The same Red Sox offense which scored 24 runs in the previous two game was stymied Monday night, limited to just three hits as their three-game winning streak was snapped by the Baltimore Orioles, who beat them 4-1.
Josh Smith, making his first start for the Sox, allowed a grand slam to Jonathan Villar in the second and that stood up for the home team.
The only Sox run came in the fifth on a double by Christian Vazquez and a sacrifice fly from Eduardo Nunez.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles
WHEN: 7:05 p.m.
WHERE: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: 2-2
STARTING PITCHER: RHP Josh Smith (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP John Means (2-3, 2.81)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
9:36 Nice play by Pearce, who makes a diving stop of a smash, then a strong throw over Weber home to cut down Nunez at the plate. Pearce can be surprisingly nimble at first at times.
9:01 Sox won't be in a hurry to face Means again anytime soon. Over two starts -- one at Fenway, one at Camden Yards -- he's limited them to two runs on seven hits over 12 innings.
8:53 Weber has been highly effective in two innings of relief, retiring all six hitters he's faced and using his slider to keep Orioles hitters off balance
8:48 Red Sox unable to generate much offense at all after scoring 35 runs in the three previous games. Means has retired 10 of the last 11.
8:20 That's it for Smith, who didn't manage the game very well. Five hits and two walks in just 3.1 innings. He allowed four runs and is responsible for two baserunners.
8:10 Red Sox have been unable to get good swings against Means, who's using his changeup to induce a lot of groundballs. Three hitters in the top of fourth all grounded out on changeups.
8:01 Nice running catch by Martinez, who chugs toward the left field line to make a catch on a soft fly ball by Dwight Smith Jr.
7:45 Villar lost a potential double in his first at-bat, but more than makes up for it with a grand slam, attacking a first-pitch curveball and hitting it out to CF.
7:40 Smith struggling his control early -- two walks to the first seven hitters -- and the O's have the bases loaded.
7:15 Fan interference called and what would have been a leadoff double to Jonathan Villar is, instead, an out. Fan clearly reached over the wall although it's open to debate whether J.D. Martinez would have caught that ball.
LINEUPS:
RED SOX
Betts RF
Bogaerts SS
Martinez LF
Chavis 2B
Devers 3B
Vazquez C
Pearce 1B
Nunez 3B
Bradley CF
ORIOLES
Villar 2B
Mancini RF
Smith Jr. LF
Nunez DH
Ruiz 3B
Wilkerson CF
Davis 1B
Severino C
Martin SS
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox took three-of-four from the White Sox over the weekend and have won six of their last seven to climb to within a game of .500...The Red Sox also have an even run differential (175-175) for the first time since Opening Day...The Sox outscored the White Sox 30-5 in the last three games in Chicago and in that span, hit .350 with seven homers and an OPS of 1.035....Each of the last eight wins by the Red Sox have been with a margin of at least four runs....The Sox lead the American League in homers with 10 and have homered in each of their last six games, totaling 12 homers....Mookie Betts has a 15-game on-base streak, during which he's hit .414 with a .507 on-base percentage....Betts has also reached base in each of his last 28 games against the Orioles, hitting .339 with a 1.065 OPS and 20 extra-base hits...J.D. Martinez has 16 homers and 41 RBI in his last 36 games against the Orioles....Rafael Devers has been on base in each of his last 19 games, the longest such streak of his career and the longest active streak in the American League...He's hitting .358 with a .436 OBP in that stretch...Devers has multiple hits and has scored multiple runs in each of his last three games...Since making his major league debut, Michael Chavis leads the Red Sox in homers, runs scored, slugging percentage and OPS...He's reached base in each of his last 12 games, hitting .381 in that span...Xander Bogaerts has homered in each of his last two games and leads the Sox in RBI with 22 while tied for the team lead in extra-base hits (15)….In his last 12 games, Christian Vazquez is hitting .316 (12-for-38) with a .400 OBP...Steve Pearce, who has two hits on Saturday, is 0-for-8 since....Since being activated, Eduardo Nunez is 2-for-7 with three RBI....During their recent 8-3 run, the Sox own baseball's lowest ERA at 2.65 and have limiting opposing hitters to a .190 average...Sox pitchers have allowed four earned or fewer in 11 of the last 12 games and have yielded just two earned runs or fewer in six of those 12, including the last three in a row...Boston pitchers have a 55-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in May....Red Sox starters have had quality starts in the last four straight games and 11 of the last 12...Since April 12, the Sox' starting rotation has the league's lowest ERA (3.08)….Josh Smith is making his debut at Camden Yards and is making his first big league start since 2016...Only two Orioles have ever face Smith before: Trey Mancini is 0-for-1 lifetime and Jonathan Villar is 1-for-2....Means faced the Red Sox at Fenway on April 14 and allowed one run on four hits over five innings...Martinez is 2-2 in his career with a homer.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- With David Price sidelined with elbow soreness, the Red Sox will go with RHP Hector Velazquez in his spot Tuesday night. The Sox have the benefit of three days off in the next 10 days, so that may allow them to get by without having to rely too much on either Velazquez or Weber.
- Starting Tuesday, Dustin Pedroia will play three straight games for Double A Portland on his rehab assignment to test the stability and durability of his knee.
- Tzu-Wei Lin, who injured his left knee attempting to steal a base in Chicago Saturday, was diagnosed with a bone bruise and a sprained MCL.
- Brock Holt, who had his injury rehab for a scratched cornea halted last week with a shoulder impingement, will work out with the Sox Wednesday in Baltimore.