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 Center fielder Adam Jones and the Orioles came through with their
gloves Wednesday, a big reason Baltimore won its third consecutive
game.
Shortstop J.J. Hardy drove in two runs, and Jones knocked in a run
and made three spectacular plays as Baltimore beat the Boston Red
Sox 5-2.
The Orioles (28-30) improved to 5-1 in their past six games as the
combination of defense and a solid bullpen proved too much for the
struggling Red Sox (27-33).
Jones and left fielder Travis Snider each threw out a Boston runner
at second in the second.
Jones then made a leaping catch off center fielder Mookie Betts'
line drive to end that inning. In the fifth, Jones raced over and
made a diving grab of a Betts shot to right-center.
"We have been one of the top defensive teams in baseball the last
few years, so it's of the utmost importance," Jones said. "Our
pitching was the key tonight. Put us in a good situation to get the
tempo up. You can make good plays when your tempo is up."
The bullpen came up with a second straight solid effort.
Right-handers Tommy Hunter and Darren O'Day each pitched two innings
and combined to retire all 12 Red Sox batters. O'Day earned his
second save.
The Baltimore bullpen has allowed just one hit over 8 2/3 innings in
the first two games of the three-game series despite being
short-handed because of left-hander Brian Matusz's suspension.
Orioles relievers threw 4 2/3 shutout innings Tuesday in a 1-0
victory, giving up just one hit.
"We're short a man, so we're all going to be extended a little bit,"
O'Day said. "We've all gone multiple innings before. We've done it
many times, so we're capable of doing it, and (manager) Buck
(Showalter) is doing a good job of managing us."
The bullpen backed up Baltimore starter Wei-Yin Chen (2-4), who
ended a three-game losing streak by working through five-plus
innings. The left-hander gave up two runs on seven hits.
Boston hit the ball hard several times against Chen, but the defense
helped him, and he made enough good pitches for his first win at
home since Sept. 15.
"I thought we had a number of really good at-bats against Chen," Red
Sox manager John Farrell said. "It was deep at-bats. It was a number
of hard-hit balls that they made some good defensive plays on. We
weren't able to bunch some hits together."
Boston tried to jump ahead in the second, but the Baltimore defense
stopped that. Jones threw out shortstop Xander Bogaerts at second
trying to stretch a single, and Snider did the same when third
baseman Pablo Sandoval tried for a double one batter later.
Jones ended the inning with his first notable catch against Betts,
and the Orioles took the lead for good in the bottom half of the
inning.
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First baseman Chris Davis dropped a bunt down the third base line
against the Boston shift. He reached on a single and was later
forced out, but the Orioles eventually got an RBI double from Hardy
plus second baseman Ryan Flaherty's RBI single to go up 2-0.
The Red Sox cut the lead in half when left fielder Brock Holt lined
an RBI double to left in the top of the third. Jones answered with
an RBI single in the bottom of that inning, a slow ground ball that
rolled through the drawn-in Red Sox infield and gave the Orioles a
3-1 lead.
Boston first baseman Mike Napoli cut it to 3-2 on a forceout in the
top of the sixth, but the Orioles broke it open with two runs in the
bottom half thanks to an RBI single from Snider and Hardy's
sacrifice fly.
Boston starter Rick Porcello (4-6) gave up five runs on 10 hits in 5
1/3 innings and took his fourth consecutive loss.
"I actually felt like I threw the ball pretty well up to the sixth
inning," Porcello said. "Two leadoff guys get on and another base
hit. It's tough to rebound from that in a tight game. To me, the
entire game came down to the sixth inning."
NOTES: Orioles manager Buck Showalter said RHP Miguel Gonzalez was
still pretty sore before Wednesday's game, one day after straining
his right groin. Gonzalez left after 4 1/3 innings Tuesday, and his
status for his Sunday start is in jeopardy, according to Showalter.
Gonzalez could be headed to the disabled list. ... Baltimore RHP
Kevin Gausman (right shoulder tendinitis) said before Wednesday' s
game that his arm felt great and he is ready to make a rehab start
at Double-A Bowie on Thursday and get back into a starting routine.
... Boston RHP Justin Masterson (right shoulder tendinitis) gave up
just one run on two hits plus six strikeouts in a rehab start
Wednesday at Triple-A Pawtucket. That was his third rehab start, and
manager John Farrell said the team and Masterson will meet to
discuss what comes next. ... 2B Dustin Pedroia began the day tops in
the American League with 26 hits since becoming the leadoff hitter
on May 23. He then went 2-for-4 Wednesday.
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