BOSTON -- At last, it felt like summer at Fenway Park again. Not because of the weather, which included 80 degrees at first pitch.
More because of the noises made by the home crowd reacting to things the home team did.
For one of the rare times in recent weeks, the Red Sox had nine innings of pure fun at Fenway Park, making it look like the homefield advantage it should be while rolling to an 8-1 victory over the Orioles on Wednesday night.
All nine starting position players had at least one hit, led by three each from Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela.
The moans and groans that had come from 12 home losses in the previous 15 games were replaced by loud cheers from the sold-out crowd of 36,872.
The Sox (26-34) finally won their 10th game this season at Fenway, becoming the last team in the Majors to reach double-digit home wins.
But it isn’t too late for the worm to turn, and there were indications in this one that better times could be ahead for a team that has a chance to win its first series at home since April 8 with a rubber-match triumph on Thursday afternoon.
When Wilyer Abreu hit a towering shot pinned so closely down the line in right that everyone was in suspended animation for a second or two -- including Abreu himself -- there were roars when it was ruled a fair ball for a two-run homer.
Contreras started a five-run, game-busting fifth inning by hustling to turn what looked like a single to right-center into a double, complete with a swim move into second base and a slam of celebration by his right hand onto the bag.
Moments later, there were sounds of delirium when Orioles center fielder Blaze Alexander completely lost a ball in the twilight, and Mickey Gasper scooted to third with a two-run triple.
Each time Payton Tolle blew a pitch by a batter, there was the sound of a packed house confident in its charismatic starting pitcher.
In what has been a frustrating season so far for the home team, rookie lefty Tolle has been the gift that keeps on giving, lowering his ERA to 2.28 on the strength of six shutout innings and 17 swings and misses.
When he wasn’t landing key pitches, he was making a mock jump (at an infield chopper far too high for him to field), stumbling dramatically to avoid an infielder’s throw hitting him in the noggin, or gesturing playfully with his hands on infield popups.
After Tolle recorded his final out of the night, injured righty reliever Garrett Whitlock locked the 23-year-old into an extended bear hug. Tolle couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.