Red Sox hand Orioles first loss of the season, snap seven-game streak
BOSTON – The Baltimore Orioles knew their unbeaten streak would end at some point. Still, the disappointment was obvious after they fell to the Boston Red Sox, 4-2, in the series finale at Fenway Park Wednesday night. The loss dropped the Orioles to 7-1, snapping their best start to a season since 1954.
“We did win the series, though, so I think the positives are going to outweigh the negatives,” said Mark Trumbo. “I don’t think anyone had the illusion we were going to go undefeated but this was the type of game you can stomach. They executed a little better and we just need to keep going.”
If they could just get someone on base.
This time, though, there was no ninth-inning magic for the Orioles, as Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel, the goat on Monday, struck out the side.
“Yeah, it was a tough game,” said Davis. “I think if you’d have told us when the season started we’d get off to the start we did, I think we’d have been happy with it. But it’s always tough to drop the last game of a series. But I’m glad we got the series win and we hung in there and battled back tonight. It’s just sometimes you get beat.”
After scoring nine runs in each of their first two games of the series, and averaging 5.7 runs a game this season, the Orioles were held to their fewest runs of the season on Wednesday. They had opportunities, with runners on base in every inning but the seventh and ninth.
“Some of the things that allowed us to get to 7-0 didn’t work out for us tonight,” said Orioles manager Buck Showalter.
Some of those things included a franchise-record 14 home runs in their first eight games, and at least one home run in each of the last seven games. They had eight or more hits in each game, surpassing their previous best of six games in 1993.
The Orioles worked from behind in four of their previous five games. But on a cold (44 degrees at first pitch) and windy (13 mph off the ocean) night, those timely and big hits that had been so easy to find just couldn’t be found this time.
“I think the first few games it’s kind of been our M-O,” Davis said. “We get guys on and we’ve been able to get that hit to drive them in. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t do that tonight. But you tip your cap and just realize that some nights you get beat.”
The Orioles took the lead in the third but the Red Sox tied the score in the bottom of the inning and went ahead for good in the fourth.
Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez and Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly nearly matched each other pitch for pitch – for pitch. They each lasted just five innings, Jimenez throwing 104 pitches, Kelly 116. Kelly (1-0, 10.13 ERA) earned the win while Jimenez (1-1, 3.75) took the loss.
Baltimore’s potent offense led the way in the streak. The Orioles entered Wednesday leading the American League in slugging percentage and home runs, second in batting average and on-base percentage.
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One area the Orioles know they need to improve is getting their starter pitchers deeper into games. Jimenez is the only starter who has gotten beyond the fifth inning, in his first start when he went seven innings against the Twins.
“I was trying to work around it, but you bet your ass,” said Showalter. “It’s not easy to do, pitch six, seven innings in the American League. I’m hoping when the weather warms up and guys start feeling the baseball a little bit more [it will improve].”
“Yeah, of course we need to start doing that,” Jimenez said. “But at the beginning of the season it’s really hard to say how deep you want to get into games. You are always trying to work to get better for the team. I mean, we won the first seven games but our offense was unbelievable. It’s not going to happen like that every single night. So, we need to step up and do our job.
“(The win streak) was fun. You are always trying to start the right way. And that was a fun way to start the season. You are never thinking in spring training, ‘Oh, you are going to win the first seven games of the season.’ You never know because it’s really tough. But it really got us in the right place, the right mood.”
The Orioles were most assuredly not thinking that in spring training – when they started 0-10-2 before finding the win column. The only longer winning streak in franchise history was in 1994, when the then St. Louis Browns won their first nine games. The loss also snapped a 12-game win streak going back to last season.
But, perhaps there is a silver lining to the end of the win streak.
“We had a lot of fun,” said catcher Caleb Joseph. “I’m glad it’s over so I don’t have to answer questions about how long it’s going to last.”
“I’m proud. We won the series,” Showalter said. “We won two out of three in the American League East on the road against a team we all know is going to be pretty good this year. We’re real proud of that. Now we move on.”
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