Coming off a four-game sweep of the Yankees, Boston sustained its late-season surge in the opener of an important four-game series with AL East repercussions.
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Two-run home runs by Mookie Betts and David Ortiz – both of whom have been Baltimore scourges – plus Porcello’s mastery helped the Red Sox to a 5-2 win that dropped the Orioles four games behind the AL East leaders with 11 games to play.
Porcello retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the fourth before a pitch ran inside on him and hit Machado in the elbow. Boston RHP Steven Wright (right shoulder injury) has begun a throwing program in Fort Myers, Fla., and could throw off a mound at a later date, according to manager John Farrell. “But I’ve been saying it all year, our focus is winning and what we want to accomplish as a team”.
– He has six home runs against the Orioles this season, his second-most against them in a single season (he hit seven against them back in 2003).
Playing his final regular season series in Baltimore, the 40-year-old Ortiz connected against rookie Dylan Bundy (9-6) with a man on in the fifth for a 5-1 lead.
When he finally walks away from the game, Ortiz will certainly miss taking his cuts at Camden Yards.
It appeared Porcello said, “I’m not trying to f-ing hit you, bro”.
Betts put Boston up 2-0 with his 31st homer in the third. Machado scored on a double off the right field wall by Mark Trumbo.
So regardless of how the Orioles fare against the Red Sox, the Birds have built some breathing room to earn a postseason berth. The righty’s ERA would have stood at 3.03 – the exact same as perhaps his most formidable competition for the Cy Young, Chris Sale – but Adam Jones took the Sox pitcher deep with a solo blast with two outs in the eighth inning. Benintendi showed no signs of favoring his injured left knee when rounding the bases.
Orioles: OF Steve Pearce will have surgery to fix flexor tendons in his right forearm in NY on Wednesday and is expected to be out 4-6 months. LHP Wade Miley threw Monday and is feeling much better after leaving Sunday’s start with a strained muscle in his back, Showalter said.
NOTES: Orioles RHP Kevin Gausman (8-10, 3.43) will face Boston LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-7, 4.98), a former Baltimore minor-leaguer, tonight.
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The last-place Red Sox trailed the first-place Orioles by 26 1/2 games on September 19, 2014, but Ortiz homered in the fourth inning to tie the game, and then homered again in the top of the 10th to give the Sox the win in Baltimore.
