BOSTON — Manny Machado’s three-run homer capped a five-run ninth inning and gave the Baltimore Orioles an 8-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.
The Red Sox had gone ahead 5-3 in the sixth on consecutive homers by Daniel Nava and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. But closer Joel Hanrahan couldn’t hold the lead on a night when their nearly 10-year home sellout streak ended after two seasons in which they missed the playoffs.
Chris Davis led off the ninth with his fifth homer. Hanrahan (0-1) retired the next two batters, then allowed a single by Ryan Flaherty. Then he struggled with his control, walking Nolan Reimold and Nate McLouth to load the bases and throwing a wild pitch that brought pinch runner Alexi Casilla home with the tying run.
On the next pitch, Machado hit the ball over the Green Monster for his first homer. Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his third save.
Darren O’Day (1-0) got the win.
The sellout streak began on May 15, 2003, lasted 820 games, including the postseason, and was the longest in major pro sports history. It broke the record of 814 set by the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers from 1977-95. Boston’s streak of 794 regular-season sellouts also is the longest in major pro sports history. The previous longest regular-season streak in major league baseball history was 455 set by the Cleveland Indians from 1995-2001.
Nava gave the Red Sox a 4-3 lead with his third homer in three games, an opposite-field shot over the Green Monster. Saltalamacchia followed with his first homer, a hard shot over the right-field fence.
Baltimore took a 1-0 lead in the first with the help of Boston’s first error of the season. Nate McLouth walked before Machado hit a fly ball to right-center. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and right fielder Shane Victorino converged on it. Victorino ducked in front of Ellsbury and the ball fell safely. Victorino was charged with the error.
Machado moved to third on the play and scored on a groundout by Nick Markakis.
The Red Sox tied it in the second on a walk to Nava and an RBI-double by Saltalamacchia. They went ahead 3-1 in the third when Jackie Bradley Jr. led off with a walk, Ellsbury tripled him home and Victorino hit a sacrifice fly.
Another error helped the Orioles tie the game in the fourth. Markakis started the inning with his first homer of the season. Adam Jones then walked, extending his hitting streak to all eight games, and moved up on a wild pitch. Matt Wieters then singled to left and Jones scored when the ball eluded Bradley.
NOTES: The game was delayed by rain for 43 minutes after the fifth inning with the score 3-3. … Reimold returned to the lineup after leaving Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins with a strained right hamstring. … There was a moment of silence before the game for Dave O’Hara, the former New England sports editor for The Associated Press in Boston, who died Wednesday at the age of 86. … The Red Sox activated SS Stephen Drew from the seven-day concussion disabled list, optioned SS Jose Iglesias to Pawtucket and called up RHP Alex Wilson from that Triple-A team. … The Orioles traded RHP Luis Ayala to Atlanta for LHP Chris Jones. Jones was assigned to Double-A Bowie. Baltimore purchased the contract of OF Chris Dickerson from Triple-A Norfolk.
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