SARASOTA, Fla. — Miguel Gonzalez pitched into the third inning as he rebounded from a horrible first start, but the Baltimore Orioles dropped to 0-8-1 in the exhibition season with a 5-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
Gonzalez opened by allowing seven runs and eight hits in 1 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay. This time he gave up a first-inning home run to Brock Holt.
Overall, Gonzalez gave up three hits, walked one and struck out one.
He tried to forget about last week’s start.
“Of course, mentally when things are not going well you just put yourself down. You just got to get up and put your head down and work hard,” Gonzalez said.
Roenis Elias pitched two scoreless innings for Boston, allowing four hits.
J.J. Hardy tripled in the fourth and scored on Joey Rickard’s infield out. It was the only run for Baltimore, the only major league team that has yet to win a game this spring.
The Orioles had 12 hits and stranded 13 runners.
Elias, who could start the season in either Boston’s bullpen or with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, struck out Nolan Reimold with the bases loaded to end the second.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez caught two innings for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last year.
Manager John Farrell says he expects Vazquez to catch three innings Friday when Boston plays Toronto.
“I wish we could say we’ve got the next two months blocked out when we know he’s going to catch, but we’re taking (an) optimistic, yet cautious approach to how he comes out of each and every game,” Farrell said.
Right-hander Michael Kopech, Boston’s first-round pick in the 2014 amateur draft, broke his right hand in an altercation with his roommate earlier this month, general manager Dan Hazen said.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox take on the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. Joe Kelly starts against Ryan Vogelsong in a matchup of right-handers.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
