The Boston Red Sox win 5-0 over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Saturday night to bring them to a 78-65 record, and Baltimore to a 69-74 record. Sonny Gray put the team on his back, pitching seven shutout innings while the Red Sox bats woke up late.
Both teams started off the game by getting multiple runners on base in the first inning. Despite this, Sonny Gray and Chris Bassitt got out of those jams unscathed.
Colton Cowser led off the third inning with a double to left field. Two batters later, with Cowser on third, he ran on contact on a ground ball to third. Nick Sogard had plenty of time to fire home and get Cowser out, squandering another O’s scoring opportunity.
Another scoring opportunity presented itself for the Red Sox in the top of the fourth, with runners on first and second with one out. Instead, back-to-back strikeouts by Jarren Duran and Eli White stopped any runs from scoring.
The Red Sox got the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth, with White in the box. This time, he delivered a two-run bloop single to put the first runs on the board for either team.
This also forced Bassitt’s exit from the game. His final line: 5.2 innings, three runs on five hits and four walks, while striking out six hitters.
Connor Wong followed up by slapping the 1-1 offering from Rico Garcia up the middle for an RBI single, giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Gray in the bottom half of the sixth, the Red Sox added some insurance runs. These came in the form of a two-run double down the right-field line from Isiah Kiner-Falefa. He wound up going 1-for-3 with a walk on the game.
Gray pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, which marked the end of his night, and he eventually got his 17th win of the season. His final line: seven innings, three hits, three walks, zero runs, and seven strikeouts.
The Orioles loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth with two outs for Pete Alonso. Greg Weissert got him to strike out swinging to keep Baltimore scoreless.
Despite a two-out double from Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Wyatt Olds took the ball for the ninth and held the Orioles scoreless to secure the shutout.
White has stepped up in a major way since Ceddanne Rafaela’s absence due to injury, although you might not exactly know it from the box scores. After kickstarting the rally in the series opener on Thursday night, White’s two-run single forced Bassitt’s exit from the game. Despite only going 1-for-3, White’s one hit came when the Red Sox needed it the most.
Boston has rallied on the great performances Sonny Gray has provided, having never lost a game in which he allowed one or fewer runs in his starts; a whopping 15-0. That includes six starts in which he allowed no runs. This brings his ERA down to 2.69, which ranks ninth among all qualified starting pitchers in MLB.
Roman Anthony, batting at the leadoff spot, went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and was the only Red Sox hitter to not get on base throughout the game. Of all the batters to go 0-for-5, the leadoff hitter shouldn’t be that guy.
Jovani Moran originally started the eighth inning and opened the inning by giving up a base hit and a walk. Moran exited, only able to get one out before Weissert had to come in. He forced a fielder’s choice before loading the bases with another walk. With Pete Alonso up with the bases loaded, who has a .944 OPS with runners on base, Baltimore could’ve easily brought themselves back into the game.
The Red Sox remain in the second AL Wild Card spot with a six-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays, who hold the third and final spot. The Orioles are still in the mix, as they sit only three games back for the final Wild Card berth. The Red Sox will look to make it a sweep as the Sox and O’s play the final game of the series at 1:35 p.m. on Sunday, before the Red Sox return to Boston for a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.
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