Orioles 5, Red Sox 1

 

The streak is over at 15 games. Northing lasts forever and impermanence is swift. Even Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Dom DiMaggio, and Bobby Doerr couldn't win sixteen in a row.   

Last night, in the second half of a double header, the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, who hadn't tasted defeat since July 1. Like the first game of the DH, there was little question of the outcome, but in the opposite direction - this time, it was the Orioles who scored four runs in the first inning. Rookie starter Eduardo Rivera, making only his fourth MLB appearance, didn't even last a full inning. 

Brayan Bello came on with two outs and the score, 4-0, and quickly forced a ground out to end the painful opening inning. Bello pitched pretty well thereafter, with five K's over 5⅓ innings and no runs on four hits. But the problem was the old, familiar lack of offense - the Sox didn't get a base hit until a Monasterio single in the third inning, and their lone run came in the fourth when a Yoshida single brought Contreras home from second. 

I can't speak for Red Sox Nation as a whole, but at least this fan kept thinking a miracle, some supernatural event, was going to descend upon Fenway Park any inning now. Just as the Sox had been able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in previous games during this streak, it felt like something was going to happen to get win number sixteen. But it wasn't to be and Boston is now the proud owner of a shiny, spanking-new 15-game win streak.

Before the streak started, the Red Sox were 37-48, last place in the AL East, and 14½ back from first. Now, they're 52-49, in third place, and seven games back from first. Even more importantly, they now hold the third and final Wild Card berth, two games up on the nearest contender. Boston's path to the World Series - and we're still going to the World Series, baby! - doesn't run through an AL East championship but runs through the Wild Card. 

The Red Sox have played 101 games this season and have 61 left to play. Already, this back half of the season has a distinctly different flavor than the horrendous first half. Instead of trying to claw up from behind in the standings, their mission for the next two months is simply to defend their Wild Card spot, continue to improve on offense, and keep the pitching healthy (young Connelly Early, Garrett Crochet, Johan Oviedo, Kutter Crawford, and Tanner Houck are all on the IL, and Ranger Suarez is still a question mark). 

Boston's off today. Take a breath and relax, the pressure's off. Friday, they start a three-game homestand against the Blue Jays (46-56), and then start another West Coast road trip where they'll face the A's (43-59) for four and the Dodgers (65-38) for three. Sweep the pesky Jays and the woeful A's, and try to salvage at least one win in L.A., and if they can go 8-2 or even 7-3 over the next ten, it should be clear sailing for the rest of the season.

Go, Red Sox! Love you guys!