy Hunter retired the first two Boston batters in the eighth, Brian Matusz (0-2) walked Sandoval. Pinch-hitter Allen Craig then hit a sharp bouncer off O’Day that skipped past third baseman Manny Machado, who was charged with an error.
Holt followed with a drive over the right-field scoreboard, his first homer since Sept 4, to bring home three unearned runs and make it 7-4.
Saturday night
David Lough hit a game- ending homer in the 10th inning to cap a tworun rally against Koji Uehara, and the Orioles beat the Red Sox, 5-4 Saturday night to end a five-game losing streak.
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