Red Sox 8, Orioles 1

 

Bassitt does it again! Just like last year, when he gave up eight earned runs in two innings in a 15-1 Boston rout, last night he gave up three runs in as many innings, including a two-run Abreu homer in the second inning, his seventh home run of the year. The Sox won, 8-1, and the cumulative score in their last two games against Bassitt is 23-2.  

Duran scored in the first inning, like he always does, this time on an Abreu single. Gasper tripled in the fifth, scoring two runs, Kiner-Falefa and Durbin both had fifth-inning RBI doubles, and Rafaela brought Durbin home with a single that inning.

Meanwhile, Tolle went six shutout innings, striking out five. Ryan Watson gave up an RBI triple in the seventh, but after that it was smooth sailing for him the rest of the game.

The home series is tied at one each. The rubber game is this afternoon at 1:35.

Toronto lost last night, so the Sox are now two games back from the Orioles and the Blue Jays. They're still 3½ back from Wild Card eligibility, with five teams ahead of them. 

The Red Sox will actually give the ball to Brayan Bello (2-5, 5.63) in the first inning today, instead of that stupid, one-inning opener strategy they were using last month.  Back on April 24, Bello gave up four first-inning runs to the Orioles and earned a total of eight runs in 3⅓ innings in a 10-3 loss. Bello's been improving since then, lowering his ERA from 9.00 to 5.63, his WHIP from 2.27 to 1.64, and his BAA from .374 to .307. Still, the City of Boston collectively holds its breath every time he's on the mound. 

Fortunately, he'll be up against Baltimore's Trevor Rogers (2-6, 6.84), who lasted just 1⅔ innings after giving up three runs on four hits in a Red Sox 17-1 home-run derby in Baltimore (remember that game? They fired Cora after it was over). The key thing to watch today is which starting pitcher melts down first. Or the fastest. Or the worst. It won't be pretty, but welcome to Red Sox baseball, 2027!