Orioles top Red Sox, pull into tie for 2nd in East
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[September 14, 2016]
BOSTON -- Zach Britton has done
a masterful job of closing games for the Baltimore Orioles this
season, and he might just help them close out the American League
East.
Britton converted a four-out save on Tuesday night, making him an
incredible 42-for-42 in save opportunities on the season, as the
Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 6-3 at Fenway Park.
"You run out of things to describe what he's done for us this year,"
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Britton, who set down Dustin
Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz in order in the ninth
inning.
"To go out there in the ninth inning and go three up, three down the
top of their order ... on the road, that's hard to do," Showalter
added.
J.J. Hardy and Nolan Reimold provided the bulk of the damage with
homers in a five-run Orioles' second, and Jonathan Schoop added a
solo homer in the ninth.
Baltimore (79-65) pulled into a tie for second place in the AL East
with the Toronto Blue Jays, who lost at home to the Tampa Bay Rays
on Tuesday.
The Orioles and Blue Jays are two games back of division-leading
Boston (81-63), which slugged its way to a 12-2 victory in the
series opener Monday and had won five of six coming in.
"It might be the toughest division in baseball," Red Sox manager
John Farrell said.
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Britton leads the AL in saves, and his remarkable save streak is the
longest to start a season in major league history by a southpaw,
according to STATS, LLC.
"It's very impressive," Reimold said of Britton. "Every time he
comes in, you feel like the game's over."
Dylan Bundy (9-5) escaped with a victory after a rocky 5 1/3-inning
start, giving up three runs on six hits and four walks with four
strikeouts.
Bogaerts clubbed his 19th homer, Travis Shaw was 3-for-4, and
Pedroia and Jackie Bradley Jr. had two hits apiece for Boston.
"(A five-run deficit) in Fenway Park is nothing," Shaw said. "We
didn't think that was going to be enough to win tonight."
Drew Pomeranz (2-5) lasted only two-plus innings, surrendering five
runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three. He dropped
to 10-12 overall after beginning the year with the San Diego Padres.
Pomeranz ran into trouble early and was gone before an out was
recorded in the third inning.
Hardy launched a 3-2 pitch from Pomeranz for a three-run homer,
which bounced off the Selfeo sign on top of the Green Monster in
left field with one out in the second.
It was Hardy's first homer since an Aug. 29 blast and his 10th of
the campaign.
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![](../images/091416pics/sports77.jpg)
Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop (6) rounds the bases after
his home run against the Boston Red Sox during the ninth inning at
Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
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Reimold, making his first start since Sept. 3, added a two-run shot
-- his sixth of 2016 -- two batters later, clanging a 3-2 Pomeranz
pitch off the light tower on the Monster.
"It's pretty frustrating," Pomeranz said. "I was trying to get in on
some of those guys and the ball was just shooting back over toward
the middle of the plate."
Bundy didn't fare much better in the Baltimore second, loading the
bases with one out in the frame.
He walked Ryan Hanigan and Pedroia in consecutive plate appearances
to cut Boston's deficit to three, but struck out Bogaerts and
induced an inning-ending David Ortiz bounce out to first.
"It could have been a lot worse," Bundy said. "It could have been
6-5 or something like that."
Bogaerts redeemed himself with a solo blast onto the second row of
the Monster to lead off the fifth.
Schoop's insurance blast in the ninth was his 24th of 2016.
NOTES: Boston LF Andrew Benintendi was reinstated from the 15-day
disabled list, but OF Chris Young started in left field. The move
came a day early because INF/OF Brock Holt has a sore shoulder.
Benintendi, 22, landed on the DL on Aug. 25 with a left knee sprain.
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft made his major
league debut Aug. 2. ... Baltimore OF Steve Pearce (forearm) was not
in the lineup and may undergo an MRI exam. ... Red Sox INF Yoan
Moncada, 21, was named the 2016 Minor League Player of the Year by
Baseball America. Moncada, who did not start, hit .294 with 15 home
runs and 62 RBIs in 106 games between Single-A-Advanced Salem and
Double-A Portland. ... Orioles RHP Kevin Gausman (7-10, 3.61 ERA)
opposes Red Sox RHP Rick Porcello (20-3, 3.21 ERA) in Wednesday's
series finale.
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