Orioles hang on and complete sweep with 2-1 win over Red Sox

BOSTON - The Orioles took another early lead this afternoon and, in order to burn the Red Sox again, had to wait while Wade Miley kept playing with fire.

Two on and one out in the first inning. A two-out double in the second. Runners on the corners and two outs in the third. A one-out infield hit in the fourth. Bases loaded in the fifth. A leadoff double in the sixth.

Miley bent and bent, but the Red Sox couldn't break him or snap the Orioles' mini-winning streak.

Adam Jones and Trey Mancini drove in runs in the first inning, Miley carried a shutout into the sixth and the Orioles completed their sweep with a 2-1 victory before a sellout crowd of 36,625 at Fenway Park.

Brad Brach registered the last five outs for his 17th save. No sign of closer Zach Britton, who threw earlier today and was assumed to be available. Meanwhile, Alec Asher was scratched from his start with Triple-A Norfolk.

Brach retired the side in order in the ninth, the only clean inning for the Orioles.

This is the Orioles' first three-game sweep in Boston since September 2014, and they're back at .500 for the first time since Aug. 7 and only the second time since June 29.

The Orioles are 65-65 overall, 27-39 on the road and 30-22 against the American League East. They've won four in a row and five of six.

Miley fell short of his third quality start in four outings, but he was charged with only one run after leaving the game following Xander Bogaerts' leadoff double in the sixth. Bogaerts scored with one out on Rafael Devers' double off Mychal Givens.

It took four pitchers for the Orioles to get through the sixth still holding a lead. Miguel Castro struck out Mookie Betts with the bases loaded, two outs and the count full.

The tight rope stretched through an entire game.

Castro walked the first two batters in the seventh, got a force at second base and a 6-4-3 double play from Rajai Davis to make the Red Sox 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Twelve were stranded. The Orioles still led 2-1.

Sandy Leon walked with one out in the eighth, Brach replaced Castro and the next two batters flied to right field.

A strikeout and popup got Miley out of trouble in the first. Devers doubled off the Green Monster with two down in the second, but Leon grounded out. Betts walked and Hanley Ramirez singled in the third, but Chris Young took a disputed third strike, with plate umpire Brian O'Nora expanding his zone.

Davis reached with one out in the fourth on a ground ball to deep short. Welington Castillo made a perfect throw to nail Davis trying to steal second, and Devers struck out.

Castillo has thrown out 22 of 44 runners attempting to steal this season, the highest percentage in the majors.

Leon singled off the Green Monster to open the bottom of the fifth. Andrew Benintendi walked with one out and Ramirez walked with two outs, but Young flied to shallow right field on Miley's 94th pitch.

The Red Sox were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring and stranded eight through the fifth.

Manager Buck Showalter let Miley return for the sixth and began to warm Givens. Bogaerts doubled into left-center field on Miley's 101st pitch, and the left-hander had his 11th start of five innings this season.

Givens struck out Davis before Devers doubled to reduce the lead to 2-1. Leon walked with one out and Eduardo Nunez struck out. Richard Bleier walked Benintendi on four pitches to load the bases - at least two should have been called strikes - and Castro froze Betts.

The Red Sox were 1-for-10 with RISP and stranded 11 through the sixth.

In a sport where second-guessing is king, it's easy to question Showalter's decision to bring back Miley for the sixth. Perhaps it was due to a short bullpen with Britton held out of the game.

Doug Fister quieted the Orioles after the first inning, when Tim Beckham led off with a single and Jones and Mancini doubled with two outs for a 2-0 lead.

The Orioles didn't collect another hit until Mancini singled in the fourth. Mancini also singled in the ninth and is 11-for-23 with eight RBIs in his last six games.

Fister performed his own escape acts. The Orioles failed to score in the fourth after Jones' leadoff walk and Mancini's single. A leadoff walk to Seth Smith in the fifth was wasted, along with Chris Davis' two-out single in the sixth.

Addison Reed replaced Fister in the eighth, the Orioles shut out over the previous six innings. They failed to score in the ninth after Mancini's leadoff single, but Brach slammed the door and opened more speculation about Britton.