Cowser homers twice and Orioles post sixth comeback win (updated)

BOSTON – The Orioles won’t ever profile as a one-prospect team. Win or lose, they’re going to spread the young talent wealth.

They also let the older guys have their moments, a combination that played out again tonight. It usually works in their favor.

It went absolutely nuts late in tonight's game.

Colton Cowser hit his first two major league home runs, including a three-run shot off Isaiah Campbell in a six-run 10th inning in the Orioles' 9-4 victory over the Red Sox.

The ball traveled 438 feet to right field at 113.6 mph off the bat. He'd love to keep traveling to Boston.

"That was a wild moment there," said manager Brandon Hyde. "It goes into David Ortiz land in the seats behind the bullpen. That was an impressive swing."

Jackson Holliday was an attention lightning rod with yesterday’s debut, media descending upon Fenway Park for the grand reveal, but Jordan Westburg won the game with a three-run homer. Cowser chose tonight to hit his first homers, signing the Green Monster earlier in the day and clearing it in the fifth.

"That was really cool," Cowser said. "It's a really cool ballpark. It's one of those ones as a kid you grow up like, 'I just want to visit it,' let alone play in it. It's a blessing."

Pending free agent Anthony Santander stepped to the plate with Holliday at second base and two outs in the eighth, and he greeted reliever Greg Weissert with a first-pitch, two-run homer to right field to give the Orioles a 3-2 lead. But this is Fenway Park and it’s never easy. Strange things happen. It’s embedded in the team’s history.

Connor Wong belted a two-out, pinch-hit homer in the eighth off Danny Coulombe, who hadn’t allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings. But Gunnar Henderson, who struck out in three consecutive at-bats, led off the top of the 10^th inning with a two-run homer to left field and Cedric Mullins tacked on some insurance with an RBI single before Cowser got in one more shot on a 3-0 pitch.

"Glad to actually see one go off the barrel a little bit," Henderson said. "Just had to hang with them there."

Holliday scored his first and second major league runs tonight and the Orioles (8-4) claimed their sixth comeback win. He was the automatic runner in the 10^th.

"We were shouting pretty loud there in the locker room," said starter Grayson Rodriguez. "It was definitely pretty cool to see that, see the bats come alive there at the end when it matters the most."

Cowser was the rude guest in his first visit to Boston, collecting six hits and driving in 10 runs in the series.

"That was awesome," Henderson said. "He's showing what he can do. He's just scratching the surface."

"He's been a lot of fun to watch," Rodriguez said. "I think he's really starting to come alive, showing everybody the player that he is and the special talent that he is, as well."

Cowser became the first Orioles player with at least five extra-base hits and 10 RBIs in a three-game span since Chris Davis in 2013.

"This year I was trying to be a little more confident regardless of what happens," Cowser said. "Whether I go 0-for-4 or 4-for-4, I want to forget about it that night and then go in the next day with the same mentality."

Cowser needed 37 games to tally his first homer, following his double to left field in the second inning with a 357-foot fly off Garrett Whitlock. He rounded first base, pointed at the Orioles bullpen and shook his fist.

"As soon as Jackson got called up, I was messing around and I was like, 'If Jackson hits a home run before me, I'm going to be pretty upset.' I know his is coming soon," Cowser said.

"I was trying to keep it under a hundred at-bats. Came in a big spot today."

Retrieving the ball was an easy task since it hit the second row of seats above the wall and bounced back onto the field.

Holliday went 0-for-4 and is hitless in eight at-bats, but he, too, will bounce back. He grounded out in the third inning, struck out in the fifth while Westburg stole second base, and reached on third baseman’s Pablo Reyes’ fielding error leading off the eighth against left-hander Joely Rodríguez. Holliday struck out against Kenley Jansen to end the ninth after Mullins and Westburg walked.

Boston appeared to turn another impressive double play to end the eighth, but shortstop David Hamilton missed the bag after taking the feed from Ceddanne Rafaela, and the Red Sox settled for the out at first. Weissert entered and Santander found the seats with a 332-foot line drive.

Weissert threw a sweeper. The Orioles did the sweeping - their first here since the opening series in April 2021.

"It's a good start in the AL East," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings and came out after 94 pitches. Starters have gone at least five innings in every game.

Holliday was exceptional at second base, the standout play highlighting his impressive range. He backhanded Tyler O’Neill’s ground ball to the shortstop side in the third inning and fired a strike to first base.

Rodriguez threw 21 pitches and received a mound visit in the first inning, when the Red Sox sent seven batters to the plate. All three hits were doubles, beginning with Jarren Duran, who scored on Masataka Yoshida’s ground ball.

Holliday made a sliding stop to his left and threw out Yoshida, but back-to-back doubles from Triston Casas and Wilyer Abreu increased the lead to 2-0. Casas lifted a fly ball to right field that landed inside the line as Holliday chased it - the rookie getting much closer than Santander.

Rodriguez also walked a batter before returning to the dugout. Reese McGuire flied to the right field warning track, 388 feet away, for the last out.

"Obviously a little rocky first inning there," Rodriguez said. "I was able to get kind of settled in after that, and the offense prevailed there at the end."

The second inning was much calmer for Rodriguez, who retired the side in order on 11 pitches and struck out Hamilton with a changeup. He threw 12 in the third and stranded a runner, striking out Casas on a cutter, and 20 in the fourth while striking out two more and stranding Hamilton after a bad-hop single.

A light rain kept falling in the fifth as Rodriguez struck out Duran, issued a walk and retired the next two batters. Abreu had a leadoff single in the sixth, Rodriguez got his last two outs, and Jacob Webb stranded the runner.

Webb retired the side in order in the seventh and has thrown 6 1/3 scoreless innings this season, with one hit and seven strikeouts since returning from paternity leave.

The Orioles came within inches of another Westburg three-run homer in the second. The ball hooked foul and the call stood after a challenge. Mullins drew a leadoff walk against Justin Slaten in the seventh and the Red Sox turned a dazzling 4-6-3 double play on Cowser’s 103.3 mph ground ball.

The Red Sox had already done some massive substituting and shuffling of positions, and they were in a bigger bind after catcher Reese McGuire was ejected in the ninth for arguing a strikeout. They had to surrender their designated hitter heading into extras.

There’s no surrender in the Orioles. Lose a lead, still manage to win a game.

"We had some opportunities early to cash in, but we were able to come through late and ultimately get the sweep," Henderson said.

"I feel like we all just buy in together, really just embrace the pass the baton and try to pick up the next guy if he doesn't get it done. I feel like that's been our MO since last year and we're just continuing it into this year."

"We do have confidence in our offense and we can do a lot of different things," Hyde said. "So far this year we've taken great at-bats the last third of the game. That's pretty big."

* The Orioles began the day with two openings on their 40-man roster and have filled it to capacity.

After claiming infielder Liván Soto on waivers from the Angels, the Orioles acquired right-hander Yohan Ramírez from the Mets for cash considerations.

Ramírez, 28, hasn’t reported to the club. He registered an 11.81 ERA and 2.438 WHIP in three games, allowing seven runs and nine hits with four walks and six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Ramírez served a two-game suspension, reduced from three, after intentionally throwing at Milwaukee’s Rhys Hoskins on March 30. The Brewers visit Camden Yards this weekend.

The Mets designated Ramírez for assignment this week and called up former Orioles pitcher Cole Sulser.

Ramírez has appeared in 105 games between the Mariners, Guardians, Pirates, White Sox, and Mets since making his debut in 2020. He has a career 4.31 ERA and 1.392 WHIP in 129 1/3 innings.

There’s a connection to Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias. The Astros signed Ramírez as an international free agent in June 2016. The Mariners selected him three years later in the Rule 5 draft.

* High-A Aberdeen’s Cameron Weston threw five scoreless and hitless innings, with no walks and nine strikeouts. The only batter who reached was hit by a pitch.

Catcher Creed Willems hit a three-run homer. Matthew Etzel went 5-for-5.