Red Sox’s 15-game winning streak ends in 5-1 loss to Orioles

Just hours after tying the franchise record with their 15th straight win in the opener of Wednesday’s day-night doubleheader, the Red Sox returned to the field needing one more victory to stand alone in club history. An announced crowd of 38,005 packed Fenway Park hoping to witness history.

Instead, the Orioles brought Boston’s remarkable run to an end with a 5-1 victory in the nightcap, snapping the Red Sox’s 15-game winning streak.

Boston turned to rookie left-hander Eduardo Rivera after Ranger Suarez was scratched because of illness, but the rookie struggled from the outset. Rivera uncorked a wild pitch and needed 41 pitches to record just two outs as Baltimore raced to a 4-0 first-inning lead.

The inning grew even larger because of a defensive miscue. Jarren Duran tried to make a leaping catch on Jonathan Rodríguez’s drive off the Green Monster instead of playing the carom, leaving himself out of position and allowing Dylan Beavers to score all the way from first. Had Duran played the bounce, Beavers likely would have been held at third.

Interim manager Chad Tracy quickly turned to Brayan Bello, who gave the Red Sox exactly what they needed.

The right-hander tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, working around traffic while striking out four. Bello mixed his sinker and cutter effectively to generate ground balls and continued to show his value as a dependable bulk reliever. In nine career relief appearances, Bello owns a 1.40 ERA, including a 0.77 ERA across six relief outings this season.

The offense, however, never found an answer.

Boston’s only run came in the fourth inning, marking its fewest output since June 30, coincidentally its last loss before the winning streak began. 

Willson Contreras ignited the rally with a two-out ground-rule double into the Red Sox bullpen before Masataka Yoshida followed with an RBI single.

Yoshida has now hit safely in 16 of his last 22 games since June 10, batting .324 with an .889 OPS during that stretch. Contreras has been one of Boston’s hottest hitters in July, batting .381 (16-for-42) with four doubles, four home runs, 13 RBI, five multi-hit games and five multi-RBI performances in 12 games.

Kyle Bradish held Boston to four hits through six innings, improving to 4-2 with a 2.52 ERA in eight night starts this season. Aside from a pair of Green Monster singles by Andruw Monasterio and Contreras’ fourth-inning double, the Red Sox rarely squared him up. 

Monasterio extended his hitting streak to five games, tied for the third-longest of his career. In 11 games this month, he’s batting .351 (13-for-37) with five doubles, one triple, two home runs, five RBI and four multi-hit performances.

Baltimore added an insurance run in the seventh when Gunnar Henderson tripled off Jovani Moran and scored on a wild pitch.

Despite trailing throughout the night, the Fenway crowd never