The Boston Red Sox finished their five-game series against the Baltimore Orioles in a very disappointing fashion, dropping the rubber match, 10-0, on Monday night at Fenway Park.
Starter Rich Hill did not get the team off on the right foot, allowing six earned runs in four innings. His command was off all night, as noted by manager Alex Cora.
“Fastball command wasn’t there,” Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “The breaking ball didn’t play today.”
The Red Sox skipper brushed off the idea of Hill tipping pitches when asked by a reporter.
“This was more about fastball command,” Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He hit (Austin) Hays, the one to (Trey) Mancini cut to the middle of the plate. The 3-2 breaking ball, (had him) a little bit out in front but he barreled it. Like I said, halfway through, you saw the at-bats… they were a lot different when he started commanding his fastball and it’s just a tough one tonight.”
Hill was not sharp but it likely would not have mattered, as the Red Sox were shutout by opposing pitcher Tyler Wells and company. Boston only mustered four hits on the night, two doubles and two singles.
Here are some more notes from Red Sox-Orioles:
— Matt Barnes continues to have extremely concerning outings. He allowed two base hits then gave up a three-run homer via Anthony Santander’s bat. He gave up exit velocities of 104.6, 99.9, 97.6, 96.7 and 95.9 miles per hour in one inning of work.
— The 10-0 loss was the worst Red Sox loss in a shutout since April 23, 2013 against the Oakland Athletics, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
— Boston was shutout for the third time this season on Memorial Day.
— The Red Sox will try to get back on track Tuesday with a quick two-game set against the lowly Cincinnati Reds. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET following an hour of pregame coverage, and you can watch it all on NESN.
