BOSTON – Rick Porcello’s recent record against the Orioles has not been great, to say the least.


 


In three starts last season, Porcello was 0-3, and entering Saturday’s game, Porcello had lost each of his four career starts versus Baltimore at Fenway Park.


 


On a foggy and soggy night, Porcello and the Red Sox helped brighten the damp mood.


 


The Red Sox clubbed three home runs off Orioles starter [...]

JENNIFER TOLAND The Worcester Telegram & Gazette

BOSTON – Rick Porcello’s recent record against the Orioles has not been great, to say the least.

 

In three starts last season, Porcello was 0-3, and entering Saturday’s game, Porcello had lost each of his four career starts versus Baltimore at Fenway Park.

 

On a foggy and soggy night, Porcello and the Red Sox helped brighten the damp mood.

 

The Red Sox clubbed three home runs off Orioles starter Dylan Bundy and Porcello earned his team-best sixth win of the season as Boston beat Baltimore, 6-3.

 

Porcello (6-1, 3.39) went six innings and allowed six hits and three earned runs. He tied a season high with nine strikeouts and issued his first three walks of the season at Fenway Park. His four consecutive starts with zero walks at Fenway marked the longest season-opening streak by a Red Sox pitcher in the last 100 seasons.

 

Porcello, who threw 107 pitches, upped his career record against the Orioles to 5-11.

 

“He battled,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We know when he goes out there most of the time he’s going to give us a quality start. It doesn’t matter what kind of stuff he has that night; he finds a way to compete. If the sinker isn’t working, he’ll throw the cutter. If the change isn’t working, he’ll use his breaking ball. He finds a way to compete whenever he goes out there.”

 

With his seventh quality start of the season, Porcello matched Chris Sale for the team lead.

 

Rafael Devers, Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi homered and the Red Sox tied the club record, set in 1977, with 65 home runs through 46 games.

 

The Red Sox had won seven straight against Orioles before Friday night’s 7-4 loss. The Red Sox have won five of six this season. The teams conclude the series at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.

 

In the fifth, Betts snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-run homer into the Monster Seats. It was Betts’ MLB-leading 15th home run of the season. Benintendi followed with a solo homer to right. It was the second time this season the Red Sox hit back-to-back home runs in a game. Brock Holt and Betts achieved the feat April 17 at the Angels.

 

Benintendi drove in three runs and is 8 for 18 (.444) in his last five games.

 

“I’m starting to feel a little better,” Benintendi said. “I wouldn’t call it a groove or anything, but just starting to make better contact, harder contact more often than not.”

 

In the sixth, Mark Trumbo reached on a one-out infield single and Pedro Alvarez, the next batter, hit his eighth home run of the season off Porcello to make it a 4-3 game.

 

Porcello retired the final two batters of the inning and gave way to Joe Kelly to start the seventh.

 

Porcello was coming off his first loss of the season in the Red Sox’ 6-5 setback to Oakland last Monday while allowing five earned runs for the second consecutive start.

 

After Trey Mancini’s leadoff single, Porcello retired six of the next seven batters before Chance Sisco’s ground-rule double to right got things started for the Orioles in the third.

 

With one out, Adam Jones singled to left and Manny Machado drew a walk to load the bases. Sisco scored on Jonathan Schoop’s sacrifice fly to left, but Porcello got out of the inning with his fifth strikeout.

 

“Limiting the big inning,” Porcello said, was the biggest difference between Saturday and his previous two starts. “And a little bit better location on certain pitches,” he said. “The biggest thing was the (third), when I had the bases loaded and we were able to get out of there with one run. That was kind of the key.”

 

Devers’ eighth home run of year, into the first row of Monster Seats, tied the score 1-1, in the fourth.

 

In his second start of the year against the Red Sox, Bundy (2-6, 4.70) also went six innings. He allowed 5 hits and 4 earned runs, while walking 2 and striking out 8.

 

Orioles reliever Tanner Scott issued consecutive walks to Sandy Leon and Jackie Bradley Jr. to open the seventh. Both runners moved up on Betts’ fly out to right and scored on Benintendi’s single up the middle. That was the end of Scott’s brief night.

 

Kelly, Matt Barnes and Craig Kimbrel combined for three perfect innings of relief. Kimbrel earned his 13th save of the season.