BOSTON — Renato Núñez homered in his second straight game and was one of four Baltimore players to go deep as the Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 9-4 on Saturday.
DJ Stewart, Richie Martin and Trey Mancini also homered for Baltimore, which won its 54th game of the season and has a chance to close out a dismal year with a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champion Red Sox on Sunday at Fenway Park.
Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez homered for the Red Sox, who lost their third straight.
John Means (12-11) recovered from a rough start and pitched five solid innings for the Orioles, allowing three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out five.
Martin and Stewart drove in two runs apiece and Mancini capped off the day with a solo homer to right in the ninth, his team-high 35th of the season.
Bogaerts and Martinez hit back-to-back homers for Boston in the first, when the Red Sox took a 3-2 lead.
Martin’s solo homer in the second tied it and Núñez put Baltimore ahead again in the third with a towering shot over the Green Monster, his second homer of the series and 31st of the season.
Boston loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but Branden Kline got out of the jam when Brock Holt grounded into a double play.
Jhoulys Chacín (3-12) lasted just 2 2/3 innings for Boston. He allowed four runs on five hits, struck out three and walked one.
NOTES: On Sunday, Red Sox LHP Eduardo Rodríguez (19-6, 3.76 ERA) tries to become the club’s first lefty to win 20 games since Mel Parnell went 21-8 in 1953. The Orioles had not yet named a starter for the season finale. … Orioles’ RF Anthony Santander missed his fourth straight game. Manager Brandon Hyde said Santander was banged up heading into the series. … Boston LF Andrew Benintendi was out of the lineup for the second straight game. Benintendi hasn’t played since leaving Thursday’s game at Texas in the fourth inning after fouling a pitch off his right calf.
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