So when Guthrie handcuffed the Boston Red Sox and received ample offensive backing from his Baltimore Orioles teammates in a 6-2 victory Tuesday night, the losingest pitcher in the majors was delighted with the rare sequence of events.
Guthrie allowed two runs in seven innings, and the Orioles got successive eighth-inning home runs from Derrek Lee and Mark Reynolds in ending a seven-game losing streak against the Red Sox.
"Good game there. The late runs were huge for us and we played great defense," Guthrie said. "This is a win that makes me feel really good, and I think the team feels good about it."
Guthrie (4-13) came in with the sixth-lowest run support in the AL, but he also gave up 12 runs over 10 innings in his prior two starts. In this one, Baltimore went ahead 3-0 after three innings and the right-hander made the lead stand up.
It was Guthrie's second win in 11 starts, but the drought appeared even longer to some.
"It seemed like he didn't have a win since '07," Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said. "That's what it feels like. We got him an early lead and he was able to settle down, get comfortable."
Guthrie gave up eight hits, struck out four and walked one. He had lost seven straight decisions against Boston since May 13, 2008.
Jim Johnson worked two innings for his first save. Orioles closer Kevin Gregg was unavailable because he was serving a three-game suspension for his involvement in a bench-clearing melee at Fenway Park on July 8.
During its seven-game skid against the Red Sox, Baltimore was outscored 61-32, so this victory was particularly enjoyable.
"We needed a win against them. They've been wearing us out," Lee said. "Jeremy gave us just what we needed, a great pitching performance. He went deep. It's nice when you can hand the ball over to J.J. with a lead. You're feeling pretty confident at that point."
The Red Sox lost for only the third time in 16 games despite getting a home run from Jarrod Saltalamacchia, his second in two nights. Josh Reddick had three hits and scored a run.
Boston's Dustin Pedroia beat out a grounder in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, tying a career high set in 2008. He has also reached base in 29 consecutive games, which also matches his career-best run.
After lasting only four innings against Baltimore on July 10 in his major league debut, Kyle Weiland (0-1) displayed far more poise in the encore. The right-hander allowed three runs and six hits in six innings.
"I did a better job of controlling my emotions, and the adrenaline," Weiland said. "I got a lot quicker to that comfort zone that I was talking about last time."
It was an outing similar to many by Guthrie this season.
"He pitched well," Reddick said, referring to Weiland. "Unfortunately, we didn't give him the run support that anybody would want. But he battled his tail off."
Guthrie faced a lineup without Boston's leading home run hitter, David Ortiz, who is also serving a three-game suspension stemming from the fight in the previous series between the teams.
The game drew a crowd of 32,314, many of whom were cheering for the Red Sox. It's a common occurrence at Camden Yards when Boston comes to town, although Orioles manager Buck Showalter wasn't complaining.
"Well, we had a lot of Red Sox people here last night," he said before the game. "We'll take their admission and put it towards keeping our players. Thank you very much."
Baltimore went up 2-0 in the second inning when Jones and Matt Wieters singled, Reynolds hit an RBI double and Nolan Reimold followed with a run-scoring grounder.
Weiland retired the first two batters in the third before Nick Markakis drew a walk, Jones singled and Wieters bounced an RBI single off the glove of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.
Saltalamacchia made it 3-2 in the fifth with a drive over the right-field scoreboard after Reddick hit a leadoff double. Boston then put runners on the corners with two outs before Pedroia grounded out.
The Red Sox didn't get another runner past first base the rest of the way.
Lee hit a two-run shot and Reynolds added his 21st homer of the season in the eighth. Both drives came off Alfredo Aceves.
Notes:
Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury hit into a double play for only the sixth time in 383 at-bats. … Markakis' 11-game hitting streak ended. … It was only the fourth win in 19 games for the last-place Orioles. … Reynolds broke out of a 5-for-39 skid with three hits.