BOSTON (Interstat) — The Boston Red Sox scored four runs in the first inning and never trailed, defeating the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 in the first game of a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park.

Jake Bennett earned the win for Boston, allowing three earned runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings while striking out four. The left-hander improved to 6-3 on the season. Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his 23rd save, striking out one and walking one. Justin Slaten contributed 1 1/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief with one strikeout.

Dean Kremer took the loss for Baltimore, falling to 1-3. The right-hander surrendered six runs on eight hits over four innings, striking out three and walking one.

Boston’s win lifted its record to 52-48, while Baltimore dropped to 49-53.

The Red Sox jumped on Kremer immediately in the bottom of the first inning. Masataka Yoshida led off with a single to center field. Ceddanne Rafaela followed with a ground-ball single to second base, moving Yoshida to second. Wilyer Abreu lined out sharply to first baseman Pete Alonso, but Willson Contreras singled to left field to load the bases. Caleb Durbin then lined a single to center field, scoring Yoshida and Rafaela and putting Boston ahead 2-0. After Romy Gonzalez struck out, Jarren Duran tripled down the right-field line, clearing the bases and bringing home Contreras and Durbin to make it 4-0. Connor Wong struck out on a foul tip to end the inning.

Baltimore got one run back in the top of the third. With one out, Pete Alonso hit a ground-rule double down the right-field line. After Gunnar Henderson struck out, Tyler O’Neill doubled to center field, scoring Alonso and cutting the deficit to 4-1.

Boston answered in the bottom of the third. Willson Contreras struck out to start the inning, but Caleb Durbin singled to third base. Romy Gonzalez doubled to left field, sending Durbin to third. Jarren Duran then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Durbin and extending Boston’s lead to 5-1. Connor Wong struck out to end the inning.

Baltimore responded in the top of the fourth. Christian Encarnacion-Strand led off with a home run to center field, his second of the season, making it 5-2. Jackson Holliday grounded out to first base, and Sam Huff grounded out to third, ending the inning.

Boston regained its four-run cushion in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Ceddanne Rafaela homered to left-center field, his ninth home run of the season, pushing the score to 6-2. Wilyer Abreu grounded out softly to pitcher Dean Kremer to end the inning.

Baltimore scored its final run in the top of the sixth. Coby Mayo led off with a double to left field. Leody Taveras grounded out to first base, moving Mayo to third. Christian Encarnacion-Strand singled to left field, scoring Mayo and making it 6-3. Jackson Holliday flied out to left field, and Dylan Beavers popped out to third base to end the inning.

The game’s most pivotal sequence occurred in the first inning when Boston’s four-run outburst put the Orioles in an early hole from which they never recovered. Durbin’s two-run single and Duran’s two-run triple were the decisive blows, swinging the momentum firmly in Boston’s favor and forcing Baltimore to play from behind for the remainder of the contest.

Baltimore threatened in the top of the seventh when Taylor Ward singled to left field with one out, but Pete Alonso lined out sharply to center field and Gunnar Henderson flied out to right field to end the inning. The Orioles put two runners on in the top of the ninth when Jackson Holliday singled to center field with no outs. Chadwick Tromp grounded into a double play, shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng to second baseman Romy Gonzalez to first baseman Willson Contreras, erasing Holliday. Taylor Ward drew a walk with two outs, but Pete Alonso grounded out to shortstop to end the game.

Ceddanne Rafaela led Boston’s offense with two hits in four at-bats, including a home run and one RBI. Willson Contreras also had two hits in four at-bats. Romy Gonzalez added a double, and Masataka Yoshida had one hit in three at-bats. Jarren Duran’s triple in the first inning was his third of the season.

For Baltimore, Christian Encarnacion-Strand had three hits in four at-bats, including a home run and two RBIs. Coby Mayo doubled, and Tyler O’Neill doubled and drove in a run. Taylor Ward, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday and Pete Alonso each had one hit. Alonso also scored a run.

The game was played at a brisk pace, lasting 2 hours and 19 minutes. Attendance was 35,039.

Boston’s victory evened the four-game series at one win apiece after the Red Sox defeated Baltimore 6-5 on Monday. The second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader was scheduled to begin later in the evening.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Boston 7, Baltimore 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave Boston a 59 percent probability to win. Boston was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 9 went under the over-under line of 8.5.