Apr 21, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Baseball fans hold a Boston Strong flag during the fifth inning of the game between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Athletes from all over the globe gathered for the 118th running of the Boston marathon. Meanwhile the Red Sox hosted the Baltimore Orioles for an 11 am Patriots’ Day game. The holiday, observed on the third Monday in April in Massachusetts and Maine, marks the anniversary of the Revolutionary War battles at Lexington and Concord.
The first two innings of this early game went smoothly. Clay Buchholz walked one, struck out one, and got the rest to ground out. Wei-Yin Chen almost set the Sox down in order other than a four-pitch walk to Davide Ortiz.
Something changed for Clay in the third inning, however. He gave up back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back singles to put the Sox behind 3-0. After a coaching visit to the mound, things appeared to look up as Clay got Adam Jones to ground into a force out. The play scored a run, but at least it was an out. Clay went on to give up a double and another single. With the Sox now down by six runs, Clay was pulled. Burke Badenhop came into the game and mercifully got Ryan Flaherty to ground into a double play. He continued to dominate the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.
With a sizable deficit, the Sox needed a burst of offense. It didn’t come in the third as our boys went down in order. Ortiz knocked the first hit of the day in the fourth, but Jonny Gomes hit into the double play. The rust from the lack of batting practice finally wore off for the Sox in the fifth inning. Daniel Nava singled. Jackie Bradley Jr.’s ground-rule double to right field scored Xander Bogaerts, who had walked. Brock Holt‘s sacrifice fly scored David Ross and Dustin Pedroia‘s double scored JBJ. And just like that the O’s lead was cut in half.
The top of the seventh went smoothy for Craig Breslow. In the bottom of the frame, David Ross hit a home run to bring the Sox to only two runs behind. Breslow let in a run in the top of the eighth but a quick homer by Mike Napoli, back in the lineup after being hit in the knee by a pitch yesterday, brought the score to 7-5 in favor of the O’s.
The Sox threatened to win in the bottom of the ninth. The tying run was on third and winning run on second, but pinch-hitting Mike Carp couldn’t get the win.
The Sox stay at Fenway to host the Yankees tomorrow at 7:05pm.