BOSTON — The Red Sox lost 4-1 to the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park.
Boston’s offense struggled, managing just seven hits and a season-low one run scored. The No. 4 through No. 9 spots in the Sox lineup combined for just one hit and six strikeouts.
The loss drops the Red Sox to 7-4 on the season, but they remain one game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East Division.
GAME IN A WORD
Frustrating.
The Red Sox went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, left seven runners on base and hit into two double plays.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Hanley Ramirez hit into a 1-4-3 double play in the eighth inning. David Ortiz led off the inning with a walk and Mookie Betts replaced him as a pinch runner, but he didn’t advance after Ramirez’s ground-out. Pablo Sandoval struck out to end the inning.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Brock Holt led off and played center field in place of Mookie Betts and collected three hits with Boston’s only stolen base.
— David Ortiz went 3-for-3 with a walk, two singles and a double, which was Boston’s only extra-base hit. Ortiz and Holt combined for six of Boston’s seven hits. Ortiz also scored a run.
— Dustin Pedroia went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and left runners in scoring position three times.
— Adam Jones went 3-for-5 with three singles and a run scored for Baltimore. He’s now batting .415 on the season.
— Chris Davis hit a two-run homer in the ninth and finished 2-for-5 with two strikeouts. He’s struck out 17 times in 10 games.
— Caleb Joseph went 1-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk. He also hit a home run in Friday night’s game.
— Ryan Flaherty (a Portland, Maine, native) and Jimmy Paredes each had two hits for Baltimore.
ON THE BUMP
— Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz pitched pretty well, but he also lived on the edge by allowing 11 hits and 12 baserunners. The 30-year-old right-hander also got out of two based-loaded jams to minimize the damage. He threw 102 pitches (69 strikes) through six innings and gave up two earned runs on 11 hits while walking one and striking out seven.
— Alexi Ogando and Anthony Varvaro combined for two scoreless innings of relief, while Robbie Ross Jr. gave up two earned runs and a hit in 2/3 of an inning out of the Boston bullpen.
— Orioles starter Chris Tillman pitched five scoreless innings but ran into trouble in the sixth. Ortiz led off the inning with a double and later scored as the result of an error by Tillman, who misplayed a weak ground ball to the right of the mound off the bat of Pablo Sandoval.
Tillman gave up a single to Mike Napoli soon after and was replaced by Brad Brach. He finished with 105 pitches (65 strikes), walked one, struck out five and allowed six hits in 5 and 1/3 innings.
— Brach got out of the sixth inning when Daniel Nava hit into a 4-6-3 double play. Brach, Darren O’Day and Zach Britton combined to throw 3 and 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Orioles continue their four-game series Sunday afternoon at 1:35 pm ET. Rick Porcello (Boston) and Miguel Gonzalez (Baltimore) are the probable starting pitchers.
Thumbnail photo via Gretchen Ertl/Associated Press
