The Boston Red Sox continued their winning streak, taking the series opener against Baltimore. They’re now 51-48. The Red Sox hold the final playoff spot in the American League. They’re six games back of the Rays for first in the American League East.
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Game Recap
The Orioles opened the scoring in the first with an RBI double. The Red Sox would even things up in the second on a Jarren Duran sacrifice fly. They would take the lead in the third as Wilyer Abreu had an RBI double, and Willson Contreras would single home Abreu to make it 3-1. The Orioles got a run back on a solo home run in the fifth.
Baltimore would tie the game in the sixth on an RBI single, then take the lead on an RBI single, making it 4-3.Boston would tie it back up on a Contreras RBI double. The Orioles took the lead again on an RBI groundout in the seventh. Ceddanne Rafaela would tie the game back up in the home half on an RBI single to make it 5-5. Caleb Durbin broke the tie with a solo home run in the eighth to make it 6-5.
Payton Tolle got the start, going 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. He walked one and struck out nine. Tyron Guerrero finished the sixth and pitched the seventh, allowing a run on two hits. He didn’t allow a walk and struck out three. Garrett Whitlock had a shutdown eighth with a strikeout. Things in the ninth got dicey with Aroldis Chapman, as he had runners on second and third with two outs but got the out needed to shut the door.
Standout Game Performer
Caleb Durbin went 1-4, but the one hit was the big one to give Boston the win and extend their winning streak.
Key News & Notes
The Red Sox face the Orioles tomorrow for the middle game of their three-game series. Ranger Suarez is expected to be activated from the injured list and start the game. He’s 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and 97 strikeouts in 91.1 innings. He’s 2-0 in his last five starts before being injured. He had a 3.07 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts in 26.1 innings. His last outing came on July 5th against the Angels, going 2.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He didn’t allow a walk and struck out five.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Marcelo Mayer have been cleared to get back to swinging. They will start with some dry swings.
The winning streak is now at 14 games. They are averaging 5.9 runs per game while allowing 2.1 runs per game. Baltimore had their winning streak snapped. They entered Fenway last night on a seven-game winning streak, averaging 4.8 runs per game while allowing two runs per game. With last night’s loss, they’re now averaging 4.9 runs per game while allowing 2.5 runs per game.
Farm Report
- Worcester Red Sox (AAA): Worcester starts a series against Jacksonville tonight.
- Portland Sea Dogs (AA): Portland heads to Binghamton to face the Rumble Ponies.
- Greenville Drive (A+): The Drive are home against Hub City tonight.
- Salem RidgeYaks (A): Salem welcomes in Augusta this week.
- FCL Red Sox (ROK): They were rained out yesterday against the FCL Braves. They’ll face the FCL Rays today.
- DSL Red Sox Red (ROK): Joskairo Ramirez went 3-4 with a triple, a solo home run, four RBI, a run scored, and a walk in a 10-9 loss to DSL Tampa Bay.
- DSL Red Sox Blue (ROK): Esterlin Casanova went 1-3 with a double, an RBI, a run scored, and two walks in a 19-7 loss to DSL Rays.
