Game over, Red Sox win 1-0: Koji Uehara closed out a strong effort by Brandon Workman as the Boston Red Sox got back into the win column.
Caleb Joseph lined to left field, where a regular outfielder might have been able to read the ball and catch it. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Holt isn’t a regular left fielder, although he’s done his best.
With Steve Pearce pinch-running, Flaherty tried to lay down a bunt. But Uehara hopped on the ball quickly and threw out the lead runner.
Pierzynski made a couple of nice plays to stop the ball after Uehara buried his splitter. Pierzynski was charged with a tough error for failing to catch a foul by the netting, but then it was Koji’s turn to bail out his catcher. He made Markakis wave at another splitter for strike three.
It was all up to Machado, who unloaded on a high inside pitch to send it foul. After a healthy cut through a splitter and fighting off another pitch, though, Machado missed another splitter to end the game.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 1-0: It’s Koji time.
Sizmore hit a ball pretty hard on a lineout to center, and Herrera hammered a ball to deep left that Cruz gloved on the warning track. Holt, who suddenly looks human, flied out to end the half-inning.
So no insurance runs for Uehara. It will be a hard-earned save tonight.
End 8th, Red Sox 1-0: Junichi Tazawa looked to set up the save situation for Koji Uehara and did his job.
Cruz flied out to right, where Gomes had stayed in the game. Hardy went down swinging on three straight fastballs. Lough also whiffed.
Unless the Red Sox really have a big rally in the ninth, Tazawa did well to bridge Boston to its closer.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 1-0:Â A.J. Pierzynski — and quite a few people at Orioles Park — probably thought he blew this thing open.
The Red Sox marched out their lefty to get Baltimore’s lefty slugger, so the O’s responded in kind. Brian Matusz came on to face Ortiz, who uncharacteristically tried to bunt for a hit.
Once Ortiz came back to his senses, he took a big cut at a slider and missed. Then is was time for Machado to flash his sick glove again, going deep behind third base to rob Napoli of a hit.
Jonny Gomes pinch hit for Nava, lacing a high fastball to right for a single. Pierzynski followed by clobbering a pitch to deep right — but it turned out to only be a loud out when Markakis made a nice catch at the wall.
End 7th, Red Sox 1-0: So, that’s why Red Sox manager John Farrell made the pitching change. Rather painlessly, Miller struck out Davis on four pitches, the last of which was a slider low and away that Davis swung through, missing by a mile.
Bottom 7th, Red Sox 1-0: Workman put together a heck of a night, but it’s over now. After putting down Machado and Jones, Workman was pulled in favor of lefty Andrew Miller to face Davis.
Workman leaves having thrown 6 2/3 innings, with one hit, one walk and four strikeouts.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 1-0: Ryan Webb will begin the seventh, just as Tillman seemed to be getting comfortable. But O’s manager Buck Showalter is looking to keep a winnable game close at home.
Webb worked a quick two-pitch groundout to first from Holt and another groundout to the opposite side of the diamond by Bogaerts, courtesy of a sweet backhanded scoop by Machado. Pedroia cued one off the end of his bat for a short foul flare-out to first.
End 6th, Red Sox 1-0: Usually, Workman is pretty workmanlike, but he showed off a little of his nasty in the sixth.
Workman buckled Lough with a curveball to strike out the unfortunate center fielder, then Joseph lined out to shortstop. But Workman might have gotten a little cocky, because he served up a hanging curve that Flaherty rapped into center.
All was fine, however, when Workman used yet another curve to get Markakis to ground out — thanks to an acrobatic play by Napoli to charge the ball and keep it in fair territory.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 1-0: After looking like he might be ready to implode, Tillman has settled in. He sat down Nava on a pop-up, Pierzynski on a grounder to second base, and would have gotten Sizemore on a flyout to right field had Flaherty been able to make a tough over-the-shoulder catch.
Instead, Herrera popped out back near the mound to end the inning for the Sox.
End 5th, Red Sox 1-0: Workman finally showed a kink in the armor, but it was debatable. He struck out Davis, then appeared to throw two close pitches that were called balls, leading to a walk of Cruz, giving Baltimore its first baserunner of the game.
It all evened out when Hardy lifted one to short right field and Cruz, apparently not thinking Pedroia could get to it, was doubled off first base.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 1-0:Â Boston’s big guns just can’t seem to solve these O’s starters. Aside from Napoli’s RBI single, the 3-4-5 hitters continue to be flummoxed by Tillman.
Pedroia and Ortiz were retired on harmless groundouts, and Napoli smoked a grounder right back up the middle — but into a shift for out No. 3.
End 4th, Red Sox 1-0: Rain or not, there has been nothing inclement about Workman’s performance tonight.
Through four innings, Workman has yet to allow an Oriole to reach base. He retired Markakis unassisted, forced a liner to straightaway center by Machado and came back from down 3-0 to get Jones to pop up to shallow right.
Brandon’s doing work, man.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 1-0:Â Tillman is laboring, although he was able to wriggle out of a serious jam unscathed.
Pierzynski and Sizmore rapped chest-high pitches to open the inning as the ball is definitely sailing on Tillman. Herrera couldn’t bunt them over, but he was able to flare a single short down the left field line.
With the bases drunk and nobody out, somehow Tillman got Holt out, which isn’t something he had done in this game previously. Bogaerts got Tillman out of the jam by grounding to shortstop for a double play.
End 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: Bogaerts was a busy man in the third. He cleanly fielded a bunt to gun down David Lough easily, then dove to snag a liner by Caleb Joseph. Just to show that he’s not greedy, Bogaerts let Workman strike out Ryan Flaherty for the third out.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: Another at-bat, another base hit for Brock Holt. Yawn.
Holt, who can’t seem to make an out lately, grounded one right back up the middle past Tillman and the diving reach of Hardy for another single. The ball looked to be flying a little high on Tillman, and the Red Sox capitalized.
Bogaerts grounded out to short, with Pedroia clocking a long lineout to left. Tillman played it safe with Ortiz, not giving the Boston DH anything on the inside of the plate. The O’s even got some help from a friendly bug, who flew into Ortiz’s eye just as a Tillman offering crossed the plate for strike two.
A pesky bug couldn’t mess with Ortiz’s patience at the plate, and Ortiz took a walk. Napoli, who was at bat when all this rain delay business started in the first place, knocked in Holt by going the other way with a high and outside pitch. But Nava waved at strike three, so the Sox will have to be happy with getting one run.
End 2nd, 0-0: Picking up right where they left off before the deluge, Workman retired Nelson Cruz thanks to a highlight sliding catch by Sizmore in center. J.J. Hardy then promptly grounded out to shortstop, ending the first post-rain half-inning.
Here’s to clear skies the rest of the way.
Bottom 2nd, 0-0: Despite the extended delay, Workman apparently intends to come back out to pitch. NESN’s Gary Striewski says Workman was trying to stay loose during the delay and is hoping to retake the mound.
Bottom 2nd, 0-0: Another rain delay. This one comes with a 1-2 count on Chris Davis.
Let the record show that Accuweather is on notice:
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Mid 2nd, 0-0:Â A relatively brief rain delay didn’t interrupt Napoli’s rhythm. The Red Sox first baseman walked, then reached second on a single by A.J. Pierzynski (after Daniel Nava lined out to right).
Grady Sizemore followed with a walk, creating a decent early scoring opportunity with the bases loaded and two out. With the rain beginning to beat down again, Jonathan Herrera went down swinging to end the threat.
Top 2nd, 0-0: Yikes. It didn’t take long for ominous black clouds to turn into a full-fledged downpour. David Ortiz flied out to left field, and after Mike Napoli took a ball, the skies opened up.
Home plate umpire Brian Gorman wasted no time halting play. Hopefully, this rain leaves as fast as it arrived and we can get on with the action.
End 1st, 0-0: Brandon Workman breezed through the first inning, working groundouts by Nick Markakis and Adam Jones sandwiched around a flyout by Manny Machado.
Mid 1st, 0-0:Â At this point, we can all just pencil in at least a base hit for leadoff hitter Brock Holt, right?
Holt started the game with a single against Chris Tillman, just as he did Monday against Bud Norris. The hit was wasted when Xander Bogaerts flied out and Dustin Pedroia grounded into a double play, however.
Still …
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Nope.
5:47 p.m.: Red Sox GM Ben Cherington went on the interview circuit today and pretty much admitted that he sees the same things the rest of us see.
Acknowledging the shortcomings in the outfield, Cherington said any trade deadline deal would likely focus on adding outfield help. With Shane Victorino missing his 17th consecutive game tonight, the Red Sox could use the support.
4:50 p.m.: Brandon Workman gets the call tonight as he awaits his appeal of a six-game suspension to be heard by Major League Baseball. His chance to plead his case should come Friday, The Boston Globe reports.
Workman was suspended after MLB alleged he threw in the “head area” of Evan Longoria in a testy game against the Tampa Bay Rays. David Price, who hit two Red Sox batters with pitches, was not suspended and was fined an undisclosed amount.
3:30 p.m. ET: Jonathan Herrera is getting plenty of action as Stephen Drew continues to deal with a variety of issues that have held the recently signed shortstop out of the lineup.
Drew is on the bench again Tuesday as the tightness in his right oblique apparently has not lessened. That means more time for Herrera, who has made it into seven of the last 10 games for the Red Sox. The veteran infielder is one of a handful of players who has quietly and reliably done whatever has been asked of him in this difficult season.
Another guy the Red Sox have been able to count on is Brock Holt. With a base hit to begin the game on Monday, Holt stretched his career-high hitting streak to nine games. From the leadoff spot alone, he is batting .349 (29-for-83) this season.
Right-hander Brandon Workman (0-0, 3.74 ERA) will start on the bump for the Red Sox (28-35), with righty Chris Tillman (5-2, 5.20) opposing for the Orioles (32-30).
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
