Final, Red Sox 6-2: Koji Uehara got things done in the ninth inning for the Red Sox, giving Boston its first win of the 2014 season.
The Orioles attempted to make some noise in the final inning with Mike Napoli unable to handle a hot grounder at first base, which allowed Chris Davis to reach on a fielding error.
The minor hiccup was just that, though, as Nelson Cruz flied out to Daniel Nava and Matt Weiters struck out. J.J Hardy reached on a two-out infield single, but Uehara wrapped up the non-save situation, getting Ryan Flaherty to ground out to first.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 6-2: Dustin Pedroia is having a day.
The second baseman notched his fourth single of the night in his last at-bat of the day, off Josh Stinson, who came on for the Orioles.
The Sox left Pedroia stranded at first base though as David Ortiz and Mike Napoli both flied out.
End 8th, Red Sox 6-2: Junichi Tazawa took over on the mound for the Red Sox and tossed a scoreless eighth.
Stephen Lombardozzi singled on a sharp line drive to center to lead off the inning, but Tazawa escaped any damage, getting back-to-back pop outs by Nick Markakis and David Lough for the first two outs before getting Adam Jones to strike out to end the inning.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 6-2: The O’s turned to Darren O’Day in the eighth inning and he survives unscathed.
A.J. Pierzynski took a pitch low and away into center field for the one-out single after Xander Bogaerts grounded out to shortstop to start the inning.
Pierzynski’s time on the basepaths didn’t last for long, though, as Will Middlebrooks hit a blooper into shallow right that Pierzynski thought was going to drop in for a hit.
The Red Sox catcher thought wrong. Stephen Lombardozzi tracked down the popup and threw to first to double up Pierzynski.
End 7th, Red Sox 6-2: John Lackey’s night is also over. Lackey gave up just two runs on three hits while striking out six.
Making his Red Sox debut, Edward Mujica took over on the mound and struck out Nelson Cruz on three pitches to start the inning.
Matt Wieters sent a routine grounder to first base, which Mike Napoli handled easily for the second out before J.J. Hardy singled up the middle.
The threat ended there, though, as Ryan Flaherty flied out to Grady Sizemore to end the inning.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 6-2: Mike Napoli strikes again.
The first baseman added two more RBI to his night to extend Boston’s lead to four runs.
Ryan Webb took over for Ubaldo Jimenez and the O’s and the Red Sox greeted him not-so warmly.
After making quick work of Will Middlebrooks, striking him out to start the inning, Webb gave up a one-out single to Daniel Nava. It was Nava’s first hit of the season.
Dustin Pedroia then hit a soft ground ball down the third base line, but Chris Davis couldn’t handle Ryan Flaherty’s throw in the dirt. Nava advanced to third on the play and Pedroia went to second.
Webb intentionally walked David Ortiz, but the next man up, Mike Napoli made the O’s pay for that decision. Napoli smacked a single into left field, scoring both Nava and Pedroia.
The Orioles had a chance to escape the inning, but Webb mishandled a Jonny Gomes grounder back to him and could only get the out at first. Baltimore turned to Brian Matusz to replace Webb and the left-hander got Grady Sizemore to (finally) pop out along the outfield grass to end the inning.
End 6th, Red Sox 4-2: John Lackey recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth.
David Lough popped out to Grady Sizemore, Adam Jones grounded out to Dustin Pedroia and A.J. Pierzynski made a basket-style catch in foul territory to end the inning.
Lackey has now retired seven batters in a row.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 4-2: The Red Sox went down quietly in the sixth.
Grady Sizemore popped out to left field for the first out of the inning and he remains hitless on the night.
Xander Bogaerts earned a one-out walk, his second of the game, but he was wiped off the basepaths when A.J. Pierzynski hit into an inning-ending double play.
End 5th, Red Sox 4-2: Mike Napoli followed up his flashy offense with some flashy defense.
After John Lackey struck out Ryan Flaherty with a wicked curveball, Napoli snared a Stephen Lombardozzi line drive over his head for the second out of the inning.
Nick Markakis grounded out to Will Middlebrooks for the final out of the inning.
Well, that was a much easier inning for John Lackey.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 4-2: Mike Napoli joined the home run party.
The first baseman launched a two-out, two-run shot to regain the lead for the Sox.
Daniel Nava, who led off the fifth after taking a pitch to the leg, also scored on the homer.
Dustin Pedroia sent a harmless fly ball to center field for the first out of the inning, Jimenez managed to retire Ortiz and Jonny Gomes flied out to center to end the inning.
End 4th, 2-2: John Lackey’s streak of retired batters ends at 11 and the Orioles made some noise in the 4th as the right-hander struggled with his control.
After David Lough flied out to shallow left for the first out of the inning and Adam Jones struck out swinging, Chris Davis broke up Lackey’s impressive run as he drew a two-out walk.
Nelson Cruz made Lackey pay for the free pass, crushing a home run to right field to tie the game up at 2-2. It’s Cruz’s second blast in two games with the O’s.
After a 10-pitch at-bat, Matt Wieters dropped a single in front of Grady Sizemore. J.J. Hardy flied out to Sizemore to end the inning.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 2-0: Xander Bogaerts drew a one-out walk, but the Red Sox couldn’t move him around.
Grady Sizemore was called out on strikes to lead off the fourth inning for Boston, A.J. Pierzynski went down swinging and Will Middlebrooks sent Adam Jones back to around the 410-mark in center field, but Jones tracked down the well-hit ball to end the inning.
End 3rd, Red Sox 2-0: John Lackey is cruising. The right-hander has retired nine straight after Nick Markakis’ leadoff single in the first inning.
Ryan Flaherty popped out to Will Middlebrooks in foul territory to lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning. Stephen Lombardozzi then battled in a lengthy at-bat, but John Lackey eventually prevailed, recording his third strikeout of the night. Lackey followed that K up with another one as he retired Nick Markakis.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 2-0: David Ortiz launched his first home run of 2014 and that ball might still not have landed.
Ortiz was 0-for-7 against Ubaldo Jimenez coming into today’s game, but he certainly changed that with one swing of the bat. With Dustin Pedroia on first after grabbing his second hit of the day, Ortiz drilled a Jimenez fastball over the right-field wall, giving the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.
Daniel Nava popped out to third base for the first out, Mike Napoli flied out to shallow right field and Jonny Gomes struck out for the second time to end the inning.
End 2nd, 0-0: Dustin Pedroia wasted no time in getting his first web gem of the night.
J.J. Hardy appeared to have a base hit up the middle, but Pedroia had other plans. The second baseman went way to his right, made a diving stab at the ball into the center-field grass and threw to first in enough time to record the final out of the inning.
Nelson Cruz flied out to center field for the first out of the inning and John Lackey picked up his second K of the night, retiring Matt Wieters.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: Xander Bogaerts ripped a single into left-center field for the Red Sox’s second hit of the night, but Boston remains scoreless in Baltimore early on.
Grady Sizemore, who went 2-for-4 on Opening Day, flied out to left field for the first out of the inning. A.J. Pierzynski jumped on the first pitch he saw and chased David Lough back to the warning track, but the left fielder was able to record the second out of the inning easily and Ubaldo Jimenez struck out Will Middlebrooks for the final out.
End 1st, 0-0: Nick Markakis recorded his first hit of the 2014 season, knocking a bloop single into shallow left field to lead off for the O’s, but that’s the only offense they could muster early on against John Lackey.
David Lough attempted to lay down a bunt to advance Markakis, but the left fielder popped it up toward first base and Mike Napoli was able to haul it in for the first out of the inning. Lackey then got his first strikeout of the night, with Adam Jones going down looking.
Chris Davis capped off the first frame, flying out to right field.
Mid 1st, 0-0: The laser show is off to a hot start for Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia lined a base hit into right field and David Ortiz drew a one-out walk, but Ubaldo Jimenez managed to get out of the first frame with no damage done.
Daniel Nava struck out swinging for the first out of the inning, Mike Napoli popped out to third and Jonny Gomes struck out looking to end the Red Sox’s threat.
Jimenez has struggled against the Red Sox in the past, going 1-2 with an 11.72 ERA in four starts, so we’ll see if that trend continues tonight.
7:08 p.m.: Daniel Nava takes a first-pitch strike and we are underway here at Camden Yards.
5:45 p.m.: Shane Victorino has rejoined his teammates in Baltimore and will travel back with the team, NESN’s Gary Striewski reports, although he’s staying away from the guys after coming down with flu-like symptoms.
The Flyin’ Hawaiian was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Monday after straining his hamstring in the Red Sox’s final spring training game.
[tweet https://twitter.com/garystriewski/status/451467488854044672 align=’center’]
5:30 p.m.: Jonny Gomes will get his first start of16 the season Wednesday night. Gomes will get the nod in Mike Carp’s place while the rest of the lineup remains the same from Opening Day.
Wednesday’s complete lineups for both teams can be found below.
Boston Red Sox (0-1)
Daniel Nava, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Jonny Gomes, LF
Grady Sizemore, CF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
John Lackey, RHP
Baltimore Orioles (1-0)
Nick Markakis, RF
David Lough, LF
Adam Jones, CF
Chris Davis, 1B
Nelson Cruz, DH
Matt Wieters, C
J.J. Hardy, SS
Ryan Flaherty, 3B
Steve Lombardozzi, 2B
Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP
8 a.m. ET: The Boston Red Sox didn’t kick off the 2014 season how they would have liked to, falling 2-1 to the Baltimore Orioles on Opening Day.
But on Wednesday, the Red Sox will look to secure their first win of the season in the second game of a three-game set with their American League East rivals.
After a fun day off visiting the White House on Tuesday, Boston will return to Camden Yards, and it is John Lackey who will take the mound. The right-hander, who capped off his successful 2013 campaign winning the clinching Game 6 of the World Series against St. Louis will go up against Ubaldo Jimenez.
Jimenez will be making his debut for Baltimore after signing a four-year, $50 million deal with the team in February. The veteran right-hander has had trouble with the Red Sox in the past, though, as Mike Napoli is 3-for-4 with a home run and a double against Jimenez, Dustin Pedroia is 5-for-10 and Jonny Gomes is 5-for-12 with two homers.
The Red Sox and O’s will get underway at 7:05 p.m. Be sure to tune in on NESN, and stick around with NESN.com throughout the day.
