Mitch Moreland and Xander Bogaerts homered while starter Nathan Eovaldi threw seven solid innings as the Boston Red Sox defeated the host Baltimore Orioles 7-1 Thursday night.

The Red Sox may slowly be coming out of the slump that's plagued them. Boston had dropped nine in a row before beating the Phillies Wednesday night to snap that skid.

Bogaerts hit a solo homer plus had a key RBI single in a four-run ninth. Moreland followed with a long three-run homer to center. The pair combined to drive in five of Boston's seven runs.

Eovaldi (2-2) shut down the Orioles with a number of ground balls and lots of fastballs that Baltimore simply couldn't handle. The right-hander gave up one run on five hits in seven innings -- striking out six.

Baltimore starter Asher Wojciechowski (1-3) struggled through his 3 2/3-inning start. He gave up three runs on seven hits but needed 88 pitches to do so.

The Red Sox took the lead with two runs in the second and one more in the third. In the second, Jose Peraza started things with an RBI single.

Later in the inning, Alex Verdugo grounded to second, and that scored another run for a quick 2-0 lead. Boston stretched it to 3-0 in the third when Bogaerts belted a long homer into the seats in left field. The ball went halfway up into the left-field seats and gave the Red Sox some insurance.

The Orioles finally got on the scoreboard when Pat Valaika led off the seventh with a homer to right-center. That sliced the Boston lead to 3-1. The Red Sox added the four in the ninth, thanks to Moreland and Bogaerts.

Also, in an off-the-field matter, Cal Ripken Jr. told the media Thursday that he was found to have prostate cancer back in February. Now, after being treated, the Hall of Famer is free of cancer.

Ripken had surgery in March to take out the cancer. He will have his 60th birthday later in August.

For Boston, left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez was brought back from the injured list. He had tested positive before coming to summer camp and was working out for the last few weeks.

--Field Level Media