Red Sox’s Betts hits 3 HRs for ‘the best night’

3:40 AM ET

BALTIMORE — Whenever Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts watches teammate Mookie Betts swing a bat, whether it’s on a lazy day in spring training or in the ninth inning of a tie game, one thought crosses his mind.

“Every time I see him hit, I think he’s going to hit a home run,” Bogaerts said. “It’s just the presence he has in the batter’s box. I just feel like anything you leave over there, he’s going to hit it out.”

On Tuesday night at Camden Yards, that was mostly true.

Editor’s PicksMookie Betts, Red Sox bomb Kevin Gausman, outdo Orioles at own game

Kevin Gausman and the Baltimore Orioles were no match for the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, as Mookie Betts led the charge with three home runs.

Betts had a game for the ages in the Red Sox’s 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He slugged three home runs, one to each field — straightaway center in the first inning, down the left-field line in the second and the opposite way to right field in the seventh. He also made a diving catch to take a hit away from Paul Janish in the bottom of the seventh.

In short, he did it all.

“This is probably the best night,” Betts said when asked where the performance ranks among any game he has played. “First time I’ve ever [hit three homers]. I was able to make a play behind [reliever] Robbie Ross, too. So, for putting the whole game together, I think today was the best.”

Betts became the first Red Sox player to hit three homers in a game since third baseman Will Middlebrooks on April 7, 2013, in Toronto and the first Sox outfielder to turn the feat since Trot …

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