The Boston Red Sox — for one weekend — were better than the Baltimore Orioles.
The Red Sox, who will finish last in the American League East, took two of three from the division champions at Camden Yards. Boston defeated Baltimore 3-2 in Sunday’s series finale, doubling the O’s hit total — 12 to six — in the process.
The Sox now return to Fenway Park for a six-game homestand that will conclude the 2014 season.
Let’s scope out Sunday’s showdown.
— Mookie Betts led off the game with a home run. He turned on a 1-2 fastball from Miguel Gonzalez.
Betts, at 21 years old, is the youngest Red Sox player in 75 years to hit a leadoff homer. Bobby Doerr was 21 when he launched a leadoff blast in 1939.
Betts, who added a single, is hitting .293 with a .379 on-base percentage in 15 games since taking over as Boston’s leadoff hitter.
— Joe Kelly was very sharp, giving the Red Sox some much-needed comfort going into the offseason.
Kelly allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings. He struck out five, walked three and threw 95 pitches (59 strikes). It was Kelly’s fifth consecutive start of at least six innings.
The Red Sox’s other young starting pitchers have done little to prove themselves down the stretch, creating additional questions — rather than answers — about Boston’s 2015 rotation. Kelly’s strong performance since being acquired at the trade deadline lessens the overall concern to some extent.
— Yoenis Cespedes went 2-for-4 with an RBI single.
— David Ross smoked a solo homer to straightaway center field in the sixth inning.
— Burke Badenhop recorded a key strikeout in the eighth inning.
Delmon Young and Nelson Cruz produced back-to-back singles with two outs. Badenhop rebounded to strike out J.J. Hardy looking with a pitch on the outside corner.
— Edward Mujica recorded the save.
Mujica surrendered a two-out single after striking out Jimmy Paredes and Ryan Flaherty. He rebounded to retire Kelly Johnson — a former Red Sox — via a ground ball to second base.
— Bryce Brentz went 1-for-4 in his first major league start.
— Garin Cecchini went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk, marking the first time in his big league career he reached base more than once.
— Rusney Castillo is Mr. 1-for-4.
Castillo, who (again) went 1-for-4 in Sunday’s finale, has gone 1-for-4 with a single in all four of his major league games.
Castillo stole second base in the ninth inning after singling into right field. It was the Cuban outfielder’s first stolen base.
— Xander Bogaerts left the game in the second inning with neck stiffness.
“His neck started to stiffen,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “He was hit with a ball on a ricochet in BP in the cage. After his first at-bat, his neck started to stiffen further and we got him out of there at that point.”
— Jemile Weeks entered the game for Bogaerts. He reached base three times — two singles, one walk — and scored a run.
Weeks also committed another baserunning blunder in the seventh inning, as he lost track of how many outs there were on Cespedes’ line drive to right field.
