Late-season intensity has been on display in the first two games of Boston’s series against the host Baltimore Orioles.
That could be part of the backdrop as the Red Sox go for their third consecutive victory when the teams meet Saturday night.
Boston won its second one-run game in a row with a 1-0 decision Friday night – and by the end there were signs of tempers flaring.
Tensions were brewing after a confrontation between Baltimore’s Blaze Alexander, who was a base runner, and Boston second baseman Nick Sogard. This came after Alexander slid into the base as the Red Sox pulled off an eighth-inning double play.
“It’s a competitive game,” Sogard said. “He slid in pretty hard. I didn’t have a problem with his slide, but we turned the double play. I was just looking back to see how far he went. I don’t know if he liked me looking back. But that was pretty much it.”
Alexander said he didn’t want to make a big deal of the incident.
“I don’t know why they’re upset,” Alexander said. “I didn’t touch him. There was more contact on the play (Thursday) night. And that’s it.”
The Red Sox (77-65) have won two games in a row as they try to show more signs of getting out of a rut. Yet they’ve won only four of their last 10 games.
The Orioles (69-73) have dropped the first two games of the homestand to extend their overall losing streak to four games.
“It’s always disappointing to lose four in a row, especially right now at this point in the season where we’re at,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Yeah, it’s hard, and we’ve done it to ourselves. We’re here, and there’s a game tomorrow and we still have a chance, a good chance to kind of keep this thing going.”
It was a missed opportunity for Baltimore given that starting pitcher Shane Baz had a strong effort Friday. A first-inning pitch that resulted in Mickey Gasper’s home run proved costly. Baz worked into the seventh inning.
“He knew where the bullpen was at and he felt good enough to go back out there,” Albernaz said of the importance of allowing the team’s relievers to mostly regroup. “It was an outstanding outing from Shane. We couldn’t get anything going off of (Boston starter Ranger) Suarez.”
Boston starter Sonny Gray (16-4, 2.82 ERA) will attempt to add to his win total, which is tied for the top mark in the majors with Philadelphia Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez. Gray skipped a start since last working Aug. 26 in a loss at Miami when he gave up two runs in five innings.
Gray hasn’t faced the Orioles this year, but he’s 7-6 with a 4.37 ERA in 15 all-time starts against Baltimore.
The Orioles will turn to right-hander Chris Bassitt (6-4, 4.97 ERA) as their starting pitcher. He is in search of a victory in his third consecutive start after besting both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Athletics.
Largely because of time off with an injury, Bassitt has pitched in only one home game since late May. His only June appearance resulted in a loss at Boston, where he allowed three runs in three innings. For his career, he’s 2-4 with 3.88 ERA in 10 starts versus the Red Sox.
–Field Level Media
