Orioles begin another crucial series against the Red Sox

Watching the Yankees play the Red Sox over the weekend reminded me of the classic Seinfeld episode when Jerry lectures the rental car agent on not knowing how to "hold a reservation."

It's the same with a lead.

That's really the most important part of the lead, the holding. Anybody can just take one.

The Orioles remain three games out of first place in the American League East because the Yankees didn't know how to finish, which I suppose is understandable from a seller that briefly teased. They didn't do the Orioles any favors.

However, the Orioles have sole possession of second place, with the Blue Jays now four games behind, and they've got the top wild card spot.

Let's find out whether the Orioles can take and hold leads against the Red Sox, who are in town for a crucial four-game series. Let's find out whether the Orioles can take care of their own business.

"You want to be playing meaningful baseball," said Mark Trumbo. "I've been on the other side and there is nothing fun about that. You want to be in it and we've put ourselves in that position."

The Orioles are 8-7 against Boston this season, 2-4 at home, and they begin the latest series with Dylan Bundy at 99 2/3 innings and continuing to navigate through uncharted waters.

They begin a series that could determine whether they still have a shot at the division lead.

Bundy says his arm feels good, his shoulder feels good. He wants to keep taking the ball. He'd just like better results.

Bundy hasn't completed six innings in his last four starts, though he's won two of his three decisions and shut out the Yankees over 5 2/3 on Sept. 2. He's walked 17 batters in his last five starts over 24 2/3 innings.

Manager Buck Showalter and pitching coach Dave Wallace continue to provide extra rest for Bundy, with his normal turn falling yesterday. They started Wade Miley, who shut out the Rays over four innings before leaving the game with a strained muscle in his upper back.

"I think anybody on your team you're going to want to try to protect as much as possible and not put anybody at injury risk, and I know Buck does a good job with that," said catcher Matt Wieters. "At the same time, without Dylan really having much experience up here, it's going to be kind of a learning curve on everybody's part just to see what is OK. Is he tired from normal tiredness or is he tired because he hasn't thrown as much? And every pitcher is going to go through it."

Wieters names Chris Tillman and Kevin Gausman, also part of this six-man rotation - or five-man rotation with six pitchers. It depends how you view it.

"The thing with Dylan is even when he doesn't have his best stuff or best command, he's able to think his way through his outing," Wieters said. "It's nice as a catcher that you know that a (23)-year-old kid may not have his best stuff, but he's still going to be able to find ways to get people out. And I think Buck will do a great job of getting him the extra time off when he can.

"At the same time, I don't think Dylan would want it any other way than to pitch and pitch us into the playoffs."

Bundy made his last start at Fenway Park and allowed three runs and six hits and walked four batters in 5 1/3 innings in a 6-3 win. He also made an Aug. 17 start at Camden Yards and allowed five runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Bundy is 1-1 with a 5.74 ERA and 1.979 WHIP in six career games (two starts) against the Red Sox, who currently are batting .373 against him. Travis Shaw is 4-for-8 with two doubles, Dustin Pedroia is 4-for-8 with a double, Mookie Betts is 3-for-8 with a home run and Xander Bogaerts is 3-for-9 with a home run.

Betts is batting .381 (24-for-63) with four doubles, eight home runs and 19 RBIs in 15 games against the Orioles this season. He's 12-for-24 with seven home runs and 13 RBIs in six games at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are taking more swings at Cy Young candidate Rick Porcello after beating him 1-0 in his last start for his first loss in 14 decisions at Fenway Park.

Porcello is 3-8 with a 5.19 ERA in 14 career starts against the Orioles and 1-4 with a 5.53 ERA in seven starts at Camden Yards. J.J. Hardy is 11-for-25 with two doubles, Manny Machado is 8-for-24 with a double, Trumbo is 7-for-22 with three home runs and Ryan Flaherty is 6-for-14 with a home run.

Showalter gave Flaherty the start in left field Wednesday night to pair him with Porcello and Fenway Park. Only the location has changed. What will Showalter do tonight?