The Boston Red Sox shut out the Baltimore Orioles 5-0 Saturday as Eli White's two-out, two-run single off Chris Bassitt in the sixth inning broke open a scoreless game and sent Boston on its way and the Orioles to their fifth straight loss.
White's line drive to left in the sixth with the bases loaded scored Trevor Story and Nick Sogard, and Boston pushed the lead to 3-0 after Connor Wong followed with an RBI single, a sequence that proved decisive against an Orioles offense that managed just six hits. Before the go-ahead hit, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz visited Bassitt on the mound. They discussed where Bassitt was physically, according to Albernaz, and the veteran stayed in. White made him pay.
“I wanted to make sure, [he would] empty the tank on this guy and also [make] sure we had the plan right. He made a really good pitch, jammed him, broken bat and line drive over third baseman's head," Albernaz said. "I’m not going to sleep tonight... You try to make the best decision at hand with all the information you have.
“Pitch count was low, bullpen is taxed still. In that situation, we trust Bassitt, at least I did."
Isiah Kiner-Falefa added a two-run double in the seventh — scoring Story again and Mickey Gasper — to push the final margin to five.
Sonny Gray (17-4, 2.69 ERA) was the story on the mound, holding Baltimore to three hits with seven strikeouts over seven shutout innings to earn the win.
"We wanted to kind of bury these guys, especially after whatever that dude was trying to do last night," Gray said after the game, referring to Blaze Alexander inciting a benches-clearing dustup on a slide into second base.
Bassitt (6-5, 4.96) absorbed the loss, allowing three earned runs on five hits in 5.2 innings with six strikeouts, and Albert Suárez gave up two more in three innings of relief. Henderson, Encarnacion-Strand, and Cowser each had a double among the Orioles' hits, but Baltimore was unable to manufacture any runs.
The Orioles loaded the bases in the eighth against the Red Sox bullpen, but Pete Alonso struck out with the bases loaded. They were shut out by Boston for the second straight game.
“Little bit trying to do too much," Albernaz said of the offense. "They’re trying. They know where we’re at. They’re trying to come through for the resto f the team, rest of the boys. Sometimes it works out… we just couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
The loss drops Baltimore to 69-74, now three games behind the final American League wild-card spot with the postseason window narrowing fast. They haven't won since Colton Cowser robbed the Rockies of a game-winning home run on Monday to reach .500 for the first time since April.
“The league doesn’t let up. You still have to go out there and compete," Albernaz said. "I know it’s tough for the fans to hear, but we’ve been in this spot multiple times this year and our guys continue to find a way to keep on going, and that’s all we can do.”