Those clamoring for the Boston Red Sox to acquire starting pitching help will use Sunday afternoon’s drubbing at Camden Yards as Exhibit A.
The Red Sox’s rotation continued to receive a pounding, as the Baltimore Orioles took the three-game series with a 18-7 win.
The game quickly got out of hand in the third inning when Red Sox starter Wade Miley loaded the bases and walked in a run. Miley made it through just 2 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs, six earned. The left-hander is 1-2 with an 8.62 ERA in his first four Boston starts.
Check out a recap of Sunday’s game:
GAME IN A WORD
Clobbered.
This one never was close, as the Orioles already held a 7-0 lead heading into the fourth inning.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
Miley was removed from the game after allowing six runs in the third inning. The Red Sox’s bullpen already was in rough shape, as Boston had to call up Heath Hembree to take Matt Barnes’ place on the 25-man roster before the game.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval finally put some runs on the board with two outs in the sixth inning, when he took Orioles starter Bud Norris deep over the right field wall for a three-run homer.
— Hanley Ramirez hit his seventh and eighth homers of the season for Boston with a solo shot in the seventh and a three-run blast in the ninth, raising his OPS to 1.002.
— Dustin Pedroia raised his average to .267 with a three-hit ballgame for the Red Sox.
— Mookie Betts went 0 for 5 with a strikeout, sinking his batting average to .189 after his hot start for Boston. Betts also reached on an error.
— Red Sox utility man Brock Holt should earn more playing time after going 2 for 2 with three walks, raising his average to .457 with a 1.113 OPS.
— Third baseman Manny Machado was the only Orioles batter to not record a hit. He went 0 for 4 with two walks.
— Orioles right fielder Delmon Young went 3 for 6 with a double and five RBIs.
ON THE BUMP
— Miley lasted just 57 pitches and had the worst month of his career, so one would hope it can only go up from here. The left-hander finishes April with a 1-1 record, 8.62 ERA, 1.79 WHIP and 10 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings.
— Red Sox relievers didn’t fare much better. Anthony Varvaro allowed two runs in 1 2/3 innings, Robbie Ross Jr. gave up one run in one inning and Hembree allowed six runs, including a home run to Chris Davis and a triple to Jimmy Paredes, in 1 1/3 innings. If there’s a silver lining to Hembree’s performance, he struck out three Orioles.
— Norris went into the game with a 17.42 ERA but allowed just three runs in 6 2/3 innings. It was the first time he had thrown over 100 pitches all season.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox don’t get a break, as they head home to face the Toronto Blue Jays at 6:10 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. Joe Kelly, coming off a tough start against the Tampa Bay Rays in which he allowed five earned runs in five innings, is on the mound for the Red Sox. He’ll face Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez, who’s sporting a 5.14 ERA after three starts this season.
Thumbnail photo via Gail Burton/Associated Press
