BOSTON — Red Sox fans were subject to a rollercoaster of emotions Wednesday.
The Red Sox lost both Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez to injuries but defeated the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 at Fenway Park. The Sox rode a five-run sixth inning to their 32nd victory of 2015.
The Sox and O’s have split the first two games of their three-game series.
GAME IN A WORD
Frenetic.
There were highs (Pedroia’s two-run single, David Ortiz’s two-run home run) and there were lows (Pedroia’s injury, Ramirez’s injury, a couple of scares involving Alejandro De Aza). But in the end, the Red Sox overcame their injuries and the wild nature of the contest to lock down a victory.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Big Papi cleared the wall in center field.
Ortiz capped the Red Sox’s five-run sixth inning with a two-run homer. He jumped on a 2-0 pitch just moments after Pedroia left the game with right hamstring tightness following a two-run single.
Pedroia’s go-ahead single plated Sandy Leon and Mookie Betts. Betts tied the game 1-1 earlier in the inning with a single that scored De Aza, who dived head-first into first base on a fielding error by Chris Davis.
All five of Boston’s runs were unearned. Orioles starter Bud Norris also committed an error in the frame.
ON THE BUMP
— Clay Buchholz danced around some first-inning trouble and settled down nicely.
Buchholz yielded eight hits but made big pitches in key spots. He allowed only one run over seven innings while striking out seven and walking one.
Buchholz has been very solid this season outside of a few shaky appearances. He mixed pitches extremely well Wednesday and his ERA is down to 3.68.
— Junichi Tazawa struck out the side in the eighth inning.
— Koji Uehara recorded the final three outs.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Ramirez went 2-for-2 before exiting the game. He’s hitting .341 (30-for-88) over his last 24 games.
Ramirez was struck by a line drive off the bat of Xander Bogaerts while running between first base and second base on a hit-and-run attempt in the fifth inning. He exited before the start of the sixth inning.
— Bogaerts, like Ramirez, collected two hits.
— Pedroia ripped a two-run single into left field in the sixth inning to put the Sox in front. He immediately grabbed his hamstring upon rounding first base and the Red Sox wasted little time in removing him from the game.
— Pablo Sandoval went 0-for-3, ending his seven-game home hit streak.
— Ortiz’s home run was his 11th of the season. He’s starting to hit some balls with more authority, which obviously is encouraging given his ability to carry an offense when all is right.
— De Aza, who was briefly shaken up on his head-first dive into first base, also was struck on the hand by a pitch in the seventh inning. He’s OK, but how can you not feel for the guy?
TWEET OF THE GAME
No one wearing a Red Sox uniform was safe Wednesday.
[tweet https://twitter.com/BenCarsley/status/613868217359011840Â align=’center’%5D
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Orioles won’t have much time to think about this one. They’ll wrap up their three-game series Thursday afternoon in a tilt scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET.
Eduardo Rodriguez will start for Boston in the rubber match.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
