Red Sox 6, Orioles 5: Rutschman Homers Twice in His Return to Baltimore

September 3, 2026 - Baltimore - The crowd stood for Adley Rutschman before he hit. Then he hit the first one. Then he hit the second one. The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 at Camden Yards, and the catcher Baltimore traded a month ago went 2-for-4 with two homers, three runs, and two RBI in the building that used to be his.

Nick Sogard broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth. Roman Anthony added a ninth-inning solo shot. Christian Encarnacion-Strand almost took it back with a two-run homer off Aroldis Chapman. Almost is the word the Orioles keep using in September.

A standing ovation, then 1-0, then 1-3

Rutschman's first at-bat as a visitor started with the ovation the Associated Press described. His 10th homer, to right-center, made it 1-0 before Baltimore had swung. Pete Alonso tied it with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first. That was the polite part of the night.

The fourth was the Orioles' only loud inning. Luis Robert Jr., claimed off waivers from the Mets, hit his first Baltimore homer, his 11th of the year, to left. 2-1. Alonso followed with his 33rd, to center. Eli White had time to settle under it and did not come down with the catch. 3-1 Baltimore. Alonso's two RBI moved him into a tie with Yordan Alvarez for the AL RBI lead at 94.

Jake Bennett went six innings, five hits, three runs, zero walks, seven strikeouts. Both homers sat on his line. He left down 3-1. Brandon Young had matched him, mostly: 6 2/3 innings, four hits, three runs, two walks, seven strikeouts, two homers allowed. Both starters did enough to win. Neither got the decision.

Rutschman again, then Sogard, then the ninth that almost flipped

Rutschman's 11th homer, again to right-center, cut it to 3-2 in the sixth. White doubled in the seventh. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled him home with two outs. 3-3. Young's night ended there. The Orioles' bullpen inherited a tie and did not keep it.

Luis De León (0-2), called up earlier in the week, has now appeared twice in a late tie and lost both. Jahmai Jones pinch-hit a leadoff single. Rutschman grounded to third. Jones broke up the double play at second. De León struck out Wilyer Abreu. Yennier Cano came on. Sogard hit his fourth homer of the year to right-center, the second homer Cano has allowed in 61 appearances, and Rutschman scored ahead of him. 5-3.

Anthony's third homer of the season, to left-center in the ninth, made it 6-3. Erik Miller (4-0) had already worked a scoreless eighth with two walks and two strikeouts for the win. Chapman came on for his 31st save in 33 chances.

He did not make it easy. Gunnar Henderson reached. Encarnacion-Strand, 2-for-3 with a walk already, hit his eighth homer to left-center. 6-5. Chapman struck out two in the inning and stranded the tying run. Baltimore had two hits after the fourth until that ninth. The two hits in the ninth were the ones that made 6-3 feel like a save you remember.

What a 6-5 does to both clubs

Boston is 76-65, 7 1/2 behind Tampa Bay in the East and 5 1/2 up in the wild-card math. Baltimore is 69-72, a third straight loss, 1 1/2 out of the last wild-card spot. Trading Rutschman was a deadline choice. Watching him take two ovation swings out of the yard is the cost that shows up on the scoreboard.

Friday is Ranger Suárez (5-4) for Boston against Shane Baz (5-14) for the Orioles. Suárez already has a win in a Rutschman Boston lineup. Baltimore needs Baz to keep the next homer in the park.

Rutschman finished the night 2-for-4. Sogard went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Encarnacion-Strand was the best Oriole bat. Alonso and Robert went deep and still lost. That is a September loss in one sentence.

After the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Rutschman at 13 hitting fantasy points, second on Thursday's hitter board behind only Carter Jensen. Sogard added 8. Encarnacion-Strand had 8 on the Baltimore side. Boston posted 10 team FP. Bennett's six innings showed up at 12 pitching FP even without the win.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform rules. Share price is what traders pay tomorrow. See dynamic pricing.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com gameday, MLB.com schedule, AthX Engine daily scoring for September 3, 2026. Information only; not financial advice.*