G153: Orioles 6, Red Sox 5

Orioles   - 002 310 000 - 6  8  0
Red Sox   - 001 120 100 - 5 12  1

Similar to his last start, Weiland (4.2-5-6-2-5, 85) started off strong, this time retiring the first seven batters. Then, the implosion. In a stretch of five batters in the fourth and fifth innings, he allowed three home runs.

But the first two Baltimore runs were a product of the bright sun in left field. In the second inning, Nolan Reimold had completely lost sight of Josh Reddick's fly ball and it fell for a double. In the Orioles third, Reimold lifted a pop-up to short left-center. Darnell McDonald moved in, lost the ball, the tried for basket catch when he saw it again; the ball glanced off the tip of his glove. Josh Bell then lined a pitch to left center and this one clanked off McDonald's glove for a two-base error. Matt Angle followed with a two-run double off the Wall, just out of McDonald's reach as he leapt against the scoreboard.

McDonald got one of those two runs back with a solo shot in the third. Jarrod Saltalamacchia's triple to deep center scored David Ortiz in the fourth. With two outs in the fifth, Marco Scutaro walked and scored on Adrian Gonzalez's double. Dustin Pedroia tripled and cut the Baltimore lead to 6-4. (It looked like Orioles CF Angle may have trouble tracking all three of those extra-base hits because of the sun.)

David Ortiz then ripped Guthrie's first pitch down the right field line. Watching the replay on the Orioles' feed, I could see the ball hit the low wall just past the foul pole (near the second "e" in the word "here" on an advertisement) - which would be a fair ball. The umpires conferred and ruled it was a foul ball. A NESN replay hinted that the ball may have struck the top of the wall in foul territory, then caromed over by the "here" sign. I thought the MASN replay was pretty definitive until I saw the NESN clip.

Ortiz ended the at-bat (and inning) with a fly ball to deep center. Boston trailed by only one after Scutaro doubled with two outs in the eighth and scored on Bert's single.

Alfredo Aceves pitched out of a second-and-third-no-out jam in the home half of the eighth, retiring Chris David on a fly ball to short right, then striking out both Robert Andino and Reimold (who had hit back-to-back dongs off Weiland in the fourth).

Jim Johnson made quick work of the Red Sox in the ninth. Mike Aviles grounded to short, McDonald grounded to third, and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded to second.

Jeremy Guthrie / Kyle Weiland

Game 1 of today's day-night doubleheader:

Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Gonzalez, 1B
Ortiz, DH
Reddick, RF
Crawford, LF
Scutaro, SS
Saltalamacchia, C
Aviles, 3B

Here is a strange (or scary) fact: Since August 29, the Red Sox are 5-14 - and in only one of those five wins did they score fewer than nine runs.

Runs (wins in bold): 2, 9, 2, 0, 12, 4, 0, 14, 10, 4, 2, 5, 1, 18, 4, 2, 4, 3, 5

Weiland is pitching on three days rest, but he threw only 61 pitches on Thursday, in the opening game of the Rays series. This game is a makeup of the May 17 postponement.

Game thread. Twins/Yankees at 1 PM (makeup of April 6). The Rays are off today.