O's get six runs off Eduardo Rodriguez, beat Boston and take series

Former Orioles pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez was rolling early in today's game against the Orioles. He retired the first nine batters with five strikeouts on 36 pitches.

Who knew then that he would not make it out of the fourth inning?

The Orioles pounded Rodriguez for seven consecutive hits that produced six runs in the top of the fourth and went on to outlast Boston 8-6 at Fenway Park.

The Orioles are 38-34 and have won seven of 10, 13 of 17, and 15 of their last 20 games. They won this series 2-1, and are 6-0-1 their past seven series.

With the Orioles down 1-0, their blitz on the Red Sox's 22-year-old lefty came after he got Manny Machado out to start the fourth. Chris Parmelee doubled to left and moved to third on Nolan Reimold's infield single, scoring on that play when Rodriguez's low throw to first got by Mike Napoli.

Matt Wieters followed with a two-run homer to right on a 2-0 fastball, making it 3-1. It was Wieters' third home run of the season. Delmon Young and Chris Davis followed with singles and scored on J.J. Hardy's two-run double. Hardy went to third on a Steve Pearce single and Alexi Ogando replaced Rodriguez. Ryan Flaherty's sac fly made it 6-1.

Rodriguez had a final line of 3 2/3 innings, with seven hits and six runs, and is now 3-2 with a 4.33 ERA. He allowed one earned run in 20 2/3 innings in his first three starts and has allowed 16 in 14 2/3 innings over his last three.

Staked to that big lead, Miguel Gonzalez allowed a three-run homer to former Oriole Alejandro De Aza in the last of the fourth to cut the Orioles' lead to 6-4.

Machado's RBI single in the sixth made it 7-4, his 17th RBI over last 18 games. The lead grew to 8-4 in the seventh on doubles by Reimold and Davis.

Gonzalez was replaced by T.J. McFarland after he hit Napoli leading off the sixth. Over five innings plus, he gave up eight hits and four runs. He did get the win and is 6-4 with an ERA of 3.58.

But O's starters have failed to pitch six innings or more in six consecutive games, and in 14 of the past 18 contests. Still, the O's are 13-5 in those games.

Boston closed their deficit to 8-6 with two in the seventh off McFarland. But Tommy Hunter pitched a scoreless eighth and Zach Britton pitched the ninth for his 21st save in 22 chances.

The Orioles went 6-for-13 today with runners in scoring position, and are 26-for-59 (.441) over the last six games.

The O's are 9-4 against Boston this year, winning seven of the last eight between the teams. They are 23-12 at Fenway Park since 2012. The O's went 5-3 on their three-city road trip.

Now, the Orioles return home for a seven-game homestand that begins Friday against Cleveland when Wei-Yin Chen (3-4, 2.89 ERA) faces Corey Kluber (3-9, 3.65 ERA).