Sox plate five runs in the first in 6-3 win over the Orioles
There would be no Orioles comeback this time, although they made it close at the end. Boston took a 5-0 lead in the first inning, which was capped by Jason Varitek's three-run homer, as the Sox evened this series at a win each with a 6-3 victory. Boston is now 27-7 at home.
Jacoby Ellsbury led off the first with a single and advanced to third on Garrett Olson's errant pickoff throw. He scored on JD Drew's RBI double to right. Drew advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead. Olson then walked two batters in a row ahead of Varitek's 7th homer of the year.
The Orioles entered the 9th down by five, but rallied, scoring twice to close within 6-3. They brought the tie run to the plate with two outs and Boston needed to call on closer Jonathon Papelbon to get the last out, retiring Brian Roberts with two men aboard.
Bartolo Colon, now 4-1, gave up just one run and five hits over six innings.
Luke Scott hit a solo homer in the 5th to cut the lead to 5-1. It's his 10th of the season and his third over the last three games.
Mike Lowell's solo homer leading off the 6th gave Boston a 6-1 lead. It was Lowell's 9th homer of the season.
O's starter and losing pitcher Garrett Olson allowed six runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. He has given up four homers in his last two starts vs. Boston and one homer total in his other seven starts this year.
In the final game of this series, Thursday at 6:05 p.m, Jeremy Guthrie (3-6, 3.40) faces Boston's Jon Lester (4-3, 3.50).
Balt 3-9-2
Bost 6-7-1
Postgame Notes
Not His Night
Lefty Garrett Olson had a chance tonight to pitch the O's to a series win in Boston and take over the team lead in wins. All that was pretty much dashed early. The Sox got to him for five runs on three hits, two walks and his error in the first. Olson allowed more earned runs in tonight's first inning (5) than he had over his last three starts (4).
Olson, who has pitched better at Camden Yards than on the road, gave up six runs May 21 at Yankee Stadium and six tonight at Fenway. His ERA leaped from 3.86 to 4.53.
Hitting Streak Ends
Brian Roberts went 0-5, ending his eight-game batting streak. Roberts hit .412 during the streak with six doubles and 6 RBI. Tonight, he flied out to left three times, struck out vs. Javier Lopez in the 8th and grounded out vs. Papelbon in the 9th for the game's last out. Roberts is batting .206 (7-34) on the season vs. Boston pitching.
The Leadoff Runner
The Red Sox have put the batter leading off an inning on base 11 times in this series, scoring five runs from the leadoff man. They have reached with the first batter 11 of 17 at bats over two nights.
Final Notes
Aubrey Huff, after starting this road trip with just two hits in 21 at bats, is 6-9 in this series with a double, a run scored and 2 RBI..........Luke Scott had a double and homer and now has a four-game hitting streak during which he is 7-16.......The O's continue to produce extra-base hits on the road trip......They had five doubles and a homer tonight........On the trip they have 88 hits and 40 have been for extra bases.......After making just one error over the last 84 2/3 innings, the O's made two miscues tonight.
Bartolo Colon slowed an O's club that had scored 29 runs over the last four games......Tonight Colon picked up his 150th career win.......He is 10-6 in his career against the Orioles........Manny Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 15 games and JD Drew increased his to 10 games........Varitek was hitting just .160 over 14 games when he hit the three-run homer in the first. Boston has now won 16 of 18 and 18 of its last 21 home games.
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog
Strange-Stat Department
Garrett Olson has allowed two homers tonight and has allowed four in his last two starts vs. Boston. He has given up just one homer in all his other starts on the year.
Olson's last two starts vs. Boston: 4 homers allowed in 10 1/3 innings.
Seven other starts on the year: 1 homer allowed in 39 1/3 innings.
Luke Likes the Sox
Well, hitting against the Sox, I'm not sure how he feels about their team. Luke Scott is 3-5 in this series after hitting a solo homer in the 5th. On the year vs. Boston now he is 12-24 with three homers and 6 RBI. Scott, 2-2 tonight, began the evening hitting .387 over his last ten games.
The DP Ball
When the O's turned a double play vs. Julio Lugo in the fourth it was their second double play of the game and the 6th they've turned in this series. The Red Sox have hit into 6 double plays in 13 at bats.
Before the last double up, Freddie Bynum made an error, the second by the O's tonight after they made just one in the last 84 2/3 innings coming into this game.
First-Inning Disaster
Garrett Olson had been pitching so well, who could see this coming? But he really gave it up in the first inning, where there should have been two outs and none on. He had Ellsbury picked off, but the throw went past Millar. It was an error on Olson but it appeared Millar was moving toward the ball in his haste to get a throw to second and had a poor angle to get to the off-the-mark throw.
Olson, after that, walked two before Varitek's blast. All five runs allowed were earned. In his last three starts, covering 18 1/3, he had given up just four earned.
This would be some comeback tonight, but at least it's early.
Play Ball in Boston
The O's and Boston are underway in the second game of the three-game series. The only team to win a series at Fenway this season is the LA Angels, who did it in April. The O's would join them with a win tonight. The Birds are batting .312 and averaging 6 runs per game on this road trip. Check back tonight for news and updates.
Starting Lineups
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
RF Nick Markakis
3B Melvin Mora
DH Aubrey Huff
1B Kevin Millar
LF Luke Scott
C Ramon Hernandez
CF Adam Jones
SS Freddie Bynum
P Garrett Olson
Red Sox
LF Jacoby Ellsbury
2B Dustin Pedroia
RF JD Drew
DH Manny Ramirez
3B Mike Lowell
1B Kevin Youkilis
C Jason Varitek
CF Coco Crisp
SS Julio Lugo
P Bartolo Colon
The Orioles have scored ten or more runs three times this year, once vs. Boston and twice vs. the Yankees. The Orioles 29 runs scored over the last four games is the most they've scored in any four-game stretch this year. They got 28 from April 2-6 against Tampa and Seattle. The Orioles are batting .308 and have scored 52 runs in nine games in June. The O's have made just one error in the last 84 2/3 innings.
Game Preview
Orioles (32-31) at Boston (40-27)
After handing Boston a very rare home loss Tuesday, tonight the O's can make it two in a row at Fenway and give the Sox just their 2nd loss in a home series this year after the LA Angels took two of three at Fenway on April 22-24.
Since then, Boston has been on a roll at home. They are 15-2 over the last 17 home games, 17-3 over the past 20 and are 26-7 at home this season. The Red Sox have won six consecutive home series.
The Orioles scored the game's final six runs Tuesday to beat Boston, 10-6. Aubrey Huff had four hits and two RBI as the O's recorded 15 hits. The Birds trailed 6-4 heading to the 7th and scored three in the 7th and three in the 9th for their 17th come-from-behind win on the year.
The O's clinched their first winning road trip of the year with Tuesday's win. They are 5-2 with two games left on the three-city trip.
The Orioles have won 4 of 5 and 6 of their last 8 games. They are 9-7 this season in games against Boston and the New York.
The Birds won only 4 of 18 games at Fenway Park in 2006 and 2007 but are 39-39 there since 1999.
Pitching Match-Up
LHP Garrett Olson (5-1, 3.86) tonight makes his 9th start of the season, his 5th on the road and the 5th of his career vs. Boston. He would take over the club lead in wins with a victory tonight.
Olson has pitched well since allowing six runs in just 2 2/3 innings vs. New York on May 21. In the three starts since, Olson is 2-0, 1.96. Olson has kept the ball in the park for the most part, yielding just 3 homers on the season in 44 1/3.
Olson has been tough with runners on base, giving up a batting average of just .217 with men on and an average of just .179 when pitching with runners in scoring position.
In four road starts, he is 2-1, 5.23. His ERA is 2.66 at Camden Yards.
Olson, the 48th pick in the 2005 draft, began this season at Triple-A Norfolk and went 1-1, 1.85 and then was recalled April 29. Tonight he makes his 16th career start and already his 5th vs. Boston.
On May 31, he got a no decision vs. the Sox, pitching five innings where he gave up 2 runs on 3 hits. He threw 89 pitches. In his career vs. Boston, he is 0-2, 6.64, giving up 23 hits in 20 1/3 innings.
RHP Bartolo Colon (3-1, 3.91) tonight makes his 5th start of the season, his 2nd vs. the Orioles and the 311th start of his career, while also looking for career win number 150.
The 35-year-old pitched to an ERA of 2.25 over his first two starts, but it is 5.73 over his past two outings. He began this season at Triple-A Pawtucket and was 2-0, 0.64 in three starts. The Sox are 3-1 when he pitches in 2008. In two home starts, he is 1-1, 4.50.
He got the win June 1st vs. the O's in Baltimore, allowing four runs on seven hits over six innings. In 18 career starts vs. the Birds, he is 9-6, 3.40. Over his last five starts vs. the Orioles, Colon is 3-2, 2.60.
Last season with Anaheim, Colon went 6-8, 6.34 in 18 starts. His career record is 149-96, 4.09 in 310 starts.
O's offense:
The last four games: .329 average, 29 runs
Seven games of the road trip: .312 average, 42 runs, 22 doubles, 11 homers
Nick the Stick
Markakis is on fire at the plate right now. He is 10-18 the last four games and 14-25 over the last six. He is batting .451 (23-51) over the last 12 games with 9 doubles, a homer and 5 RBI. He has raised his average from .250 to .294 over that time. He has multi-hit games in 8 of his last 11 contests.
More O's Hot Hitters:
Roberts: 8-game hitting streak at .412 (14-34) with 6 2B and 6 RBI.
Bynum: 5-game hitting streak at .278 (5-18).
Jones: 8 RBI over the last 8 games.
Millar: batting .314-3-8 over the last 9 games.
Payton: 4-8 with 6 RBI his last 3 games.
Scott: batting .387 (12-31) over ten games with 3 HR and 5 RBI.
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