AL East lead at 4 thanks to Mookie, Porcello

BALTIMORE — It’s Mookie Betts’ Camden Yards and everyone else is just playing in it.

Betts hit his eighth homer in seven games at the Orioles’ home park on Monday — and just missed another — with his two-run third-inning blast highlighting Boston’s 5-2 series-opening victory.

The win increases Boston’s lead in the American League East to a season-high four games over the Orioles, who entered the day a game up on Toronto in the Wild Card. The magic number for the 86-64 Red Sox to clinch the division is now in single-digits at nine, with 12 games left.

“It’s huge,” said Betts. “Anytime you can come into somebody else’s place and win, that’s huge, but obviously, we have three more left and they’re a really good ballclub. We’re pretty good too, so it’s going to be a good series.”

David Ortiz also belted his 35th homer for the Red Sox as part of a three-run fifth inning while Rick Porcello (21-4, 3.08 ERA) held an impressive Baltimore lineup to two runs while pitching his third complete game of the season.

“He had great command. You see on the board the number of strikes,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Porcello. “It wasn’t like we were swinging at a lot of pitches outside the zone either. That’s why he won 21 games. It’s not always the guy who throws the hardest, even though he’s got plenty of that. A lot of different pitches and command of them.”

Mark Trumbo doubled in the Orioles’ first run in the fourth inning, with Adam Jones hitting a solo homer off Porcello in the eighth. Baltimore rookie starter Dylan Bundy was charged with five runs over five innings in the loss.

“Up to this point right now, this is the biggest series of the year for us,” said Porcello. “So you know we’ve got to beat these guys up front and we have three more games left. It’s a good way to start it.”

The 35 homers by Ortiz are the most by a player age 40 or older, surpassing the previous record by Darrell Evans in 1987. If Ortiz goes deep just once more before the end of the regular season, he will break Dave Kingman’s record in 1986 for most in a final season.

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