BALTIMORE — For the Red Sox, an off-day in Charm City provided immense promise for the future direction of the franchise. Between the final pitch of Monday’s loss to the Orioles and the first pitch of Wednesday’s contest, both Garrett Crochet and Kristian Campbell signed long-term deals with the club, positioning themselves as roster pillars into the 2030s.

Yet that atmosphere of good feelings came against a mildly gloomy backdrop. Five games into the season, the Red Sox had lost four contests. While it was too early to declare the situation urgent, the team nonetheless hungered for a change of course.

“You want to be in an organization that wants to win. And [the Red Sox] have proven that [they want to do so], obviously this offseason and then the beginning of the season as well,” third baseman Alex Bregman said on Wednesday afternoon. “And now it’s time for us to go win some games.”

Hours later, the team had done just that. Anchored by eight scoreless innings from Crochet and a 10-hit attack that included a pair of doubles by Campbell, the Red Sox returned to the win column for the first time since Opening Day, beating the Orioles, 3-0.

One day removed from officially signing a six-year, $170 million deal to remain with the Red Sox through 2032, Crochet looked like a top-of-the-rotation force around whom the team can build.

“That’s the reason he’s here, that’s the reason why we committed to him,‘’ said manager Alex Cora. “Like I told him after the Texas [start], ‘I have to take care of you, so you can take care of us.’ A little bit aggressive for me, so early, but the pitch-count was in check and his stuff was so good, so he’s the guy that we wanted out there.”

The lefthander retreated from his cutter-heavy approach on Opening Day, instead going into attack with a well-located 94-98 mile-per-hour four-seam fastball in (and above) the upper third of the zone and a fuller mix of secondary offerings.

In particular, Crochet flummoxed the Orioles with a 90-91 m.p.h. changeup — a pitch Crochet seldom employed this spring or in Texas. He pulled the string seven times, resulting in four swings and misses — the most whiffs Crochet has ever gotten on his changeup in any outing of his career.

Crochet delivered seven scoreless innings against a formidable Orioles lineup, allowing three hits (all singles) with one walk while striking out eight. After he’d struggled with his control in his first outing, Crochet filled the zone with 61 of his 92 pitches (66 percent).

“He’s a complete pitcher, he’s not just a thrower,‘’ Cora said. “He’s a big guy, we know that. He has a presence out there, but he knows how to pitch.”

As Crochet stifled the Orioles, a number of Red Sox players who’d been slumping to start the year mounted a steady attack against Baltimore starter Zack Eflin.

Trevor Story, who’d been 2-for-15 to open the year, jumped on an elevated sweeper and launched it into the seats in left-center for a solo homer in the second inning – the first of three hits for Story.

After rookie Kristian Campbell ripped a liner down the right field line for a double to open the fifth inning, Ceddanne Rafaela (1-for-16 to that point) jumped on a poorly-spun sweeper on an 0-2 count, lining an RBI single to center to usher Campbell home.

“We’re very happy that he’s a part of this and that he’s going to be playing for us now,” Cora said of Campbell.

Two batters later, a landmark moment arrived. Beleaguered slugger Rafael Devers, collared by an 0-for-21 albatross to that point, unloaded on a thigh-high Eflin curveball, scorching a double at 110 m.p.h. into the right field corner for an RBI double.

“Whew, we all needed that one,‘’ Cora said. “The at-bats are getting better.”

Both the Red Sox dugout and a sizable contingent of Red Sox fans down the third base line erupted at the sight of Devers’ first hit of the 2025 campaign, which gave the Sox a 3-0 advantage. Devers later added a single in a 2-for-4 performance.

From there, the chief question was how long manager Alex Cora would allow Crochet to work. A 10-pitch seventh – which left the 25-year-old at 92 pitches – bought Crochet one more trip to the mound. Though he yielded a leadoff single to Ramón Urías, Crochet rebounded to get a soft lineout to center by Jorge Mateo, and finally, a 5-4-3 double play from Cedric Mullins. It marked just the fourth outing of at least eight shutout innings by a Sox pitcher this decade.

Aroldis Chapman then came on for his first save opportunity with the Red Sox. Despite difficulty controlling his 98-100 mph fastball, the lefthander leaned on his slider and splitter to turn in a scoreless ninth and close out the victory.

Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier.