Orioles out-hit Red Sox but lose, 5-0, on Sunday at Fenway Park

Some days, Orioles games are just frustrating. Today was most definitely one of those days as the Red Sox were able to collect a 5-0 win despite the Birds picking up 13 hits. To be sure, “one of those days” is a good way to put it.

If you’re looking for the details, you can find them below. If not, the next first pitch is set for tomorrow at 8:10 p.m. against the White Sox.

The recap

The day started fairly quietly in terms of production as David Hess took the mound for the Orioles looking to improve upon his good start a week ago. He and Eduardo Rodriguez settled in nicely to start the game until the Red Sox struck first in the bottom of the second inning.

After setting down Boston one-two-three in the first, it was J.D. Martinez welcoming Hess with a classic Fenway Park homer. On the first pitch of the inning, Martinez went to the opposite field and barely got a ball to sneak around the foul pole in shallow right field. Hess would allow a few more base runners in the inning but went on to strand them, giving the Sox a 1-0 lead after two full innings.

From there, the name of the game was missed opportunities for the Orioles. In both the third and fourth innings, the lineup had chances with two runners on and couldn’t find a way to score. In the third it was Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop failing to produce with two on and one out, and in the fourth, a Craig Gentry flyout send the Orioles through four innings with no runs against Rodriguez.

Rodriguez continued to cruise throughout the afternoon, just filling the zone with strikes and minimizing damage across the board. While he rolled, it was Hess who struggled to fool Boston hitters the third time through the lineup.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox put up a four spot to essentially put away this series finale. When four of the first five hitters of inning collect a hit for extra-bases, it’s generally not a good inning and that was the case for Hess in this one.

The frame started with a hard-hit Jackie Bradley Jr. double down the line, and despite Hess inducing a Mookie Betts fly out, Andrew Benintendi worked the count full with one out and sent one over the wall in right field. It was good enough for his fifth home run of the season, making it 3-0 Red Sox very quickly in the fifth. Unfortunately for Hess, the right-hander couldn’t find a way to stop the bleeding until it was too late.

Two batters later, following a Mitch Moreland double, Martinez launched a ball to center that was an absolutely no-doubter off the bat. His second homer of the game made it 5-0 and effectively ended a Hess outing that initially had the makings of a solid afternoon. Unfortunately, the reality that is the 2018 Orioles season came into play and took full control. After Mike Wright Jr. came on and stopped the bleeding, Boston held the five-run advantage after five full.

The score didn’t change after that, but there were plenty of missed opportunities across the afternoon. If you don’t believe me, ask Roch Kubatko about the run-stranding woes:

The bullpen held things down and did a nice job limiting the damage after Hess left the mound for the afternoon — Wright Jr. tossed 2.1 scoreless innings while Pedro Araujo struck out three in a perfect inning — but there just weren’t any fireworks to keep up with the early Red Sox production.

Rodriguez tossed quite a few pitches and was chased before he could finish the sixth inning (110 pitches, nine singles and seven strikeouts in total), but the Sox bullpen picked up where he left off and just found a way to continue limiting the damage. They rolled through and despite the Orioles out-hitting the Red Sox, 13-12, on the afternoon, Boston cashed in and grabbed a 5-0 win at Fenway Park.

The loss drops the Orioles to 14-32 on the season. Next up is a trip to visit the White Sox in Chicago. Tomorrow starts the four-game set with an 8:10 p.m. first pitch.