G150: Orioles 4, Red Sox 2

Orioles - 100 100 200 - 4  8  0
Red Sox - 100 001 000 - 2  5  1

Dice (6.1-6-4-5-4, 109) allowed a walk and a double to start the seventh inning. Daniel Bard, who had not pitched in a game since last Tuesday in Seattle, allowed a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to give the Orioles their two-run cushion.

Down by two, Boston did nothing in the last three innings. They went down in order in the seventh, a leadoff single in the eighth was immediately erased by a double play, and they went in order in the ninth. And so the Red Sox's playoff odds, which were 1.54% at the start of the day, took another hit.

The Yankees beat the Rays 8-6, to increase their division lead to 1.5 games. Boston is 6.5 GB Tampa Bay in the WC with 12 games to play.

Brian Matusz / Daisuke Matsuzaka

Scutaro, 2B
McDonald, RF
Martinez, 1B
Beltre, 3B
Lowell, DH
Lowrie, SS
Hall, LF
Varitek, C 
Kalish, CF

A few of Peter Abraham's Sox factoids:

The Red Sox are still second in the majors in runs scored (755) and first in OPS (.791).

The Sox have used 133 batting orders in 149 games. The most common order was used a grand total of five times.

The Red Sox have used 43 different combinations of players in the outfield, their most since 1996.

The Sox have used 25 pitchers, tied for the most in the AL with the Royals.

Also at 7 PM: Rays/Yankees

September 20:

1919 - It's Babe Ruth Day at Fenway Park and the Colossus ties the single-season home run record when he hits #27. No one in the crowd knows it, but this is also the last game Ruth will play for the Red Sox in Boston.

1927 - Ruth hits his 60th home run of the season, breaking the record (59) he set in 1921, which broke the record (54) he set in 1920, which broke the record (29) he set in 1919. With the 60 homers, Babe out-homers 12 of the other 15 MLB teams, including all 7 AL teams. (In 1920, he out-donged 14 of the other 15 teams.)

1998 - Cal Ripken, Jr. is not in Baltimore's lineup, ending his consecutive games played streak at 2,632. The streak began on May 30, 1982.