BOSTON — Thursday night’s much-anticipated rubber match between the American League East’s top two teams turned out to be pretty anticlimactic.
The Baltimore Orioles chased Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez after just 4 1/3 innings, while Boston’s offense couldn’t get anything going off Orioles starter Tyler Wilson in a 5-1 loss at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox mustered just four hits to Baltimore’s 11, allowing the Orioles to take the series two games to one and earn sole possession of first place in the AL East.
Here’s how it all went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Unlucky.
The Red Sox stroked a number of well-hit balls but emerged with nothing to show for it, as the well-positioned Orioles made a few nice defensive plays to keep Boston’s offense stagnant.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
The Orioles chased Rodriguez and tacked on two runs in the fifth.
Chris Davis drilled an RBI single that ended Rodriguez’s night, and Jonathan Schoop smacked an RBI double off reliever Matt Barnes that stretched Baltimore’s lead to 5-0.
ON THE BUMP
— Rodriguez struggled through another rough outing, allowing five earned runs on eight hits in just 4 1/3 innings of work. He walked two batters and got behind in several counts, which the Orioles made him pay for with a number of hard-hit balls.
The 23-year-old left-hander surrendered a two-run home run to Adam Jones in the third inning — the sixth homer he’s allowed in three starts this season — and five of his eight hits allowed went for extra bases. Rodriguez did strike out five batters, however.
— Matt Barnes was responsible for Rodriguez’s final earned run, entering with one out in the fifth and allowing a two-out double to Schoop that plated Davis, the final batter Rodriguez faced.
Barnes came back out in the sixth inning and allowed one hit in a scoreless frame.
— Clay Buchholz was the Red Sox’s lone bright spot on the mound, closing the game with three innings of scoreless relief. The former starter allowed just two hits and didn’t walk a batter while striking out four.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Wilson quieted the Red Sox’s bats, night, allowing just four total baserunners during his eight-inning appearance, all in separate innings.
— Wilson had a no-hit bid going until the third inning, when Sandy Leon tallied a single for Boston’s first hit of the night. Leon is batting .700 (7-for-10) in three games played this season.
— David Ortiz provided the Red Sox’s lone score when he blasted his 17th homer of the season with two outs in the ninth. Ortiz went 2-for-4 and also added his Major League Baseball-leading 29th double of the year in the seventh inning.
— Ortiz was the only Boston runner to reach scoring position in an underwhelming night for the Red Sox’s offense.
— Travis Shaw recorded the Red Sox’s only other hit in the eighth inning. The third baseman now has a hit in three consecutive games after enduring a brutal 1-for-22 slump.
— Rusney Castillo had a tough night in his first start since April 9, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
This pretty much sums up Thursday’s game.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox welcome the Seattle Mariners to town for a three-game series that begins Friday. Left-hander Roenis Elias is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to make the start, while Hisashi Iwakuma is scheduled to pitch for Seattle. First pitch at Fenway is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
