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 Now, it's Baltimore's turn again.
After blowing a five-run lead in the seventh inning, the Orioles
pulled out a 7-6 victory in the 12th inning Sunday at Fenway Park
when left fielder David Lough tripled and scored on shortstop J.J.
Hardy's single through a drawn-in infield.
Orioles closer Zach Britton threw a scoreless bottom of the 12th
with help from Lough, who threw out David Ortiz trying to stretch a
single into a double. Britton notched his 14th save as the
first-place Orioles remained on top in the American League East.
"That's the kind of game that the good teams win," Orioles manager
Buck Showalter said. "It's so easy to say, 'Boy, it wasn't meant to
be today,' instead of making it happen."
Brad Brach (4-0) got the win after throwing three scoreless innings
in relief -- the ninth, 10th and 11. He struck out four and got his
second win of the series. Baltimore pitchers struck out 16 in the
game despite allowing up 15 hits.
The Orioles (48-40) won two of three in the weekend series,
improving to 6-1 over the past week. The Red Sox (39-49) fell for
the fifth time in six games.
"We haven't won the close games," second baseman Dustin Pedroia
said, as the Sox fell to 5-8 in extra innings and 15-19 in one-run
games. "We've played a lot of one-run games. That's been the
difference. One hit, one play being made in each of those games,
it's a different story right now."
Orioles designated hitter Nelson Cruz went 3-for-6. Right fielder
Nick Markakis, center fielder Adam Jones, third baseman Manny
Machado, second baseman Ryan Flaherty and Hardy added two hits
apiece in Baltimore's 16-hit attack.
Ortiz went 4-for-5 with two RBIs for the Red Sox, while Pedroia
collected three hits, and center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and
third baseman Xander Bogaerts each had two hits.
The Red Sox had their chances to score the winning run but ran their
way out of rallies. Pedroia was caught trying to steal second with
Ortiz at the plate in the ninth inning, and then Ortiz was retired
on the basepaths in the 12th.
"We're always going to err on the side of aggressiveness," manager
John Farrell said.
Said starter Jake Peavy: "Got to win on this day. I'm as sick of it
as you guys are sitting here talking about losing."
Baltimore's bullpen, so effective in recent games, couldn't hold a
big late-game lead.
Down 6-1, the Red Sox tied the game with a seventh-inning rally
against four Baltimore pitchers.
Catcher David Ross hit a solo homer off T.J. McFarland, and Bogaerts
and left fielder Daniel Nava added run-scoring singles off Ryan
Webb. The only batter Brian Matusz faced, Ortiz, collected a
run-scoring single. Tommy Hunter entered for Baltimore, and first
baseman Mike Napoli promptly hit a game-tying single to left.
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However, it only prolonged the inevitable, with the Orioles rallying
in the 12th.
Ahead 2-1 when Peavy exited after six innings, the Orioles added
four runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Peavy allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks in six
innings. He struck out three. Over his past 13 starts, Peavy is 0-7
with a 5.33 ERA. His lone win of the season came on April 25 at
Toronto.
Boston trailed 2-0 before Ortiz hit an RBI single in the sixth to
slice the lead in half.
In the top of the seventh, first baseman Steve Pearce led off with
an infield single against reliever Burke Badenhop, and Pearce went
to second on Jones' hit. Cruz's single to center drove in a run,
with Jones stopping at second. Both runners moved up on left fielder
Delmon Young's flyout to right.
Junichi Tazawa replaced Badenhop, and Hardy greeted him with a
two-run single. Machado added a base hit, and Flaherty followed with
a single to right that scored Hardy for a 6-1 lead.
Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run
ball. He gave up four hits and two walks while striking out seven.
"I have been out of it for like 2 1/2 hours," Gausman said after his
team pulled out the win. "Just walking around, chugging water,
trying to get something going -- anything I could do to get us to
score some runs."
NOTES: The Orioles recalled RHP Kevin Gausman from the minors to
start Sunday, and RHP Ramon Ramirez was designated for assignment.
Ramirez appeared in one game this season, throwing a scoreless
inning against the Texas Rangers on June 30. ... RHP Preston
Guilmet, who served as Baltimore's 26th man in Saturday's
doubleheader, was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. He did not pitch
Saturday. ... LHP Tommy Layne, Boston's extra player for the
doubleheader, was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. He got two outs
and walked a batter in the Saturday nightcap, his Red Sox debut.
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