Adam Jones and the Baltimore Orioles teed off on the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
Jones drilled two homers and Christian Walker added one as the O’s scored seven unanswered runs en route to a 7-2 win at Camden Yards. The clubs have split the first two games of the three-game series.
It looked early like Chris Tillman was in for a short outing. The right-hander settled down nicely, though, and ultimately lasted seven frames before handing the keys to Baltimore’s bullpen.
Joe Kelly and Miguel Gonzalez are scheduled to square off in Sunday’s rubber match. First, let’s go over Saturday’s contest.
— David Ortiz drilled his third home run in two games. He connected on an opposite-field shot — his 35th homer of the season — in the first inning to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.
Ortiz’s 35 home runs are his most in a season since 2007, when he also smacked 35.
Ortiz, who now has 104 RBIs, is responsible for driving in 17.6 percent of Boston’s 590 runs scored. That’s the highest percentage for any player in Major League Baseball. Giancarlo Stanton (16.9 percent of the Miami Marlins’ 619 runs scored) and Jose Abreu (16.5 percent of the Chicago White Sox’s 631 runs scored) rank second and third, respectively.
It’s scary to think where the last-place Red Sox would be without Ortiz this season.
— Rubby De La Rosa turned in another lackluster outing, continuing a startling trend for the Red Sox.
De La Rosa allowed four earned runs on six hits over four innings. He struck out four, walked two and surrendered two home runs. De La Rosa has lasted less than five innings in five of his last seven starts — a stretch in which his ERA has gone from 3.21 to 4.50.
“He’s at a point in time where he’s not pitched this many innings in his entire career, so we have to take that into account,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “There’s been no decision on any changes to the rotation going forward, but all these things will be brought into play.”
The Red Sox hoped their young pitchers would step up down the stretch. That hasn’t been the case.
— Heath Hembree pitched the fifth inning and surrendered a two-run homer to Jones.
— Steven Wright pitched three innings of relief. The knuckleballer allowed one earned run on three hits while striking out six and walking one.
— Rusney Castillo went 1-for-4, collecting his first non-infield single. Castillo lined a two-strike, 98-mph fastball from Tommy Hunter into center field in the ninth inning.
— Jackie Bradley Jr., who played right field with Castillo in center, again went 0-for-4. Bradley is 1-for-32 since his most recent recall.
— Christian Vazquez’s impeccable control of the running game continues.
Vazquez gunned down Alejandro De Aza trying to steal second base in the first inning and has thrown out 13 of 27 attempted base stealers this season, which equates to a 48.1 percent success rate for the rookie catcher.
“To me, he’s quickly gaining a reputation around the league that he’s a shutdown-thrower type of catcher,” Farrell said. “Defensively, he continues to do a very good and consistent job.”
Photo via Joy R. Absalon/USA TODAY Sports Images
