All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Orioles, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Sale fails to preserve two-run lead: For much of the first five innings, Chris Sale looked to be totally in command, allowing just one hit and walk in that span. His fastball several times popped at 97 mph and he was getting the Orioles to chase his sweeping slider out of the zone. But armed with a 2-0 lead in the sixth, Sale made a critical mistake. After Kelvin Gutierrez reached on a slow chopped to short, Sale got Cedric Mullins to fly out to left. But facing the dangerous Ryan Mountcastle, Sale threw a changeup that caught too much of the plate and Mountcastle golfed it more than 400 feet into the left field seats for a game-tying two-run homer. He had wanted the pitch down and away to get a ground ball, but the pitch leaked back over the middle of the plate. Sale was livid with himself, cursing loudly into his glove and exhibiting great frustration on the mound. "I obviously had a pretty good thing rolling,'' recounted Sale, "and then just cut off a changeup. Inconsistency, especially in that moment, later in the game...just gotta be better.''
Lineup limited to three hits: For the entire night, facing the worst pitching staff in the American League, the Red Sox could only manage three hits. True, two were solo homers. But the Sox never put together a threat for the entire night. They never had more than one baserunner in any one inning, and after Hunter Renfroe's solo shot in the sixth put them up 2-0, the Red Sox, incredibly, didn't put another runner on base, the rest of the way. Whether it was a lack of a game plan or an over-eagerness to make something happen, the last 12 hitters of the night went down in order and in the eighth inning, the Sox managed to make three outs on just four pitches. Six of the nine hitters in their starting lineup failed to get on base even once, despite the fact that they were facing a starting pitcher (Bruce Zimmerman) who had been on the Injured List since June.
TURNING POINT
The Orioles had just tied the game 2-2 in the sixth and got a single to center from Austin Hays and a single to right from Trey Mancini, giving them two on and one out. Pedro Severino then hit a smash to third that Rafael Devers attempted to backhand, but didn't get his glove down low enough and the ball shot into left field for a run-scoring single. It wasn't a routine play, but given the stakes and the circumstances, it was one the Sox needed him to make. He didn't.
ONE UP
Kyle Schwarber: One of just two Red Sox hitters to reach base more than once, Schwarber gave the Red Sox a quick 1-0 lead in the second with a homer to straightaway center and later added a walk
TWO DOWN
Rafael Devers: At the plate, he was 0-for-3 (with a walk), but in the field, he was charged with an error and had several other misplays, including an off-target throw in the eighth that helped lead to the O's big insurance run.
Tanner Houck: For the second straight outing, Houck couldn't get out of an inning after two quick outs. In the eighth, he retired the first two hitters without incident, then yielded three straight two-out hits for a run.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Yeah, that (bleeping) sucked.'' Chris Sale
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* Jose Iglesias saw his 12-game hitting streak come to an end.
* An error by Rafael Devers resulted in the Sox having their eight-game errorless streak as a team end.
* The loss dropped the Sox to just two games over .500 for the season at 39-37.
* Though he was responsible for allowing an inherited runner to score, Hansel Robles has not been charged with any runs in his last 12 outings.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Orioles will play the middle game of their series Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. with RHP Nathan Eovaldi (10-9, 3.88) vs. LHP Zac Lowther (1-2, 7.66)