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The Boston Red Sox Monday, May 10, 2021 * The Boston Globe Rafael Devers continues Camden Yards dominance as Red Sox defeat Orioles Julian McWilliams BALTIMORE — Rafael Devers’s homer in the top of the second inning Sunday left on a line. In true Devers form, it got out of Camden Yards in a hurry, twisting its way over the head of Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins and over the 410-foot mark on the wall. The ball was of, course, barreled, jumping off Devers’s bat at 110.7 m.p.h., landing 423 feet from the batter’s box Devers calls his home. Off Orioles starter Dean Kremer, it tied the contest at one apiece. The Sox down a run in the sixth, Devers roped a double to right-center that scored two. It put the Sox ahead for good, the eventual 4-3 win setting up a chance at a four-game sweep Monday. “The home run, that was eye opening,” manager Alex Cora said. “It seems like that ball was like five feet off the ground and it just kept carrying. He’s been doing a great job with men in scoring position. He’s been very patient lately, which is good.” Devers’s swing always has conviction. If he takes a hack, it’s one that shows commitment. There’s no in between. He’s been steady and dominant this year, batting .288/.375/.576 (.951 OPS) with eight homers. He has 10 extra-base hits — eight doubles, two home runs — and 11 RBIs his last 13 games, batting .326 (15 for 46) in that span. He’s shown a steady heartbeat, too, delivering when the Sox need him most. He’s hitting .405 (15 for 37) with runners in scoring position after his sixth-inning double. Devers lives up to the moment, according to Cora, certain he can deliver. “There’s not a big moment for him,” Cora said. “He enjoys playing baseball. He’s just happy and you know, he’s like, ‘Why be upset or mad? I’m playing baseball. I’m making a lot of money. And I hit homers.’ So I mean, you can’t go against that. He’s very relaxed. He loves it.” Devers continues to impose his will on the Orioles, with 14 homers against them — his most against any opponent — and a .305 average with a .964 OPS at Camden Yards. “I really have no control over it,” Devers said with a smile. “It’s just a park, I guess. Like any other night, I’m glad to be hitting the ball well.” Despite a rocky start and 103-pitch outing, Nick Pivetta completed six innings for the Red Sox. The Orioles fouled off a whopping 30 Pivetta pitches, which the righty attributed to him tipping. Pivetta issued back-to- back walks in the first, and a Ryan Mountcastle line drive single up the middle scored the first run of the game. Cedric Mullins hit a solo shot in the fifth, but that would prove to be all the damage against Pivetta, 5-0 on the year with a 3.19 ERA. “I was just mixing pitches, getting ahead of guys,” said Pivetta. “A lot of weak contact today. You know, just contact in general. The defense played tremendous behind me. A lot of really great plays.” Hunter Renfroe homered to center in the eighth, a massive 453-foot shot and critical insurance run when the Orioles made it 4-3 against Adam Ottavino in the eighth on a hit batter, two groundouts, and a Mountcastle double. After Ottavino got Freddy Galvis to ground out, Matt Barnes put down the Orioles 1- 2-3 on nine pitches in the ninth for his eighth save. But it was Devers who imposed his will once more in Baltimore. “I mean physically, I feel great,” Devers said. “I had a very, very, good offseason. I worked hard this offseason, I’ve worked hard during spring training. I continue to work hard.” Red Sox shut down pitcher Tanner Houck due to sore flexor muscle Peter Abraham BALTIMORE — Triple A righthander Tanner Houck, who has appeared in three games for the Red Sox this season, has been shut down with a sore flexor muscle in his arm. “We’re not overly concerned,” Sox manager Alex Cora said Sunday. “This happened in his last start and the next day he came in sore. He’s actually feeling better right now. But of course we’re going to shut him down. “There’s no timetable. But this is something that we feel is going to be short-term. It’s not something that we are overly concerned about.” Houck pitched three innings for Triple A Worcester against Buffalo on Tuesday in Trenton, N.J. He allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out four without a walk. The 24-year-old is 3-2 with a 1.98 earned run average in six major league games. Flexor soreness is common among pitchers and is often solved with rest, but also can be a precursor to a more serious injury. For the short term at least, it’s an issue for the Sox as Houck was their primary depth starter. He filled in for Eduardo Rodriguez in the first week of the season, then returned April 18 to pitch the first game of a doubleheader. The other Worcester starters are Daniel Gossett, Stephen Gonsalves, Kyle Hart, and Raynel Espinal. None are on the 40-man roster. Gossett was 4-14 with a 5.91 ERA in 23 starts for Oakland from 2017-18 and hasn’t pitched in the majors since. Gonsalves had a 6.57 ERA in seven games for Minnesota in 2018 and hasn’t pitched in the majors since. He started four of those games and was 0-2 with a 11.68 ERA. Hart appeared in four games for the Red Sox last season and had a 15.55 ERA, allowing 13 earned runs over nine innings in three starts. He left a Saturday start for Worcester in the fourth inning after being injured making a fielding play. Espinal has no major league experience and has been primarily a reliever in the minors. The Sox viewed righthander Bryan Mata as starter depth this season, but the 22-year-old righthander was injured in spring training and had Tommy John surgery on April 13. Another option, righthander Connor Seabold, has been sidelined with elbow inflammation. Ryan Weber started for Worcester on Sunday. The 30-year-old righthander is 4-12 with a 4.86 ERA over parts of six major league seasons with four teams. He was 3-7 with a 4.73 ERA in eight games for the Sox from 2019-20. Weber is 1-7 with a 6.27 ERA in 16 career starts. Jonathan Araúz replaces Christian Arroyo Infielder Christian Arroyo was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Friday because of a bruised left hand. Infielder Jonathan Araúz was recalled from Worcester. Arroyo was having trouble gripping the bat after being hit on the same hand twice in 11 days, the last time coming Thursday. “I don’t want him to feel the pressure of coming back sooner and then something bad really happens,” Cora said. Arroyo has started 18 games at second base this season, hitting .275 with a .710 OPS. Arauz, 22, played in 25 games last season after being taken in the Rule 5 Draft from Houston. He hit .250 with a .644 OPS. Familiar faces The Sox are in the middle of a stretch where they will have the same umpire crew for 14 consecutive games. Ryan Blakney, D.J. Reyburn, Ron Kulpa, and Brian O’Nora picked up the Sox in Texas on April 29 and are scheduled to have them through Thursday. It’s part of Major League Baseball’s coronavirus protocols to make travel safer for the umpires. “We talked about it [Saturday]. They’ve been around for a while,” Cora said. “But it’s been OK. I don’t think there’s an advantage … it’s weird, but at the time, we understand why.” The umpires traveled with the Sox from Texas to Boston and then from Boston to Baltimore. Cora told the arbiters the Sox had a flexible dress code and they weren’t obligated to wear suits. Checking in with Mom Cora dutifully spoke to his mother, Iris, on Sunday. She told him the Sox remind her of a Little League team with the way they celebrate after victories and pout after losses. “I was dying laughing,” Cora said. “I take that as a compliment. That means that we care and we’re having fun.” The manager’s mom also suggested he bunt more often . MLB’s Mother’s Day celebration included naming honorary bat girls for each team to highlight the fight against breast cancer. Brookline’s Nancy Mella Bulkeley represented the Sox. She is a nine-year breast cancer survivor and has been a top fundraiser in the Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk, participating since 2018. Players on both teams wore pink wristbands and/or arm sleeves, with some wearing pink cleats or using pink bats . The Orioles placed righthander Dillon Tate on the injured list with a strained left hamstring and recalled outfielder Ryan McKenna . The visiting team has won 10 consecutive games played by the Sox and Orioles. The Sox are 6-0 at Camden Yards this season, scoring 48 runs. Once undervalued, Nick Pivetta is thriving in his new surroundings with the Red Sox Peter Abraham BALTIMORE — Kevin Millar was set to play in Japan in 2003.