Home series wins have been very hard for the Boston Red Sox to come by this season.
The opportunity to claim their first series victory in Boston since early April comes in the decisive contest of a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday afternoon.
The Red Sox put together a Wednesday win to feel good about, stringing together 15 hits while getting six scoreless innings from Payton Tolle in an eventual 8-1 decision. Boston recorded its third win in four games, having scored at least eight runs in each of those victories.
“Seeing the hits pile up, stacking hits and continuing to add on runs here was a welcome sight,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said.
Despite the Wednesday victory, Boston is still just 10-20 at home this season. The Red Sox’s only home series win came April 6-8 against the Milwaukee Brewers, who lead the National League Central.
While Ceddanne Rafaela and Willson Contreras banged out three hits apiece, it was an especially big night for Wilyer Abreu. The right fielder drove in Boston’s first three runs, including two on a third-inning home run that was all of the offense the team needed.
Abreu ended a 20-game homerless drought.
“(Orioles starter Chris Bassitt) gave me some very good pitches to hit,” Abreu said. “I just tried to take advantage of that, and I think I did.”
Right-hander Brayan Bello (2-5, 5.63 ERA) is expected to start for the Red Sox, marking a change from four of his previous five outings in which he was used as a bulk reliever following an opener.
Bello has struggled mightily in seven true starts this season, going 1-5 with a 9.68 ERA, but he has allowed just two earned runs in 25 1/3 innings over four bulk relief outings (0.71 ERA).
He is 4-3 with a 4.71 ERA in his eight career outings against the Orioles. Bello endured his worst game of the season at Baltimore on April 24, when he was gashed for eight runs on 13 hits in 3 1/3 innings. He served up two homers to Adley Rutschman and one apiece to Gunnar Henderson, Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo during a 10-3 defeat.
The Orioles entered Wednesday on a modest three-game win streak, but the defeat marked a return to their overall fate on the road this season. Baltimore is 2-7 in its past nine road games.
Rutschman’s RBI triple in the seventh inning kept the Orioles from being shut out for the first time this season. Every other major league team has been blanked at least once.
Rutschman went 2-for-5, extending his on-base streak to 14 games. However, he is batting just 12-for-51 (.235) in that stretch.
Left-hander Trevor Rogers (2-6, 6.84 ERA) will try to halt his recent struggles when he starts on Thursday. He has gone 0-6 with an 8.83 ERA in eight starts since recording his last victory on April 1.
Rogers lost six consecutive starts and completed five innings in only one of those before taking a no-decision against Toronto on Friday. He blanked the Blue Jays through six innings before giving up four runs on four hits without registering an out in the seventh.
Rogers is 1-3 with a 3.00 ERA in six career starts against Boston. His shortest outing of the season came against the Red Sox on April 25, when he permitted three runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings during a 17-1 loss.
Getting a quality start will be even more important for Rogers after Bassitt was chased after just three innings on Wednesday.
“For our guys, it’s about trusting their stuff, knowing that they put the work in,” said Orioles manager Craig Albernaz, a Massachusetts native. “… They’re really good. That’s why they’re big-league starters.”
–Field Level Media
