Red Sox Take One From The Orioles
By the Sports Xchange
BALTIMORE - David Price threw seven-plus innings of three-hit ball, and Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the fourth and finished with three RBIs as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 on Saturday night.
Price (1-0) has given the Red Sox (30-25) two good starts since returning from missing most of the first two months of the season due to elbow problems.
Price, who was making his 250th career start, allowed just one run with seven strikeouts and one walk. He improved his Camden Yards career mark to 7-0.
The veteran left-hander experienced little trouble with Baltimore (29-25) as the Orioles did not get a runner past first base until Manny Machado hit a solo homer in the seventh that cut the Boston lead to 2-1.
The Red Sox then added two insurance runs in the eighth when Mookie Betts doubled and later scored on an Xander Bogaerts fielder's choice.
Two batters later, Ramirez lined an RBI double for a 4-1 lead. Betts added an RBI single in the ninth.
Joe Kelly came on for Price in the eighth and got two outs before Craig Kimbrel took over.
Kimbrel recorded the final four outs and earned his 16th save despite allowing an RBI double to Trey Mancini in the ninth. It was just the third run the right-hander has given up this year in 25 1/3 innings.
Orioles starter Dylan Bundy (6-4) lasted only five innings, his shortest start of the season, mostly due to the Red Sox continually fouling off pitches. Bundy allowed two runs on four hits.
Boston went in front in the fourth when Ramirez crushed an 0-2 Bundy curveball to left for a two-run homer. The blast also brought in Bogaerts, who walked to start the inning.
It also came right after Mitch Moreland flew out but worked Bundy for an 11-pitch at-bat. Boston did a good job in driving up Bundy's pitch count in those early innings, a big reason he had to leave after just five after throwing 100 pitches.
NOTES: Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed that RHP Alec Asher, the winning pitcher Friday, will start on Thursday in the make-up game in Washington. ... Orioles DH Chris Davis singled in the fourth, stretching his hitting streak to six games. ... Deven Marrero replaced Josh Rutledge at second base in a late lineup change for the Red Sox. The team said Rutledge was dealing with dehydration. ... Boston now has scored first in 12 of its past 16 games.
