BALTIMORE (AP) – Xander Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to 23 games and drove in two runs, Jackie Bradley put Boston ahead for good with a sixth-inning homer and the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 Monday in a matchup of the top two teams in the AL East.
David Ortiz and rookie Marco Hernandez also homered for the Red Sox, who stretched their division lead to two games. Both drives came in a four-run eighth.
Knuckleballer Steven Wright (5-4) pitched a four-hitter, striking out seven and walking five in his third straight complete game.
Mookie Betts scored twice on RBIs by Bogaerts before Bradley connected off Tyler Wilson (2-4) leading off the sixth. Bradley’s 29-game hitting streak, which ended last week, is the only one this season longer than Bogaerts’ career-best run.
Ortiz led off the eighth with his 14th home run and Hernandez added a three-run shot to send many in the crowd of 43,926 up the exit ramps. Hernandez’s first major league homer came in his 10th game.