It was a game worthy of the billing. Two teams riding long win streaks; Boston 13 and the Orioles’ seven. And on Monday night at Fenway Park, the sides battled back-and-forth to see who would keep their steak going.
The Orioles led at three different junctures. The score was tied at 1, 3, 4, and 5 and even with two outs in the ninth against Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman, Baltimore had a chance to tie the game again or even go ahead with runners on second and third. But Tyler O’Neill’s hard liner was snagged by lunging Boston shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng.
And that was how this big game in July ended.
In front of a packed stadium in Boston, the Red Sox took the first of three-game series in a 6-5 win. Baltimore (49-52) lost for the first time since before the All-Star break and Boston remained the hottest team in baseball, and is one win short of tying a club record for consecutive victories.
Caleb Durbin’s tiebreaking moonshot, two-out homer over the Green Monster off a 1-0 cutter from Tyler Wells proved to be the final, winning blow in this one, and Chapman got the save, but there was a lot more to the story, namely four errors for the Orioles, the team’s most in a game since 2023.
“It’s tough,” second baseman Jeremiah Jackson said of the errors, of which he made one. “That’s a game we could have won and probably should have.”
Baltimore starter Shane Baz allowed seven hits and no walks while striking out seven, and surrendered four runs, but only two earned.
In the third, Jackson was charged with an error for an off target throw to Pete Alonso at first while trying to handle a hard Ceddanne Rafaela ground ball up the middle. Wilyer Abreu followed with an RBI double and Abreu later scored on a Willson Contreras line drive that Gunnar Henderson misplayed to give Boston a 3-1 lead.
But the Orioles battled back. Christian Encarnacion-Strand, recalled from Triple-A Norfolk four days ago, had a two RBI game, first smacking a solo home in the fifth to cut the lead to one before the Orioles went ahead in the sixth and chased Red Sox left-handed starter Payton Tolle.
Jackson hit a two-out RBI single down the left field line scored O’Neill from second to tie the score at 3 in the sixth and Encarnacion-Strand followed with another RBI single up the middle to make it 4-3.
Boston’s Abreu reached second leading off the sixth when Baz fielded a dribbler and made his throw into the camera well down the first base line for an error. “Made a real bad play,” Baz said afterward.
Contreras, who went 3-for-4, followed with an RBI double off the left field wall to tie things at 4.
Baltimore again took a one-run lead when O’Neill got an RBI ground out to short against flamethrowing Tyron Guerrero to score Taylor Ward from third.
Facing Yennier Cano in the seventh, Rafaela knocked a two-out RBI to left, and a Ward throw attempt home got nowhere close – scored as an error – as it allowed Rafaela to advance to second. And the game was tied again, at 5.
“It was one of the games where whoever was left upright standing was going to win,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said.
That was Boston, which remained positioned in the final American League wild card spot, improved to 51-48, and won a 14th straight game. But it wasn’t easy. The teams called on multiple high-leverage arms in their bullpens in a playoff-type matchup, and Boston kept the O’s from scoring in the final two innings – barely.
In the top of the ninth with two outs, Henderson smacked his third double of the night and advanced Colton Cowser, who drew a pinch-hit walk, to third as the potential tying run, before O’Neill hard luck, hard-hit liner to short.
“It was a great back and forth game,” Albernaz said. “It stinks that we didn’t come out on the right side.”
A Huff
Sam Huff started in place of catchers Adley Rutschman, who was put on the 10-day injured list with left wrist inflammation, and Samuel Basallo, who’s dealing with a right shoulder injury. Huff, batting ninth, went 0-for-3.