Hosmer a hit at Fenway as Sox top Orioles to snap losing skid

Aug. 12—When Eric Hosmer first arrived at the trade deadline he was careful not to overstep his bounds. The Red Sox already had respected clubhouse leaders like Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez, so during one of their first conversations Hosmer told manager Alex Cora he didn't want to step on anyone's toes.

"I said 'bro there's no toes in here,'" Cora said. "You come in and you're part of the family, and you have a voice."

An 11-year veteran and a former World Series champion, Hosmer got the green light to be himself and on Thursday he answered the call by giving his new team a badly needed lift.

Returning to the lineup after missing two days with a left knee contusion, Hosmer delivered the game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning to help beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3.

In the process the Red Sox broke a four-game losing streak and pulled to within 4.5 games of the final playoff spot.

Hosmer's 2 for 3 performance was his best since joining the Red Sox last Thursday in Kansas City and was an encouraging sign of what he might be able to do at Fenway Park going forward. In 25 career games at Fenway entering Thursday Hosmer was batting .347 with an .872 OPS, both his best totals at any venue where he's played 20 or more games.

Prior to the game Cora noted that Fenway's unique dimensions should play to his left-handed strengths, much like they did for Kyle Schwarber following his arrival last summer. Hosmer agreed, saying the park rewards lefties who can go to the opposite field.

"It really incentivizes hitters to go through the middle, stay left-center field, and I feel like for me personally when I'm going good those are my strengths," Hosmer said. "It just keeps me working the middle of the field and I think that can kind of be the approach for me from here on out, especially in home games."

Hosmer's big hit came right after Baltimore rallied to tie the game with three runs in the top of the sixth. Starting pitcher Josh Winckowski was one strike away from completing six shutout innings when Terrin Vavra tagged him for a two-run triple, and then Vavra scored on an infield grounder by Austin Hays that Winckowski couldn't field cleanly.

But after the Orioles recorded two quick outs in the ensuring frame, J.D. Martinez drew a walk and came around to score on Hosmer's towering double to the deepest part of the ballpark. Matt Barnes and John Schreiber would close things out from there, with Schreiber recording the two-out save for the win.

Email: mcerullo@northofboston.com. Twitter: @MacCerullo.