Cobb strong in mound return

Run support helps pitcher after nearly two years of being sidelined

BOSTON – Orioles pitcher Alex Cobb has been waiting a long time to tell his teammates “thank you” following a victory.

That wait ended with his first regular-season win in almost two years.

Cobb mostly kept the Red Sox off balance on Saturday, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out six in Baltimore’s 7-2 win. It was a big change from the day before, when the Orioles watched the Red Sox tally 17 hits in a 13-2 win on opening day.

After missing most of last season with a hip injury that required surgery, Cobb said making his first start since April 2019 was a small step in a journey to get back to where he wants to be.

“You have to start somewhere,” said Cobb, who went 5 1/3 innings to pick up his first victory since Sept. 4, 2018, against Seattle. “There’s been a lot of work put in,

MICHAEL DWYER/AP Red Sox vs. Orioles, 1:35 p.m., NESN Strasburg misses start but Nationals still beat Yankees, 9-2. The Red Sox’s Jackie Bradley Jr. catches a line-out by the Orioles’ Renato Nunez during the seventh inning on Saturday in Boston.