BOSTON — There were more home runs to be had at Fenway Park on Tuesday, but this time, the visitors did most of the heavy lifting.
The Baltimore Orioles jumped out to a five-run lead thanks to a pair of home runs off Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz and hit a third homer for good measure to hand Boston a 6-3 loss, evening the teams’ three-game series at one game apiece.
The Toronto Blue Jays also lost Tuesday, meaning the Red Sox still own a two-game lead over Toronto and Baltimore in the American League East.
Here’s how this one went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Shortcoming.
Boston’s bullpen did well to stop the bleeding after Pomeranz’s rough start, but its offense couldn’t deliver, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position while stranding nine runners.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Jonathan Schoop launched a moonshot home run in the ninth inning.
A half inning after the Red Sox stranded a pair of runners, and the Orioles second baseman hit solo blast that took any remaining wind out of their sails.
ON THE BUMP
— Pomeranz got a rude introduction to the most homer-happy team in baseball.
The left-hander got lit up in his first appearance against Baltimore as a Red Sox, allowing five runs on four hits over just two innings. The Orioles scored all five of those runs on a pair of second-inning homers: a three-run blast by J.J. Hardy and a Nolan Reimold two-run shot.
Pomeranz exited in the third inning after allowing a leadoff single to Manny Machado. He struck out three and walked two in his shortest start of the season.
— Heath Hembree prevented any damage in the third by inducing a double play and recording a strikeout.
The right-hander allowed a hit and a walk in the fourth but didn’t allow a run, finishing the night with two scoreless innings pitched along with two K’s.
— Joe Kelly worked the fifth and six innings and posted an identical line to Hembree, allowing no runs one one hit while walking one and striking out two.
— Matt Barnes allowed one hit and struck out a batter in a scoreless seventh inning.
— Robbie Ross Jr. recorded one out in the eighth but gave up a hit and a walk before being lifted in favor of Noe Ramirez.
— Ramirez walked pinch-hitter Hyun-Soo Kim to load the bases with two outs but struck out Adam Jones to escape the jam.
The right-hander wasn’t so lucky in the ninth, however, allowing a solo homer to Schoop to give Baltimore a 6-3 lead and break a 12-inning scoreless streak by Boston’s bullpen.
— Fernando Abad relieved Ramirez with two outs in the ninth and retired Chris Davis on a flyout to left field.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— The Red Sox chipped away at Baltimore’s 5-0 lead in the second inning, scoring a pair of runs on back-to-back bases loaded walks to Ryan Hanigan and Dustin Pedroia.
That’s all they could muster, though, as Xander Bogaerts struck out and David Ortiz popped out to leave the bases loaded.
— Bogaerts made up for the missed opportunity in his next at-bat, launching his 19th homer of the season onto the Green Monster in the fifth inning to cut Boston’s deficit to 5-3.
— Sandy Leon pinch-hit for Hanigan in the eighth with two outs and runners on first and second but grounded out in what was Boston’s last legitimate scoring threat.
— Travis Shaw had an excellent night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double.
— Pedroia racked up two more hits, giving him 14 multi-hit games in his last 17 contests. He’s batting an insane .506 (42-for-83) over his last 19 games at Fenway.
— Aside from Bogaerts’ homer, the heart of the Red Sox’s lineup failed to deliver, as Boston’s No. 2 through No. 5 hitters went a combined 2-for-18 and stranded 14 runners on base.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
Pomeranz had a pretty rough go of it, and the Fenway Faithful let him know.
UP NEXT
Rick Porcello will take the ball in Wednesday’s rubber match seeking his major league-best 21st win of the season. He’ll oppose Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman, with first pitch at Fenway set for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
