After carrying the momentum of a 7-3 homestand into Boston, the Baltimore Orioles look to keep the good times rolling when they continue a three-game series against the Red Sox on Wednesday night.
Coby Mayo and Pete Alonso each homered in back-to-back early innings to propel the Orioles to a 4-2 win on Tuesday in the series opener. It was their 25th victory in 34 games when scoring four or more runs this season.
Power hitting has been helpful in Baltimore’s recent turnaround, as the Orioles have 27 homers in their last 18 games.
“I think that guys are individually holding themselves accountable in the box, having a plan and sticking to it,” Mayo said. “We have a really good team. When we play like the team we are, it’s really good. I think we’ve seen that the last couple weeks.”
Alonso’s homer was his 12th, which is one shy of Gunnar Henderson’s team-high total. He has now driven in runs in four straight games.
The blasts were more than enough offense for starter Shane Baz and two relievers. Baz, who tossed seven innings of four-hit ball, lowered Baltimore’s ERA for starting pitchers to 2.40 through the last 13 games.
“The starting pitching group has taken a real big step forward collectively,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “The biggest thing is that they’re throwing strikes. When you throw strikes, it gives you the ability to get you deeper into the game.”
Right-hander Chris Bassitt (4-3, 5.06 ERA) looks to continue that recent trend and break a three-start winless skid when he takes the mound. His last win came in a 6 2/3-inning start on April 30 against the Houston Astros.
The 37-year-old veteran took a no-decision against another American League East rival in the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, despite working six innings of one-run ball.
Bassitt is 2-3 with a 3.59 ERA in nine career starts against the Red Sox, but he has not beaten them in six outings over the last two seasons.
The Red Sox returned for the quick homestand after banking a series win at the Cleveland Guardians over the weekend. They still have lost seven of their last 10 games and dropped to 9-20 at home and 4-9 against the division.
After Jarren Duran’s leadoff triple and run scored to start Tuesday, Boston was held to just four hits the rest of the way. Sacrifice flies by Wilyer Abreu and Marcelo Mayer drove in both runs.
The Red Sox have scored two or fewer runs in 15 of their 29 home games.
“It’s obvious. We’ve played so well on the road, and it’s been a struggle here,” Boston interim manager Chad Tracy said. “We have two games (to finish the series that we’ve got to) focus on winning.”
Wednesday marks Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle’s first career start against Baltimore.
Tolle (2-2, 2.61) has shown strikeout stuff in each of his last two starts (both no-decisions), fanning a combined 16 across 10 2/3 innings. After punching out nine in a six-inning outing against the Minnesota Twins on May 22, he set down seven Atlanta Braves in 4 2/3 innings last Thursday.
“They just get along great,” Tracy said of Tolle and Tuesday’s starter, Connelly Early. “Different personalities, slightly different arsenals, but it’s cool watching them talk through things. You can see, maybe one just finished pitching, and he’s talking to the other about what he saw with the lineup. It’s a cool dynamic.”
–Field Level Media
