Orioles score early and late in 8-5 home-opening win over Red Sox; Bautista struggles in 9th

BALTIMORE- What happened? Monday started on a down note when the Orioles learned they’d be without outfielder Colton Cowser for at least six to eight weeks because of a fractured left thumb. There was also a threat of rain for the home opener.

But the sellout crowd of 45,002 at Camden Yards was treated to beautiful weather, two four-run innings and an appearance by Félix Bautista, who received the biggest pregame ovation, in an 8-5 win over the Boston Red Sox.

The first four Orioles to bat in the first singled, and all scored. Tyler O’Neill and Ryan Mountcastle each had run-scoring singles and Cedric Mullins hit a two-run double against Boston starter Sean Newcomb.

After the first inning, the offense fell into a funk. Adley Rutschman, Ramón Laureano and Jackson Holliday hit into double plays to end the second, third and fourth innings.

Jarren Duran’s two-run triple against Oriole starter Cade Povich in the second cut the lead to 4-2, and the Red Sox’s third run came home on Kristian Campbell’s infield out in the third.

In the eighth, the Orioles (3-2) added four more runs.

O’Neill, who was 3-for-3 with two walks in Thursday’s season opener, had four hits. His fourth was a leadoff single in the eighth. He advanced to third on Mountcastle’s single and a throwing error by third baseman Alex Bregman and scored on Heston Kjerstad’s single to left.

Mullins, who had four RBIs, delivered a two-run single, and Holliday singled to left to give the Orioles an 8-3 lead.

The Orioles’ bullpen was strong until the ninth. Matt Bowman relieved Povich with one out in the fifth and recorded two outs, allowing one hit. Seranthony Domínguez, Keegan Akin and Yennier Cano each recorded perfect innings. By the time Bautista pitched at home for the first time since August 25^th, 2023, it was no longer a save situation.

Bautista, who threw a scoreless inning to close out Saturday’s 9-5 win in Toronto, allowed two runs in the ninth, allowing two hits and walking two before Bregman popped to third to end the game.

What’s special about the offense? In their three wins, the Orioles have 41 hits. They had a season-high 15 hits, but no home runs. They were 6-for-18 with runners in scoring position after going 0-for-7 in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Toronto.

“It’s something we’re going to have to do … be able to win different ways,”  manager Brandon Hyde said. “Opposite-field hits, stealing bases. We’re going to hit our homers. I’m not worried about that. Us putting the ball in play and making things happen. We’re athletic. We can run. We can do certain things. When our guys stay on the baseball like they did today, and use the whole field, good things happen.”

O’Neill enjoys being part of the multi-faceted offense.

“It’s a representation of having a dynamic lineup,” O’Neill said. “We can slug. We can run. We have a lot of speedsters on this team. We can use the whole field collectively. That’s a really fun offense to be a part of … Any time we’re putting up 15 hits on the board, that’s going to be a fun time for the offense.”

Besides O’Neill, Holliday, Mountcastle, Mullins and Ramón Urías each had two hits.

“A lot of multi-hit games, up and down the lineup, creating a lot of traffic,” O’Neill said.

“Just trying to keep the moment simple,” Mullins said. “Trying to take advantage of runners in scoring position. It’s something we’ve worked on, continuing to work on. It’s good to see it come to fruition.”

How did Povich pitch? Povich threw far too many pitches, 94 in 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, walking two and striking out eight.

“Could have kept the pitch count down, be able to go a little bit longer, overall pretty happy,” Povich said.

Is there concern about Bautista? Hyde downplayed concerns about Bautista, who is returning from Tommy John surgery.

“It might take a little while,” Hyde said. “He’s not going to be perfect … There’s going to be hiccups. He’s still figuring things out. For him to work through that, battle through that, I’m not going to use him in five-run leads very much. He’s going to have certain things that are going to be checkmarks along the way. For him to get through that and to get the middle of the order out after, that’s a big deal.”

Hyde enjoyed hearing Bautista’s entrance song, “Omar’s Theme,” again.

“Two years ago when they started doing that, that was pretty special,” Hyde said. “To hear that again, that was fun for everybody.”

O’Neill is glad that he’s not facing Bautista.

“It definitely is more fun being behind him than being in the batter’s box,” O’Neill said.

What was the reaction to Cowser’s injury? The Orioles recalled outfielder Dylan Carlson from Triple-A Norfolk to replace Cowser, who broke his left thumb sliding into first base head-first..

Carlson hit .321 with a 1.021 OPS in spring training with two home runs and nine RBIs but didn’t make the team because of a surplus of outfielders.

“I felt like I had a good spring,” Carlson said. “I put myself in a good position to be in the mix whenever an opportunity presented itself. I’m looking forward to it and hopefully take advantage and help this team win some ballgames.”

Because Norfolk was playing at the same time as the Orioles, he didn’t know about Cowser’s injury until Sunday night when he got word he needed to come to Baltimore.

“You’ve got to stay ready wherever you’re at,” Carlson said.

He got to play with shortstop Gunnar Henderson over the weekend in his first three rehab games because of a strained right intercostal muscle.

“He looked really good. He took some really good swings yesterday,” Carlson said. “Obviously, a special talent. You give that guy some reps, get him out there. He’s going to do some really cool things.”

How was it being at the game? In a video posted by the team, owner David Rubenstein spoke in the clubhouse after the game.

“I think we have the best talent in baseball. I think you can go all the way,” Rubenstein said. “I’m going to do everything I can to help you. Thanks for winning today. It was great for the fans and great for Baltimore.”

Hyde began his postgame press conference expressing his gratitude to the fans.

“That was an amazing atmosphere today. Really cool in the home opener to have that kind of energy, support, really cool for Félix to feel that, to feel the love from Baltimore fans,” Hyde said. “The energy in the ballpark today was fantastic, and I thought our guys played really well.”

How did the ballpark look? It’s always great when the ballpark is full, and the greatest improvement comes from the sound system, which was temporarily augmented for this season. A more permanent sound system is coming for 2026. Announcements could be clearly heard, and it was great to be able to hear Kevin Brown deftly handle the introductions.

What does it mean? The Orioles are going to have to win in different ways. It’s important for them to use their speed and athleticism and not rely on home runs.

What’s the word? “You’d rather have him at the end of the year. I always look for the silver lining, the positive. We have a lot of good players, so that’s a good thing.”-Ryan O’Hearn on Colton Cowser’s injury.

What’s the stat of the day? 7-7. O’Neill is 7-for-7 in 2025 openers. He was 3-for-3 in Thursday’s opener in Toronto and 4-for-4 on Monday.

“I was just trying to feel the energy of the crowd, experience the city of Baltimore,” O’Neill said. “It was awesome out there…Running down the orange carpet, it was very special. It’s cool to see Opening Day ceremonies in every park.”

What’s next? After a day off on Tuesday, Zach Eflin (1-0, 3.00) will face Garret Crochet (0-0, 3.60) on Wednesday night at 6:35.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com