A four game series versus the Orioles will take place Thursday through Sunday. The Orioles are in last place in the AL East, and the Sox are tied for first place with the New York Yankees. This weekend will also mark the showdown of Mookie Betts and Manny Machado, the top two leaders in the home run race for the MLB. Dustin Pedroia, Austin Maddox, and Tyler Thornburg will all play in Rochester this weekend with minor league affiliate Pawtucket Red Sox. The Red Sox look to keep their lead and overrule the Yankees to be sole leader of the AL East. David Price will be up first on the mound Thursday night. Then Pomeranz, Porcello, and Rodriguez will follow.
Price vs. Gausman – a Full Game for Price
David Price had himself quite the night. He pitched nine innings in under 100 pitches, and came out with a win. Price struck out eight batters and let up only five hits. J.D. Martinez hit a two run homer in the first, and Xander Bogaerts hit a three run homer in the fifth, providing Price with plenty of run support. Showalter didn’t hesitate to wait for Bogaerts to finish rounding the bases before speed walking to take Gausman out. The Orioles skipper was so in the moment he did not even realize that Bogaerts hadn’t even made it home. Kevin Gausman pitched a little under five innings, letting up six runs and eight hits, striking out six and walking two. Boston won their second straight game after beating the Oakland Athletics 6-4 on Wednesday to avoid a three game sweep. Baltimore was 5-7 coming in.
“They’re a free-swinging team,” said Price, who threw just 95 pitches. “You can go out there and do that or you can go out there for three innings and give up a bunch of runs.”
”We just got into some sticky situations where we just had to dig ourselves out of a hole and we just couldn’t,” Susac said.
“He was amazing,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “He was outstanding. You saw it. Bad swings, up, down, in and out, change up, cutter, sinkers … that was fun to watch.”
Pomeranz vs. Cobb – Cobb Takes His First Win in an Orioles Jersey
The Orioles beat the Red Sox 7-4, ending Baltimore’s 13-game road losing streak. Cobb held the Red Sox to three runs and ten hits over six innings. It was Alex Cobb’s first game as an Orioles pitcher, he previously spent the past 11 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. Drew Pomeranz only lasted four innings, getting pulled after the Orioles scored four in the fourth. Pomeranz let up seven hits and walked three. He struck out a season-low of two. Mookie Betts doubled twice and hit his 14th homer this season. One day after Machado took the AL lead with his 14th homer, Betts tied him with his solo shot in the third and his three-hit night raised his American League leading batting average to .371.
“He’s a dangerous combination right now,” Cobb said of Betts. “Betts is just locked in. He’s where every ballplayer strives to get to.”
“I can’t remember the last time we won a game on a road,” said Machado after the Orioles win.
“It’s just pretty frustrating,” Pomeranz said. “You put so much time and effort into it and you want to throw a good game for your team, especially the way our offense is. Just trying to keep us in the game, and I didn’t do that tonight.”
Porcello vs. Bundy – Mookie Betts Is Still the Best in the MLB
Betts hit a two run homer before Andrew Benintendi followed with a homer of his own in the fifth inning, and the Red Sox beat the Orioles 6-3 on Saturday night. The rain was not enough to stop Mookie from having himself a night. Mookie is hitting a major-league best .368 with 15 homers and 32 RBI’s out of the lead off spot for the Sox. Rick Porcello gave up three runs over six innings, with nine strikeouts, and three walks. Alvarez’s two run homer got it to 4-3 in the sixth, but Benintendi’s single made it 6-3 in the seventh. Craig Kimbrel captured his 13th save of the season. Eduardo Rodriguez is set to start against his former team on Sunday.
“It’s incredible. It’s a lot of fun to watch. I don’t know what to say,” pitcher Rick Porcello said. “When he gets his pitch, he’s not missing it. When he doesn’t get his pitch, he’s not missing it.”
“He’s in a groove right now. But, it’s not like he’s hot-hot,” Benintendi said. “It feels like he can get hotter.”
Rodriguez vs. Hess – the Sox Take the Series Win over Orioles
Eduardo Rodriguez held the Orioles scoreless over almost six innings to earn the win. Rodriguez let up nine hits with no walks and seven strikeouts, improving his record to 4-1 and lowering his ERA to 4.13. J.D. Martinez recorded his eighth career multi-homer game and first with the Red Sox. He led off the second inning with a first-pitch homer to left then added a two-run shot in the fifth to tie Mookie Betts for the Major League lead in home runs with 15. Mitch Moreland doubled before Martinez hit his second homer of the day. His first came in the second inning. Andrew Benintendi hit his fifth home run of the season to bring both himself and another runner in to score. The Sox got the win 5-0 to end the series and this home stand.
Up Next
Second baseman Dustin Pedroia went zero for three in a rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday and he will play at some point in the next week. Alex Cora said he’d like to see Pedroia play consecutive games before coming back to the majors. The Sox are 31-15 and hold first place in the AL East. The Red Sox will travel to Tampa Bay for a three game series versus the Rays, and then return home for a weekend series against the Atlanta Braves.
Sources
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