Red Sox top prospect Kristian Campbell shines in otherwise ugly loss to Orioles.THANHDUNG

An Orioles lineup full of minor leaguers came to JetBlue Park on Monday and took the Red Sox regulars’ lunch money.

Boston’s early lead evaporated as Baltimore held the Red Sox to six hits and racked up 16 in a 12-3 comeback win that took over three hours. It could have been much worse; the Orioles were 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position but left 11 men on base.

Good thing these games don’t count.

Save for a few noteworthy takeaways. Chief among them Kristian Campbell, who took care of business from the word ‘Go.’ A candidate for the Opening Day roster, he was the only member of the starting nine to play the complete game. He was tested immediately when Orioles leadoff man Livan Soto put Tanner Houck’s second pitch in play; Campbell made a diving snag and effortless-looking throw to first for the leadoff out.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Kristian Campbell poses during photo day at the team's training facility during MLB baseball spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The versatile top prospect, currently No. 4 on Baseball America’s overall Top 100, continued his solid defensive work throughout the remaining frames, and went 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. The hit was a double in the bottom of the second, a ball that soared sky-high, but not deep enough to guarantee extra bases. As it caromed off the bottom of the Green Monster replica, he dove headfirst, successfully avoiding the tag with a swim-move slide. Pushing himself into a sitting position on the bag, the usually-reserved Campbell clapped his hands and roared in delight.

Manager Alex Cora told reporters that Campbell will play second again on Tuesday when the Red Sox pay the Yankees a visit in Tampa, and praised him for his consistency as the game slipped out of reach.

“It feels like he’s getting comfortable,” Cora told reporters, including MassLive’s Chris Smith. “I think defensively today was the first day I was able to see it. … Even late in the game, it’s 12-3 or whatever it was, and he made two nice plays. That tells you who he is and the defender he is.”

After making his Grapefruit League debut over the weekend, Rafael Devers collected his first hit of the preseason. Starting as the designated hitter, Devers doubled high off the Green Monster to drive in Jarren Duran, who led off the bottom of the first with a walk.

Trevor Story and Alex Bregman drove in Boston’s remaining two runs with a third-inning sacrifice fly and fourth-inning single, respectively. Ceddanne Rafaela had an outfield assist and continued showing improved patience at the plate, going 1-for-2 with a single, walk and run scored, and Connor Wong successfully gunned to second base twice to catch two Orioles runners stealing.

Tanner Houck pitched 4 ⅓ innings and yielded two unearned runs, six hits, walked none, and struck out three.

A tight game unraveled in the sixth. Baltimore sent 13 men to the plate, and by the time the third out finally arrived nearly a half-hour later, they’d turned a 2-3 deficit into a 10-3 lead. After finishing the fifth inning for Houck, Greg Weissert faced seven batters in the sixth. He issued a leadoff walk and gave up four consecutive singles, a wild pitch plated another run, and a walk re-loaded the bases. With that, Weissert exited without recording an out, and his streak of scoreless appearances was over.

Jose Adames took over but fared no better. He walked in a run and gave up a two-run double to Livan Soto. It was Baltimore’s 11th hit of the contest, but first for extra bases.

After the Red Sox went 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, the Orioles picked up where they left off.

Christopher Troye, who spent last season in Double-A Portland, has been the go-to fireman of late. Monday was no different; when the Orioles loaded the bases against Luis Guerrero in the top of the seventh, Troye took over and got the third out, giving them the only scoreless appearances on the staff.

Split-squad Sox overcome Spencer Strider strikeout bonanza

The away side of split-squad action was a complete-180: facing an Atlanta Braves lineup full of big-leaguers, a prospect-heavy Red Sox contingent hung on for a 2-1 win.

While the game at JetBlue Park fell apart, the one in North Port remained tight from start to finish. Braves right-hander Spencer Strider gave no indication that it was first start since season-ending elbow surgery last April; he struck out six of his eight batters in 2 ⅔ perfect innings, including five in a row after inducing a groundout from leadoff man David Hamilton. Among his strikeout victims were top prospects Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, who started in center and third base, respectively.

The Braves bullpen issued a pair of walks in the fourth to end the perfect-game bid, but kept the no-hitter going until the fifth, when Nick Sogard’s one-out double finally broke the ice. In the following frame, Mayer’s two-run single gave Boston a 2-0 lead.

The Red Sox collected no other hits in the contest, but thanks to the combined efforts of Shane Drohan and relievers Adam Ottavino, Gabriel Jackson, Wyatt Mills, and Nick Burdi, they had enough.

Red Sox roster moves

The Red Sox reassigned a trio of non-roster invitee pitchers, Austin Adams, Isaiah Campbell, and Noah Davis, to minor league camp on Monday, trimming big-league camp to 52.

Position-player roster decisions will come by week’s end, manager Alex Cora told reporters.

Starting pitching decisions come next week. Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, and Walker Buehler will start the first three games of the regular season, but the Red Sox need to fill the remaining two spots in the rotation, as Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito are starting the season on the injured list. Richard Fitts, Quinn Priester, Cooper Criswell, and Brockton, Mass. native Sean Newcomb, another non-roster invitee, are the top four contenders.

Meet you there

Rafael Devers and Trevor Story won’t make the trip to Mexico next week for the two exhibition games against the Sultanes de Monterrey, Cora announced Monday. Devers will remain in Fort Myers to work on his swing before meeting the team in Texas for the opening series of the regular season.

Cora didn’t provide further details on why Story won’t be making the trip, but the Red Sox don’t need to risk their veteran shortstop getting injured in preseason games.

It’s also a rare opportunity for a player to spend some extra time at home before the season gets underway. Story grew up in nearby Irving and still calls the Dallas area home during the offseason; in January, he held his second annual “Story Camp,” hosting Red Sox teammates and prospects at his newly-finished baseball facility.

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