The series at Camden didn’t start off very well. Tuesday’s 5-2 loss was due to poor relief pitching and all-around sloppiness, including another error by Marco Scutaro. Josh Beckett actually pitched fairly well– 7 innings, 3 runs (2 earned) on 7 hits and a walk. He struck out 5.
Beckett was victimized by some poor official scoring. Scoots’ gaffe in the third led to 2 runs, both of which should have been unearned. But the Camden Yards scorer split the difference, charging one of the runs to Beckett.
After Brian Roberts singled to lead off the frame, Beckett hurled a wild pitch that advanced him to second. Roberts moved to third on a groundout by Nick Markakis, and after Ty Wigginton grounded out to short, Luke Scott walked.
Scutaro then fielded an Adam Jones grounder and was in position to make the inning’s final out with a throw to second. It would have been a fielder’s choice and a force out, but he double-clutched before tossing the ball into right field.
The missed throw negated the out, and the ball trickling away from Jed Lowrie allowed the O’s to plate 2. Somehow the official scorer decided that Adam Jones would have been safe, ruling his contact an infield single. Roberts’ run was therefore earned while Scott’s was not. It was not the correct call.
All of this came with Baltimore already up 1-0, courtesy of 3 consecutive hits in the first.
In the fifth, Boston rebounded with a Mike Lowell single and a 2-run blast by Jed Lowrie, but that was all the offense the team could muster. Felix Doubront gave up a pair of solo homers to Scott and Felix Pie in the eighth to set the 5-2 final.
*****
Wednesday’s game was an improvement, though Boston needed a rally to earn the win. A good start by Beckett led to a loss, but a rough night for Jon Lester netted a win. Go figure.
A single by Scutaro and a double by David Ortiz gave the Sox an early lead, but in the bottom of the first, Jon Lester ran into a jam.
After Brian Roberts grounded out, Julio Lugo and Nick Markakis singled. Lester then plunked Wigginton, gave up an RBI double to Adam Jones, and threw a wild pitch that put the O’s on top 3-1. Baltimore added another run on a double by Pie before ending the inning.
In the second, Daniel Nava singled and Ryan Kalish doubled to make it 4-2, but Baltimore got that run right back in the bottom half. Singles by Lugo and Wigginton sandwiched around a Markakis walk put the Orioles up 5-2.
But unlike Tuesday’s score, that total would not stand.
J.D. Drew homered in the fifth off of Baltimore starter Jake Arrieta, and though he escaped the inning with no further damage, it marked the end of his night. Mark Hendrickson relieved him with a scoreless sixth, but in the seventh, Scutaro launched a 2-run shot with Darnell McDonald on first. That tied the game at 5-5.
Hendrickson then walked Drew before giving way to Alfredo Simon, but the switch didn’t help matters. Victor Martinez doubled to score Drew, and the O’s intentionally walked Big Papi to set up the double play. But Adrian Beltre made them pay, smacking a 3-run homer to left that stretched the lead to 9-5, Boston.
The big inning gave Lester his 15th win of the year. He did not come back out for the bottom of the seventh, having already tossed 120 pitches through 6. He allowed 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks, though he did manage to strike out 10 Orioles.
In the eighth, Baltimore added its final run. Pie doubled and moved to third on a Matt Wieters groundout. He scored on a sac fly by Nolan Reimold to cap the 9-6 final.
*****
In the series finale, another 4-run inning by the Orioles threatened to undo Boston’s lead. In typical fashion, Daisuke Matsuzaka was cruising right along before running into a single bad inning that nearly cost him the game.
Dice was staked to a 5-0 lead in the wild second. Beltre hit a solo shot to start things off, Lowrie walked, and Lowell singled to center. Ty Wigginton then booted a Daniel Nava grounder that allowed the Boston rookie to reach safely and allowed Lowrie to score. A long double by Kalish scored Lowell, and Scutaro walked to load the bases. After a pair of fly ball outs, David Ortiz lifted a 2-run single to left against the defensive overshift to finish off the 5-run advantage.
The game stayed that way until the sixth, when Dice-K melted down.
Josh Bell led off with an infield single, Roberts doubled him to third, and Markakis plated him with an RBI single to center. Wigginton grounded out back to Matsuzaka, but Roberts left third on contact to score the second Orioles run. After a Luke Scott walk and a Pie strikeout, Matt Wieters scored 2 with a double to the left center gap.
Scott Atchison came on in relief and prevented any further damage, and Matsuzaka’s line closed at 5.2 innings, 4 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk, and 6 Ks. Like Lester, he benefited from the Boston bats and got the victory.
The Sox added some insurance in the seventh. Ortiz walked, Beltre was hit by a pitch, and a couple of outs later, Papi came around to score. That set the 6-4 final.
Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon made scoreless appearances for Boston. Brad Bergesen was the tough-luck loser for Baltimore– he was abused by Wigginton’s error, though only 2 of the 5 runs he allowed were earned.
*****
After all was said and done, the best pitching performance resulted in the only loss of the series, and despite taking 2 of 3 games the Sox are still 8 games in the East. Their opportunity to gain ground is mostly gone.
However, Papelbon did make history by becoming the first closer in MLB history to record 35 or more saves in each of his first 5 full seasons. Congratulations to Paps…will the Sox turn that achievement into trade bait?
Next up is a 3-game set against the White Sox at Fenway. Clay Buchholz takes on John Danks on Friday. Saturday will feature John Lackey and Gavin Floyd, and Josh Beckett meets Mark Buehrle on Sunday.