5:23 p.m.: He did it! He did it! He did it! A scoreless outing from Takashi Saito, and he is the only pitcher in the game to not allow a run.
5:19 p.m.: Uh, oh. Leadoff hitter on against Saito. Will he be able to get work around it?
Mid 9th, Red Sox 18-10: It's all up to Saito. He can be the only pitcher in the game to not allow an earned run if he can get out of the ninth unscathed. The pressure's on.
End 8th, Red Sox 18-10: Takashi Saito might be the first pitcher in the game to not allow a run.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 17-10: The Red Sox scored to keep the scoring streak alive, but Youkilis failed to reach base to end his on-base streak at 13 straight plate appearances.
End 7th, Red Sox 16-10: Will either team score in the eighth? The odds are good.
4:54 p.m.: Ramirez joins the party as every pitcher has allowed an earned run.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 16-9: On August 2, 2009, at 4;42 p.m., Cla Meredith of the Orioles recorded a 1-2-3 inning. Write it down.
End 6th, Red Sox 16-9: There has been a run in every single inning by either the Orioles or the Red Sox.
4:34 p.m.: And Delcarmen gets charged with two runs as Markakis drills a double off the wall in right. Every pitcher has allowed an earned run now except for Ramirez, but he has a runner on second.
4:31 p.m.: Delcarmen is the only pitcher to not have allowed an earned run in the game, but that is in jeopardy with Ramon Ramirez coming in and two on and two out. Both runners are Delcarmen's responsibility.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 16-7: Hendrickson only allows two runs, which is better than his teammates were able to do.
4:17 p.m.: As reader Chunder pointed out, Youkilis has reached base 13 times in a row.
4:16 p.m.: Bases loaded, no outs and Hendrickson walks Youkilis on four pitches. Now every Orioles pitcher has allowed an earned run. It's 15-7 with no sign of ending soon.
4:11 p.m.: Mark Hendrickson has been the only Orioles pitcher to not allow a run, but he is looking to change that here in the sixth. Two on and no one out for Martinez.
End 5th, Red Sox 14-7: Manny Delcarmen gets a double play to erase the threat from the Orioles.
3:56 p.m.: Buchholz leaves with two on and no outs in the fifth. A very poor performance from him.
3:51 p.m.: There hadn't been a run for about five minutes, so Adam Jones decided to change that with a solo blast to left. 14-7.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 14-6: The Red Sox failed to score in the inning for the first time all day, but they still have yet to go down in order.
End 4th, Red Sox 14-6: A rather quick inning for Buchholz with just a single allowed to Roberts.
3:38 p.m.: Gregg Zaun has dinner plans. Either that or his knees hurt from sitting behind the plate for that 15-hour inning. He gets tossed from the game, and Dave Trembley follows him to the field to try and get thrown out to as he is sick and tired of watching the Orioles pitching staff. A long game is getting longer.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 14-6: The inning is over. Wow. Single, single, out, single, double, single, single, walk, out, single, single, out. 12 hitters came to the plate. Here is the glorious line for the Matt Albers: 0.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K. Try to top that. And the Patriots lead the Ravens 14-6 after three and a half innings.
3:31 p.m.: FYI … James Shields has a no-hitter through seven for the Rays, but they are tied 0-0 with the Royals.
3:27 p.m.: Trembley must have been in the bathroom as he is just now going to the mound to take Albers out of the game. The book isn't closed yet on Albers, but once it is I will be sure to post his line for the day. What a performance.
3:26 p.m.: Vote now for your player of the game:
1. Jason Berken
2. Brian Bass
3. Clay Buchholz
4. Matt Albers
3:14 p.m.: Matt Albers comes in to put out the fire, but instead he pours gasoline on it. Could Albers be worse than Berken and Bass? It's possible. Three more runs in and the Red Sox have a 10-6 lead.
3:11 p.m.: Bases loaded with one out now for the Red Sox and another pitching change for the O's. A nice story being written here by the pitching staffs: How to pitch yourself out of the bigs and back to Triple-A by Jason Berken and Brian Bass with the foreword by Clay Buchholz.
Matt Albers in for Bass. Can he put out the fire?
3:05 p.m.: The Orioles can score all day long, but the problem is they can't stop the other team from scoring (hence their position in the standings.) The offense put up six runs and Bass comes out the following inning and allows the first two hitters to reach.
End 3rd, Red Sox 7-6: It's pretty obvious this game won't be ending 7-6.
2:58 p.m.: And an absolute meltdown by Buchholz has let the Orioles right back in the game. It's 7-6 with Manny Delcarmen up in the Red Sox bullpen. Could Berken really get off the hook for his performance this afternoon?
2:52 p.m. A seeing-eye single for Pie under the glove of Lowell. Guess Trembley is a genius after all. Bases loaded with one out for the Orioles, and a chance for them to get back in the game. Let's see if Buchholz can buckle down here.
2:49 p.m.: The Orioles have two on with one out, but look who's up: the No. 2 hitter, Felix Pie.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 7-0: Another inning, another run for the Red Sox. The O's are going to have to burn out their bullpen before this one is over.
2:37 p.m.: Reddick delays going to the batter's box because of a bloody nose, then he cranks his first career home run to left field. A 2-2 pitch on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, and it's 7-0 Red Sox.
2:35 p.m.: Around the AL East: NYY 3, CWS 0 … KC 0, TB 0.
End 2nd, Red Sox 6-0: Buchholz works around a single to keep the Orioles scoreless. Just shy of one hour and we are through two innings. If only you could parlay the over of the game time with the over on the runs.
2:26 p.m.: Josh Reddick runs into the dugout to take care of a bloody nose as there is a slight delay in the game.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 6-0: The Red Sox got the touchdown, but missed on the extra point and lead the O's by a half-dozen. The book is closed on Berken for the afternoon and it isn't pretty: 1.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. Barring the Orioles second miracle comeback against the Red Sox this season, Berken will be 1-9 at the conclusion of this one.
2:18 p.m.: Is there a worse feeling in the world than sitting in the dugout and watching your ERA climb while someone else is on the mound? I'm not sure, but Berken can probably answer that. 6-0 and counting.
2:16 p.m.: Brian Bass relieves Berken. What a way to enter a game.
2:13 p.m.: Bases loaded, one out and Trembley to the mound to make a pitching change. The Red Sox are a base hit from really breaking it open, a gapper from ending the game and a grand slam away from completely demoralizing the Orioles this weekend.
2:11 p.m.: It's now 5-0 and the Orioles have movement in the bullpen. The Red Sox are 7-for-11 (.636) with a walk off Berken through 1 1/3 innings.
End 1st, Red Sox 4-0: Buchholz works around two walks, thanks to the great lineup put together by Trembley. 16 pitches, seven strikes. If he can hold the Orioles to 10 runs or fewer, he will probably earn his second win of the season.
1:59 p.m.: Why would you ever have Felix Pie bat second? Why? He is hitting .240 this season and has an OBP of .303. Putting him between Roberts and Adam Jones completely destroys the chance of setting the table for Nick Markakis. And what do you know? As I type this, Pie bounces into a 6-4-3 DP. Good managing by Dave Trembley.
1:56 p.m.: Buchholz gets a four-run lead and then walks Brian Roberts to start his day. With Berken on the mound, the Orioles are going to need to score a minimum of eight runs to win. Seems about right.
1:54 p.m.: Drew picks up three RBIs and then leaves the game after hobbling home on the Mike Lowell single. Rocco Baldelli in right field for Drew.
Mid 1st, Red Sox 4-0: J.D. Drew clears the bases with a double, and Berken shows why he is 1-8. A 32-pitch inning for the righty and it's safe to say he won't be earning that third quality start in this outing. Four runs, four hits and a walk. Yikes.
1:45 p.m.: Three of the first four Red Sox hitters have reached base. If you took the over, you're probably going to be happy.
1:37 p.m.: We're underway. Jason Berken has started 12 games this season and has two quality starts. Berken hasn't won since May 26, and he just started the game off with a five-pitch walk to Jacoby Ellsbury.
1:32 p.m.: Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, it's time to find out if the Red Sox front office made the right decision by holding on to Clay Buchholz. The answer won't come in Sunday's start alone, but it is the beginning to finding out.
1:01 p.m.: The Yankees and Red Sox have adjusted their rotations for the upcoming four-game series in the Bronx. It should be a great weekend at Yankee Stadium with the pennant race heating up.
10:30 a.m.: Victor Martinez got to enjoy a win in his Red Sox debut on Saturday against the lowly Orioles. On Sunday, Martinez gets his first start behind the plate for the Red Sox as they go for the series sweep of the O's at Camden Yards.
Clay Buchholz survived another trade deadline in Boston and will go for his second win of the season on Saturday. The young righty pitched into the sixth inning in his last start and was good enough to win, but the bullpen imploded to cost him his chance at victory over the A's. On Saturday, Buchholz has a chance to come up big and keep the pressure on the Yankees in the East.
