Rivalry Roundup: O's down Red Sox, continue Boston's slow start

04/01/2025 10:30 AM

Baltimore picked up a win in their home opener as the Red Sox took another loss.

After the absolute fireworks the Yankees produced over the opening weekend of the 2025 season, they got a day off on Monday. On one hand, you hate to see a team that hot get a day to cool off, but on the other hand, a lot of them got in some good workouts rounding the bases.

However, while the Yankees were off, plenty of other teams weren't. With several teams opening their home slates for 2025, there was a ton of action around MLB on Monday. Let's check in on how the Yankees' key competition did in today's edition of the Rivalry Roundup.

Baltimore Orioles (3-2) 8, Boston Red Sox (1-4) 5

Playing their home opener, the Orioles piled on to the Red Sox slow start to the season, scoring four runs in the first inning and never looking back from there.

With Sean Newcomb on the mound for Boston, the Orioles jumped on him early. The first four Baltimore hitter all singled, with a Cedric Mullins double later in the inning driving home a couple runs to give the O's a commanding early lead.

The Red Sox cut into that deficit with two runs in the second inning and one in the third, but they could never fully get past Baltimore starter Cade Povich and the O's bullpen. Orioles pitching combined to retire 15 of the next 15 batters until through the eighth inning, at which point their offense got going again.

Led by another two RBI from Mullins, the Orioles tacked on four more runs in the eighth inning, which ended up being important. Boston went to to mount a rally attempt, scoring two runs in the ninth and bringing the tying run to the plate. However, Félix Bautista got Alex Bregman to pop up to end the game.

Meanwhile, Rafael Devers' bad start to the season continued as, while he did draw two walks in this one, he's still hitless on the year.

San Francisco Giants (3-1) 7, Houston Astros (2-2) 2

Childhood Houston native and Giants' starter Jordan Hicks threw a gem in his season debut, allowing just one hit in six innings as San Francisco downed the Astros.

It didn't always seem like Hicks was destined for an excellent outing, as he got in a bit of a jam in the bottom of the first inning. A walk to Isaac Parades and a Christian Walker single gave the Astros runners at the corner before Hicks got a fly out to end the inning. After that, he dominated. Hicks retired the next 13 batters he faced, and a Jose Altuve walk in the sixth was the only other blemish on his day.

The Giants got on the board in second, but it wasn't until a Wilmer Flores three-run homer in the sixth inning that they began to really pull away from the Astros. Even, then Houston picked up a couple runs off the San Francisco bullpen in the eighth, but the Giants answered with some insurance runs and sealed the victory.

San Diego Padres (5-0) 7, Cleveland Guardians (2-2) 2

Out west, the Guardians fell to the Padres, who continued their undefeated start to the season.

Cleveland did strike first when José Ramírez homered in the second at-bat of the game, but their lead wouldn't last too long. San Diego struck with four runs in the bottom of the second, with two coming on a RBI double from Gavin Sheets.

The Guardians did have their chances, as they scored a run in the third, and put up eight hits in total for the game. However, Padres' starter Kyle Hart put in five solid innings, and their bullpen kept things going from there. Old friend Wandy Peralta would even finish things off in the ninth.

Before that, San Diego picked up another three runs in the fifth, with Sheets again coming up with a big hit. Adding to that, Cleveland went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base for the game, leaving them several runs short.