BOSTON — Rob Refsnyder has been one of the Red Sox’s unsung heroes ever since he arrived in Boston three years ago. The veteran outfielder has emerged as not just a lefty killer off the bench, but a steady clubhouse leader who has helped shepherd along his younger teammates.

But Monday night? Refsnyder had the spotlight squarely on him.

The 34-year-old enjoyed one of the best games of his nine-year MLB tenure, going 4 for 4 with two home runs, a double, a walk and a career-high five RBI in Boston’s 12-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Refsnyder batted in the No. 3 spot and helped power the Red Sox offense to its best all-around showing in nearly a month, a relentless performance that saw Boston collect 15 hits as a team.

He and Tyler O’Neill also hit back-to-back home runs twice, first in the bottom of the third and then in the eighth, and Ceddanne Rafaela drove in four runs of his own. The 12 runs was the most Boston has scored since Aug. 16, when the Red Sox beat the Orioles 12-10 at Camden Yards.

Early on, the game looked like it was going to go a very different direction.

Brayan Bello, Boston’s talented young right-hander, has faced two frustrating issues throughout the season. One is persistent command trouble, which has plagued the 24-year-old on and off, and the other is his tendency to start games slowly. Both of those trends were on full display Monday.

Entering the day he’d allowed a .280 opposing batting average and a .795 OPS in the first inning, both the highest of any inning before the sixth, and Monday he came perilously close to allowing the game to immediately fly off the rails. Bello allowed a leadoff double to Gunnar Henderson to start the game and soon after an RBI single to Anthony Santander. He then allowed a walk and a single to load the bases with one out, but was able to escape without further damage by striking out Eloy Jimenez and Colton Cowser.

As he often has, Bello settled down afterwards but continued to battle the command issues that have plagued him for much of the season. Things came to a head again in the fourth when he gave up three walks and a hit batsman, and the third walk to Santander forced in a run. But for the second time he escaped the jam and stranded the bases loaded by forcing Ryan O’Hearn to fly out.

Despite allowing five walks total, the most by any Red Sox pitcher in a game this season, Bello avoided the big hit and ultimately surrendered just two runs on three hits over 5 1/3 innings.

The Red Sox offense, which hasn’t done much over the past two weeks, roared to life against Orioles starter Cade Povich.

In the bottom of the first Refsnyder followed a Rafael Devers single with a double to put two men in scoring position with one out, and O’Neill scored Devers with a groundout to tie the game at 1-1.

Then in the third, Refsnyder and O’Neill went back-to-back to put the Red Sox in front 4-1. Refsnyder crushed a two-run homer 412 feet to dead center field, and O’Neill followed with a solo shot to the Green Monster.

Finally, their third time up against Povich in the fifth and the score now 4-2, Refsnyder drew a walk and O’Neill came about five feet short of a second home run. Instead he scraped the top of the Monster for a double, and Cowser wound up making a strong throw home and Adley Rutschman a brilliant tag to nail Refsnyder in a close play at the plate to end the inning.

No matter. The Red Sox kept coming, and after keeping the Orioles from capitalizing on their two bases loaded chances, the Red Sox made sure theirs counted in the sixth.

Now facing right-hander Burch Smith, Romy Gonzalez and Connor Wong singled to lead off the inning and Danny Jansen was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Ceddanne Rafaela broke the game open with a two-run single, and Refsnyder delivered the knockout blow with his own two-run single off Gregory Soto to make it 8-2.

Baltimore got a run back in the seventh when Anthony Santander took Josh Winckowski deep for his 40th home run of the season. The solo shot cut the deficit to 8-3, but though Rutschman followed with a double Winckowski was able to keep things in check and prevent a big Orioles rally.

Boston made sure to finish the job in the seventh, scoring twice more on a two-run double by Rafaela, and then Refsnyder and O’Neill capped off their epic day by going back-to-back for a second time. O’Neill’s second home run gave him 29 on the year, moving him past Devers for the team lead, and his seven multi-homer games is tied for third in franchise history for a single season.

Given the team’s inability to capitalize on their wild-card rivals’ recent struggles, the win gave Boston’s playoff odds a badly needed boost. The Red Sox are now 73-71 on the season and will have a chance to clinch both a series victory and a winning homestand Tuesday night.

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