End Game, Red Sox 5-4: Bowden gets the save, its a wrap. He pitched one and two-thirds innings with one strikeout.
Bottom 8th, Red Sox 5-4: Alfredo Aceves says he'll take whichever role that Bobby Valentine chooses for him.
"I'm very fortunate being a baseball player," Aceves said after the outing. "That's all I can say about that. If I don't play, if I'm the water boy, that's OK. Try to contribute wins, you know? Try to have success and have a good relationship and have fun, do whatever."
Bottom 7th, Red Sox 5-4: We caught up with Daniel Bard, who said his arm felt good and was confident he could've continued pitching.
He discussed how different it was preparing to start a game. He said he didn't have a pre-game routine and spent it all asking everyone else what to do. Then he painted a picture for us, saying before games John Lackey is in the clubhouse with no pants on, bouncing a baseball and eating peanut butter and jelly. Um…take that for what's it worth.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 4-4: Clayton Mortensen has certainly impressed some people.
The 26-year-old right-hander followed up his bail-out effort from the sixth inning with a perfect seventh frame, breezing through the Orioles lineup.
Mortensen bookended the inning with a pair of strikeouts, including a three-pitch strikeout of Peabody native Matt Antonelli.
End 6th: 4-4: Pat Neshek works a quick sixth inning, retiring the Red Sox in order with a pair of strikeouts.
The journeyman right-hander got Jason Repko, Nick Punto and Alex Hassan in order sending both Repko and Hassan down swinging.
Clayton Mortensen will return for the seventh.
Mid 6th: 4-4: Well, that's certainly a nice little job by Clayton Mortensen.
The right-hander comes in and strikes out Ryan Mahoney on three pitches before getting a pair of groundouts to get out of the inning with the game still tied.
Top 6th: 4-4: Alex Wilson can't record an out in the sixth, the Orioles tie it up and as a result, the day is over for Wilson.
The righty walked Ryan Adams on four pitches and then gave up a single and a double to Nick Johnson and Wilson Betemit to chase him from the game.
The Betemit double tied the game 4-4.
Clayton Mortensen, the pitcher acquired from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Marco Scutaro, comes on to try and clean things up.
Top 6th: Red Sox 4-2: No surprises here, but the Sox have made some changes after five innings and a few times through the bullpen.
Che-Hsuan Lin replaces Jacoby Ellsbury in center, Pedro Ciriaco takes over for Dustin Pedroia, Josh Kroeger gives Adrian Gonzalez the rest of the day off and Nate Spears is now in at third base for Will Middlebrooks.
End 5th: Red Sox 4-2: If you're an Orioles fan, you gotta like what Buck Showalter just did.
He turned to 19-year-old Dylan Bundy to face the top of the Red Sox lineup — Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez — and last season's No. 4 draft pick cruises to a 1-2-3 inning.
Bundy, who is clocked in the mid- to high-90s has some serious stuff, and he's got a real bright future in this game.
Mid 5th: Red Sox 4-2: Here's the line for Alfredo Aceves, if you're into that kind of thing – two innings, no hits, no runs, no walks and two strikeouts.
So that's obviously good stuff from both Bard and Aceves combining for four hitless innings.
Things didn't go so well for Alex Wilson, however, as he surrendered two runs on three hits. He was helped along by a pick-off, though, perhaps some early proof that Valentine's dedication to the fundamentals is paying off.
Portland, Maine, native Ryan Flaherty — one of the many New England connections in the Baltimore organization — chipped in with one of those hits. He's had a nice couple of games, as he has three hits through two spring games.
Dylan Bundy is next in line for the Orioles on the mound, taking over for Tillman.
End 4th: Red Sox 4-0: Tillman settles in after a rough third frame to retire the Sox in order in the fourth.
The big right-hander got Alex Hassan, Will Middlebrooks and Mike Aviles on a pair of flyouts and a groundout to shortstop respectively to ensure the deficit remains at four.
In doing so, Tillman does something no one has done yet in Grapefruit League action — reitre Aviles, who is now 3-for-4 on the spring.
Boston will open the fifth with a new battery, as Alex Wilson comes on for Aceves, and Luis Exposito replaces Lavarnway behind the plate.
Mid 4th: Red Sox 4-0: Aceves had another 1-2-3 inning and each hitter flew out to a different part of the outfield.
Cody Ross' catch was pretty impressive, though. To lead off the inning, he played too shallow to the diamond and Orioles second baseman banged a ball over his head. But Ross bolted back and twisted his body just in time to make the scoop.
So far, so good for Ross.
Bottom 3rd, Red Sox 4-0: All spring long, it's been said that Cody Ross has that "Fenway swing" and he proved it once again. He unloaded a double that just missed eclipsing the Green Monster for a home run. It was enough to drive in an RBI.
It highlighted a strong inning for the Red Sox, where Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Lavarnway and Ross each drove in RBIs. Ross could've had two RBIs on his double, but Lavarnway proved he's far from a speedster and was thrown out at home from a mile away.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: Alfredo Aceves is keeping up with that momentum, retiring guys in a 1-2-3 inning.
As he expressed to us all, he really, really, really wants to be a starter again. Valentine called him a pitching savant earlier this morning because of everything he brings to the table. The way Aceves is pitching, anything is possible.
Bottom 2nd, Red Sox 1-0: Orioles pitcher Dana Eveland took care of business and ended the inning, prompting Will Middlebrooks to fly out.
Before the game, Bobby Valentine said Middlebrooks was a youngster that was beyond his years. He liked how the third baseman kept a mental memory of each pitcher's arsenal and could adjust seamlessly. We'll see how true that is all spring training.
Also, Alfredo Aceves is coming in for Bard.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 1-0: Daniel Bard didn't show any effects of the back stiffness — which was tabbed as minor — through his two innings. He looked strong, throwing two scoreless and hitless frames.
Bottom 1st, Red Sox 1-0: Ryan Lavarnway, who is hitting in the cleanup spot, got the Red Sox on the board with a sac fly.
The irony was that he slashed a ball to left field, where Wilson Betemit dove and snagged it. It was eerily similar to Carl Crawford's sequence in Game 162 last year except he missed Robert Andino's catch.
Mid 1st: Orioles vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette held an impromptu presser in the back of the press box. He said he was very happy to have the opportunity and brought a lot of confidants over to join him in the front office. He also said he hired some recent grads from the New England area to help bolster their analytics program.
1:28 p.m: Here are the lineups:
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Ryan Lavarnway, C
Cody Ross, RF
Nick Punto, DH
Alex Hassan, LF
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Mike Aviles, SS
Daniel Bard, P
Orioles
Endy Chavez, RF
Ryan Adams, 2B
Nick Johnson, DH
Wilson Betemit, LF
Joe Mahoney, 1B
Taylor Teagarden, C
Ryan Flaherty, SS
Josh Bell, 3B
Xavier Avery, CF
Dana Eveland, P
8 a.m. ET: The Red Sox are back at it again Tuesday, hosting the Orioles, who beat the Rays 3-1 in one split-squad game and lost the other 10-3 to the Pirates. The Red Sox are coming off a 10-2 victory over the Twins, in a game where Dan Butler and David Ortiz went yard.
Also of note, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said closer Andrew Bailey is feeling much better in his recovery from a strained lat and should get some innings under his belt shortly. Daniel Bard's back stiffness is minor.
However, Bard is still expected to make his first start of the spring on Tuesday, and he's scheduled to go two innings. Alfredo Aceves is also slated to make an appearance. For the Orioles, Dana Eveland will get the start and both he and Chris Tillman are expected to see two innings apiece for Buck Showalter's club.
First pitch from JetBlue Park is slated for 1:35 p.m.
