BALTIMORE (AP) — Brayan Bello took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Jarren Duran delivered a tiebreaking two-run single in the seventh to carry the Boston Red Sox past the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 Saturday night.
Rafael Devers hit his team-high 27th homer for the Red Sox, who moved within seven games of the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East. Baltimore is one game out despite losing four of six.
Bello limited the Orioles to three walks before facing Gunnar Henderson with two outs in the sixth. Henderson hit the first pitch over the right-field wall for his 32nd home run, erasing Boston’s 1-0 lead.
After Ryan O’Hearn followed with a single, Bello (11-5) ended his superb outing with his sixth strikeout.
“He was really good. He kept them off balance,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “What he did tonight was fun. He was throwing the ball well for a while, the stuff has been there for the last two months. Now it’s about executing, and he did an amazing job.”
Cora had no expectation of Bello going the distance with his no-hit bid, especially since it took him 97 pitches to get through the sixth.
“Pitch count was up,” Cora noted. “Right now we’re not looking for no-hitters or perfect games. We’re looking for Ws. And that was a big one for us.”
Bello outpitched Baltimore rookie Cade Povich (1-6), who returned from the minor leagues to baffle the hard-hitting Red Sox for six innings. Povich was lifted after giving up a one-out infield hit in the seventh.
Yennier Cano promptly gave up a pinch-hit double to Masataka Yoshida, then got the second out before Duran singled up the middle.
Baltimore loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom half before Lucas Sims retired Anthony Santander on a slow grounder to second.
Devers tacked on a two-run drive in the eighth for a 5-1 lead.
Povich gave up two runs and six hits, striking out six with no walks. The left-hander was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game to allow Sunday’s starter, Albert Suárez, an extra day of rest.
Povich held up his end in a duel with Bello that stretched into the late innings.
“Both sides were absolutely dealing,” Duran said. “Their guy was lights out, and Bello was lights out.”
After a 76-minute rain delay, Povich launched his first major league outing since July 29 with a 1-2-3 inning. He had previously allowed seven first-inning runs in eight starts.
That proved to be a sign of things to come. Using a variety of off-speed pitches and a sneaky fastball, Povich allowed only two singles over the first five innings. Just as important, he didn’t walk a batter after previously issuing 23 walks over 37 1/3 innings this season.
“It was great to see him throwing multiple pitches for strikes and really attacking them,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “Bello pitched great, he pitched great.”
Boston broke the scoreless tie in the sixth with an RBI single by Tyler O’Neill, who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list before the game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: O’Neill returned after missing 12 games with a leg infection. INF/OF Nick Sogard was optioned to Triple-A Worcester.
Orioles: All-Star C Adley Rutschman missed a second straight start with lower back discomfort, but he entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh and stayed in the game behind the plate.
UP NEXT
The four-game series ends Sunday with Boston’s Kutter Crawford (8-9, 4.21 ERA) facing Suárez (5-4, 3.39), who pitched a season-high 6 2/3 innings in his last start Sunday.
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