The Red Sox bullpen blew it.
The Orioles scored four runs in the ninth inning on two RBI singles, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly to complete a comeback from an early 6-0 deficit and beat the Red Sox, 12-8, Friday night at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox held an 8-2 lead heading into the seventh, only to see the Orioles cut into it.
The Red Sox held an 8-5 lead heading into the eighth, only to see the Orioles tie the game.
Jake Diekman surrendered a three-run home run in the seventh to Jorge Mateo.
And John Schreiber? A two-run homer to Austin Hays in the eighth.
Later that inning, with Matt Strahm pitching and Rougned Odor on second, Ramon Urias hit a slow roller to Rafael Devers at third. Devers barehanded the ball and made an errant throw to first, allowing Odor to score.
Just like that, it was a tie game. Soon after, it was over.
“It was very tough,” manager Alex Cora said. “They hit the ball out of the ballpark twice, and they put together good at-bats and they were very relentless. It was tough to watch.”
Said Diekman: “The final two innings just got away.”
Friday’s meltdown marks the largest lead the Sox have blown since last September 6 against the Rays.
The loss came despite the Sox registering 14 hits to continue their hot streak at the dish.
Entering Friday, the Sox ranked first in batting average (.283), slugging (.477), and OPS (.825). They were second to the Dodgers in runs scored this month with 131, smashing 30 homers after hitting just 12 in April.
The Sox jumped all over Orioles starter Kyle Bradish in the first. Kiké Hernández registered a broken-bat single to begin the inning. Devers then roped a single toward left fielder Anthony Santander, who booted the ball, allowing Hernández to score from first. Trouble continued to mount for Bradish. J.D. Martinez was hit by a pitch, putting two men on for Xander Bogaerts, who launched a three-run homer that hit off the signage beyond the Green Monster. It was Bogaerts’s fifth homer of the season and put the Sox ahead, 4-0, with no outs.
The Sox tacked on two more in the second when Alex Verdugo stung a two-run ground-rule double toward the 420-foot sign in center. It was Verdugo’s fourth double in his last four games and his sixth hit in two games.
The bullpen stinker also squandered a solid outing by Garrett Whitlock.
Whitlock came into this start scuffling. In his four previous outings, Whitlock had a 6.75 ERA, yielding 12 runs (all earned). Opponents hit .288 against the righthander with three homers and an .851 OPS.
Cora said Whitlock was still adjusting to the starter’s role, with teams having time to game plan against him. Beyond that, Cora noted that it’s about Whitlock just executing his pitches.
“When he pitches ahead with his fastball,” Cora said before the game. “Then he can do whatever with the other pitches. The changeup plays, the slider plays, he can go to different places with his fastball.”
Whitlock navigated his way through three perfect innings, striking out three. In the fourth, the Orioles got their first runner with a Trey Mancini walk. Whitlock fell behind, 2-0, to Santander, and Santander made him pay, scalding a two-run homer to right.
“l felt better this time out,” Whitlock said. “I was able to move the fastball in and out and mix my pitches.”
In the end, Whitlock pitched six quality innings (his season high), surrendering just those two runs. The bullpen, however, sputtered, as it has most of the season.
“They kept fighting,” Cora said of the Orioles. “It had to be perfect for us tonight after Whitlock and it didn’t happen.”
Julian McWilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him @byJulianMack.