Final, Orioles 5-4: Chris Davis is known for his power. But it was a little blooper that finally ended the ballgame.
Davis dropped a base hit into left field that scored Nick Markakis from second base, and the Orioles take the series opener, 5-4, in 13 innings.
Alex Wilson, pitching his third inning of relief, got two quick outs in the 13th, but Markakis worked a walk t0 kick off the rally. Markakis advanced to second base when Adam Jones singled into right field, and he scored when Davis inside-outed a 1-1 fastball from Wilson.
T.J. McFarland earned the win and Wilson suffered the loss, but both bullpens pitched well. After Brian Matusz surrendered two runs in seventh inning, the O’s ‘pen tossed 6 1/3 no-hit innings to give the offense a chance to eventually win it.
Will Middlebrooks was the only Red Sox hitter with more than one hit, although David Ortiz and Mike Carp each went deep in the losing effort.
Felix Doubront lasted 4 2/3 innings in another up-and-down outing by the left-hander. He allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits, a walk and two hit batters.
The Red Sox and O’s will be back in action on Friday, and Ryan Dempster and Chris Tillman will go toe-to-toe. Friday’s game is scheduled to kick off at 7:05 p.m. See you all then.
Good night, everyone.
Mid 13th, 4-4: The Red Sox offense was held down again in the 13th.
T.J. McFarland tossed a 1-2-3 inning, easily retiring Stephen Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino in order.
Drew struck out swinging for the first out, and Ellsbury and Victorino followed up with a groundout and flyout, respectively.
Victorino made pretty good contact, but it hung up long enough for Adam Jones to glide over and make the play in left-center field.
Alex Wilson will go back to work in the 13th inning. I wonder if he envisioned this happening when he was recalled earlier in the day.
End 12th, 4-4: To the 13th inning, we go.
Chris Dickerson dropped a two-out double down the left field line, but Alex Wilson retired Ryan Flaherty to extend this game even further.
Dickerson pinch hit for Danny Valencia after Matt Wieters flied out to center and J.J. Hardy grounded out to second. He shot a 1-1 fastball down the line, and by the time Jonny Gomes corralled it, Dickerson was cruising into second.
Flaherty failed to cash in with the potential winning run in scoring position. He lifted a lazy fly ball to right field that Shane Victorino came in and handled to end the 12th.
T.J. McFarland will pitch the 13th inning for Baltimore. Stephen Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino are due up for Boston.
Mid 12th, 4-4: Jim Johnson hasn’t been as sharp this season, but he handled the 12th inning just fine.
Johnson, who is Baltimore’s closer, tossed a 1-2-3 inning, even flashing some leather in the process.
Daniel Nava grounded out to second base for the first out, and Johnson then picked up assists on the next two outs.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia grounded back to Johnson, who made a clean play and fired to first. Johnson nearly threw the ball away, but Chris Davis hauled in the high throw to complete the out.
Johnson’s second play of the inning was more along the lines of self-defense. Will Middlebrooks drilled a comebacker that Johnson knocked down before flipping to first base for the third out.
Alex Wilson will again take the mound for Boston.
End 11th, 4-4: Nick Markakis brought Orioles fans to their feet. But his bid to end the ballgame came up a few feet short.
Markakis smacked a first-pitch fastball from Alex Wilson toward the wall in left field. Jonny Gomes, who just entered the game, backtracked to the warning track to make the grab.
Wilson then retired Adam Jones and Chris Davis. Jones popped out to Jarrod Saltalamacchia in front of the plate, and Chris Davis struck out swinging.
Orioles closer Jim Johnson will take over for Baltimore in the 12th. He’s scheduled to face Daniel Nava, Saltalamacchia and Will Middlebrooks.
Mid 11th, 4-4: Two Orioles pitchers combined for a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the 11th.
Dustin Pedroia grounded out to J.J. Hardy at short to begin the inning. That ended Darren O’Day’s night, as the O’s turned to left-hander Troy Patton with David Ortiz coming up.
Ortiz took a big hack at Patton’s first pitch, and he gave it a ride to deep center field. Adam Jones retreated to haul it in, though, and O’s fans were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
John Farrell called upon Jonny Gomes to pinch hit for Mike Carp with a lefty on the hill, and Gomes ended up grounding down to Manny Machado at third base.
Alex Wilson, who was just recalled on Thursday, will pitch the 11th inning. He’s scheduled to face Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Chris Davis.
Gomes will remain in the game and play left field, while the versatile Daniel Nava will shift to first base.
End 10th, 4-4: Craig Breslow sent this game to the 11th inning.
Breslow struck out Ryan Flaherty to begin his night. Flaherty fouled off a couple of fastballs before Breslow caught him looking with a backdoor slider on the inside corner.
Breslow walked Nate McLouth with two outs, which had the potential to be dangerous, seeing as how McLouth ranks second in the American League with 22 stolen bases. Breslow retired Manny Machado on a first-pitch ground ball, though, so McLouth never had an opportunity to attempt a stolen base.
Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Mike Carp are due up for the Sox in the 11th inning.
10:45 p.m., 4-4: Junichi Tazawa recorded the first out of the 10th inning. The Red Sox will now turn to Craig Breslow.
Mid 10th, 4-4: Darren O’Day was cruising along until a catcher’s interference call made things interesting.
O’Day retired Will Middlebrooks and Stephen Drew to begin the 10th inning. Middlebrooks struck out and Drew flied out to left field.
O’Day then went to a full count against Jacoby Ellsbury before Matt Wieters was called for catcher’s interference on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Ellsbury fouled off a sinker down and in, and, in the process, his bat nicked Wieters’ glove.
Ellsbury was thus awarded first base, and he quickly moved up into scoring position on a first-pitch steal. O’Day has a very long delivery, and Wieters, who threw down to second base from his knees, had no chance of throwing out Ellsbury.
O’Day managed to escape the trouble, though. Shane Victorino put up a nice battle, but O’Day struck out The Flyin’ Hawaiian with a 3-2 slider.
End 9th, 4-4: The Red Sox will play extra innings for the sixth time this season.
It isn’t before some tense moments in the bottom of the ninth inning, though.
Junichi Tazawa took over in the ninth, and he got two quick outs. Adam Jones and Chris Davis each popped out to Stephen Drew.
Matt Wieters and Shane Victorino made things rather interesting, though. Wieters pulled a hit down the right field line. Victorino ranged over to gather it, but he bobbled the ball, and that allowed Wieters to advance to second. Victorino was charged with an error.
J.J. Hardy stepped in with the potential winning run on second base, but he couldn’t cash in. Hardy popped up the second pitch he saw, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hauled it in behind the plate.
The side-arm slinging Darren O’Day will pitch the 10th inning for the O’s.
Free baseball!
Mid 9th, 4-4: Tommy Hunter certainly did his job.
Hunter pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, and the Orioles’ offense will come up in a tie game with a chance to walk off with a win.
Hunter started the ninth inning by striking out Mike Carp. He went upstairs with a fastball, and home plate umpire Jim Joyce gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Daniel Nava tried to check his swing on a 1-1 pitch from Hunter, but he made contact. It resulted in a slow roller down to third base, where Manny Machado took care of the out.
Hunter fanned Jarrod Saltalamacchia to end the inning. Hunter reared back and delivered a 99 mph heater to pick up the K, which finished off 2 1/3 perfect innings from the right-hander.
Junichi Tazawa will take the mound for Boston in the ninth inning. He’ll face Adam Jones, Chris Davis and Matt Wieters.
End 8th, 4-4: Andrew Miller gave the Red Sox two very good innings, and we head to the ninth inning with the score tied.
Miller walked his second batter of the game in the eighth, but he made sure the Orioles couldn’t build on the free pass.
Ryan Flaherty grounded out before Miller walked Nate McLouth. The left-hander battled back from there to retire both Manny Machado and Nick Markakis.
Machado made good contact, but it resulted in a line drive right at Jacoby Ellsbury in center. Miller blew a 97 mph fastball by Markakis to end the inning.
Mike Carp, Daniel Nava and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are due up for Boston in the ninth. Tommy Hunter will head back to the mound for Baltimore.
Mid 8th, 4-4: Tommy Hunter, who recorded the final out of the seventh inning, came back out to pitch the eighth. He easily retired the Red Sox in order.
Shane Victorino, who was batting when Jacoby Ellsbury was caught stealing to end the seventh, led off the eighth inning with a groundout to first.
Dustin Pedroia then lifted a fly ball to right field for the second out, and David Ortiz ended the inning with a pop up to third.
Andrew Miller, who recorded three strikeouts in the seventh, will come back out for a second inning of work.
End 7th, 4-4: Andrew Miller was very impressive in the seventh inning.
He walked J.J. Hardy with two outs, but he otherwise struck out the side.
Chris Davis went down swinging, while Matt Wieters and Danny Valencia went down looking against Miller.
The left-hander blew a high, 97-mph fastball by Davis. Miller then froze Wieters with a backdoor slider, before going back to a 97 mph heater to catch Valencia looking.
Mid 7th, 4-4: Turning a double play is an art form, and the slightest miscue can prove costly.
The Orioles found that out in the seventh inning. Jacoby Ellsbury nearly grounded into an inning-ending double play, but second baseman Ryan Flaherty’s flip to shortstop J.J. Hardy was slightly off the mark. That gave Ellsbury just enough time to beat out Hardy’s throw on a bang-bang play at first base. And in the process, the tying run crossed the plate.
The seventh inning started with three straight singles by Daniel Nava, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Will Middlebrooks.
Stephen Drew then stepped up with the bases loaded and no outs, and he gave one a ride toward the left-center field gap. The fly ball took Adam Jones all the way to the warning track, but the Orioles center fielder showed great range to track it down. Nava scored with Boston’s third run, and Saltalamacchia tagged up and advanced to third.
Salty advancing to third proved to be big, as it allowed him to score on the Ellsbury forceout. Orioles manager Buck Showalter came out to contest the close call at first base following the near-double play, but replays show that Ellsbury did beat out Hardy’s throw. It was extremely close, though.
Showalter made a pitching change with Ellsbury at first base and two outs. Tommy Hunter took over as Shane Victorino dug in. Victorino never completed his at-bat, though, as Ellsbury was caught trying to steal second base on the second pitch.
End 6th, Orioles 4-2: It wasn’t a pretty inning, by any means. But the Orioles didn’t do any more damage.
Franklin Morales plunked Nate McLouth with one out in the sixth, and Manny Machado followed up with an infield single down to third base.
Will Middlebrooks, who made an error in the fifth inning, charged the ball, but he couldn’t come up with it near the third base bag. Since it was a rather difficult play, it was ultimately scored a hit.
Morales buckled down from there. He retired Nick Markakis on a sharp line drive to right-center field, and he struck out Adam Jones swinging to end the inning.
Brian Matusz, who recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning, will come on to start the seventh for Baltimore.
Mid 6th, Orioles 4-2: Kevin Gausman exited in the sixth inning, and he received a nice ovation.
Shane Victorino led off the inning by flying out to the warning track in right field. Once Dustin Pedroia singled into left field, however, Gausman’s night was done.
Buck Showalter called upon Brian Matusz as the first reliever out of Baltimore’s ‘pen. Matusz retired David Ortiz and Mike Carp — who are responsible for Boston’s two runs via back-to-back homers in the fourth inning.
Ortiz tried to jump on a first-pitch fastball, but he popped it up to J.J. Hardy at short. Carp worked the count full, but he didn’t let it rip on a 3-2 fastball on the inside corner, and Matusz picked up a strikeout.
Gausman gave up two earned runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.
End 5th, Orioles 4-2: You can’t give the Orioles’ offense any extra chances. Case in point: the fifth inning.
Manny Machado flied out to right field to begin the inning, but an error by Will Middlebrooks allowed Nick Markakis to reach.
Perhaps rattled by Middlebrooks’ miscue, Felix Doubront let a 2-2 fastball get away from him while facing Adam Jones. He drilled Jones on the back side, which put runners at first and second with one out.
Doubront bounced back to strike out the dangerous Chris Davis, but Matt Wieters pulled a single through the hole on the left side. It plated Markakis with Baltimore’s fourth run.
Doubront then faced J.J. Hardy and quickly got ahead in the count 0-2. He gradually lost Hardy, though, and he ended up walking him on seven pitches.
John Farrell saw enough at that point, and he took out Doubront, who threw 103 pitches, in favor of another left-hander, Franklin Morales. Morales escaped the bases-loaded jam by getting Danny Valencia to pop out to short.
Doubront gave up four runs (three earned) over 4 2/3 innings. He surrendered seven hits, walked one and struck out five.
Mid 5th, Orioles 3-2: Will Middlebrooks reached second base on a strange play with one out. It didn’t lead to anything further.
After Jarrod Saltalamacchia flied out to Adam Jones in center field, Middlebrooks lifted a lazy fly ball down the left field line. It initially looked as if the ball was headed toward foul territory, and J.J. Hardy, Manny Machado and Nate McLouth all ran over near the line. The ball ended up tailing back into fair territory, though, and it dropped in between the three O’s.
Middlebrooks, who also thought the ball was headed foul, didn’t run out of the box. He stood by and watched it before eventually taking off for first base. Once he realized that the ball dropped, Middlebrooks threw on the jets, and he dived into second base just in time.
Kevin Gausman exited the inning with a one-run lead still intact, as Stephen Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury were both retired to end the inning.
Drew drilled a comebacker that Gausman snatched out of thin air. The right-hander tried to double-up Middlebrooks at second base, but his throw sailed into center field. Middlebrooks couldn’t advance, though, and Gausman took care of Ellsbury via a groundout to first base.
End 4th, Orioles 3-2: That was a big inning for Felix Doubront.
Danny Valencia, who kicked off Baltimore’s scoring with a third-inning home run, doubled with one out in the fourth. Doubront made sure it didn’t hurt, though, and the Red Sox’ offense will go back to work with the deficit still at one run.
J.J. Hardy popped out for the first out before Valencia drilled a ball toward the right-center field gap. Jacoby Ellsbury gave chase, but the ball kept tailing away from him and he was unable to haul it in on a diving attempt.
Doubront stranded Valencia at second base by striking out the next two hitters. Both Ryan Flaherty and Nate McLouth went down swinging at curveballs.
Doubront has four strikeouts total, and Boston’s offense will now look to build on its two-run fourth.
8:23 p.m., Orioles 3-2: The Red Sox announced that Mike Napoli exited the game because of illness.
It’s unfortunate that Napoli is feeling under the weather, but Sox fans should be breathing a sigh of relief that it isn’t something more serious.
Mid 4th, Orioles 3-2: The Red Sox answered in a big way in the fourth inning.
It was Big Papi who delivered the first big blow. David Ortiz got a 97-mph fastball he could drive, and the slugger hammered his 14th home run of the season into right-center field with two outs.
Mike Carp, who entered the game for Mike Napoli in the third inning, liked what he saw, and he also went deep with two down in the inning. Kevin Gausman got ahead of Carp 0-2, but Carp laid off a couple of pitches and ended up driving a blast to straightaway center field.
End 3rd, Orioles 3-0: One swing by Danny Valencia in the third inning changed the complexion of Felix Doubront’s outing.
Valencia, who played in 10 games with Boston last season, smacked a leadoff homer into left field to give the Orioles a 1-0 advantage.
Doubront stumbled even further from there, as the Baltimore offense just kept trucking along.
Ryan Flaherty dropped a blooper down the left field line and ended up with a double. He advanced to third when Nate McLouth laid down a sacrifice bunt, and he scored when Manny Machado fought off a cutter in on the hands to deliver an RBI single into center field.
Nick Markakis made it back-to-back singles for the O’s with a base knock of his own. He was wiped off the basepaths, however, when Adam Jones grounded into a forceout. Mike Carp fielded Jones’ ground ball cleanly and looked to start up a double play, but Jones was simply too fast for the Sox to turn it.
Chris Davis stepped up with runners at the corners and two outs. He drilled the third pitch he saw into center field to plate Machado with Baltimore’s third run.
Doubront finally escaped the inning by striking out Matt Wieters. This game has changed quickly, though, and it comes after Doubront looked pretty sharp through the first two innings.
7:45 p.m., 0-0: Mike Napoli has come out of this game. He has been replaced by Mike Carp at first base.
Napoli doubled in the second inning, but it didn’t look like he sustained an injury. Clearly, something is wrong, though, as Napoli headed back down to the clubhouse.
Mid 3rd, 0-0: Kevin Gausman has been sharp.
The 22-year-old retired the Red Sox in order in the third inning, picking up his fourth strikeout along the way.
Will Middlebrooks began the inning by grounding out to his counterpart at third base, and Stephen Drew hit a deep flyout to left field for the second out.
Gausman ended the inning by striking out Jacoby Ellsbury, who is now 0-for-2 after entering the game riding an 11-game hit streak. Gausman got Ellsbury to wave at what looked like a forkball.
Gausman can dial it up with his fastball, but his secondary stuff has really been working for him thus far.
End 2nd, 0-0: Felix Doubront has been aggressive in the early going. That’s encouraging.
Doubront hit Chris Davis, who is having a monster year, with one out in the second inning. He retired the other three hitters he faced, though, and this has probably been the quickest two innings of any Doubront start this season.
Adam Jones grounded out to short for the first out, and, after Doubront hit Davis, Matt Wieters hit a popup down the right field line. Both Dustin Pedroia and Mike Napoli gave chase over near the tarp, and Pedroia eventually made the grab.
J.J. Hardy hit the ball hard with two outs. But it was right back at Doubront, and the lefty made a nifty play to end the inning.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: Kevin Gausman yielded a one-out double to Mike Napoli, but he was otherwise nasty in the second inning.
Gausman struck out David Ortiz, Daniel Nava and Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the frame.
Ortiz, who was buzzed inside during the at-bat, gave a halfhearted swing at an offspeed pitch in the dirt. Nava also fanned on an offspeed pitch down, while Saltalamacchia, who struck out on three pitches, was frozen by a 96-mph fastball.
Gausman has been shaky through his first four big league starts, but he’s really showing off his filthy repertoire in this one.
End 1st, 0-0: Felix Doubront isn’t known for quick innings, but he tossed one in the first.
Doubront retired the Orioles in order. Nate McLouth popped out to Jarrod Saltalamacchia in foul territory, Manny Machado grounded out to Stephen Drew at short and Nick Markakis struck out looking.
Doubront nearly took Markakis’ head off with his 1-2 pitch. Fortunately, Markakis ducked out of the way in time. He might have been a bit rattled, however, as Doubront froze him with a 92 mph fastball on the next pitch.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Oh, the perils of sending the runner.
Jacoby Ellsbury, who has been scorching of late, grounded out to second base to kick off the ballgame.
Shane Victorino then followed up with a one-out single into right field.
Dustin Pedroia hopped ahead in the count 2-0 against Kevin Gausman, who can really bring it. Gausman battled back, forcing Pedroia to foul off a couple of pitches, before going with a 3-2 slider. Pedroia was all over it, hammering a line drive down to third base, but Manny Machado was there to make the grab.
John Farrell opted to send the runner with Pedroia up, the count full and just one out. So after making the play down at third, Machado easily fired to first base to double-up Victorino.
7:08 p.m.: Kevin Gausman’s first pitch is a strike. We’re off and running at Camden Yards.
7:01 p.m.: The weather hasn’t been great in Baltimore, and the tarp has been on the field for most of the day. It has cleared up a bit, though, and it looks like we’ll have baseball on time.
6:44 p.m.: Is Daniel Nava an All-Star? That’s one of the questions discussed on this week’s Red Sox/MLB podcast. If you’re interested in checking that out, click the link below.
Click here for this week’s Red Sox podcast >>
6:23 p.m.: Jacoby Ellsbury comes in riding a 11-game hit streak. He began the streak before missing five games with a groin injury, and he has picked up right where he left off since returning.
Ellsbury is hitting .440 (22-for-50) during the 11-game stretch, and he has multiple hits in seven of those 11 games.
Ellsbury has also been a menace on the basepaths lately, and he has really become the ideal leadoff hitter during his resurgence. The Red Sox certainly need to ride the wave while they can.
Click here to read more about Ellsbury’s hot streak >>
6:10 p.m.: The Red Sox enter this four-game set with the Orioles having won each of their last four series.
Boston also enters Thursday’s game with the best road record in the majors at 20-12 (.625 winning percentage).
5:32 p.m.: Thursday’s lineups have been posted. Take a look below.
Red Sox (41-26)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Stephen Drew, SS
Felix Doubront, LHP (4-3, 4.84 ERA)
Orioles (37-29)
Nate McLouth, LF
Manny Machado, 3B
Nick Markakis, RF
Adam Jones, CF
Chris Davis, 1B
Matt Wieters, C
J.J. Hardy, SS
Danny Valencia, DH
Ryan Flaherty, 2B
Kevin Gausman, RHP (0-3, 8.84 ERA)
8 a.m. ET: The Red Sox are handling their difficult stretch of games well thus far. It won’t get any easier on Thursday, though, as the Sox travel to Baltimore to open up a four-game set with the Orioles.
The O’s enter Thursday’s contest trailing the Sox by three games in the American League East. They, like the Red Sox, boast one of the AL’s most potent offenses. But while the Orioles’ defense has been tremendous, their pitching has been suspect, and that will obviously need to change if they expect to be contenders again this season.
This series is a huge opportunity for both teams to prove themselves. Right now, the Red Sox look like the most balanced team in the AL East and one of the best teams in all of baseball. A good showing against the O’s will allow them to flex their muscle even more. The Orioles, meanwhile, would like to show that they’re still very much a force to be reckoned with.
Felix Doubront will take the ball on Thursday. The left-hander gave up three earned runs over six innings in a 9-5 loss to the Angels on Saturday. He’ll need to continue improving, especially with Jon Lester going through some struggles and Clay Buchholz battling an injury issue.
Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Tune in on NESN, and keep it right here with NESN.com.
