G59: Orioles 1, Red Sox 0

Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  5  0
Orioles - 000 000 10x - 1  5  0

Eduardo Rodriguez (6-3-0-3-7, 102) turned in his third brilliant start, but his teammates' bats were silent in support of his efforts. The Red Sox went 0-for-8 with runners at second and/or third against Miguel Gonzalez (4.1-4-0-2-1, 89) and three relievers. The Red Sox are a season-worst 6.5 games out in the AL East.

The Orioles scored the night's only run immediately after Rodriguez left the game. Matt Barnes gave up a leadoff double to Steve Pearce. J.J. Hardy grounded a single to center and Pearce was held at third. He scored one pitch later when Barnes threw a wild pitch to Ryan Flaherty.

Boston has its best scoring chance of the night in the eighth. Dustin Pedroia took a pitch up and in and it was determined that the baseball grazed the front of his helmet. Brock Holt worked a seven-pitch walk. Rusney Castillo took a strike and then dropped down a bunt. Baltimore catcher Matt Weiters quickly grabbed the ball and threw to third, forcing Pedroia. Lefty Zach Britton then struck out David Ortiz looking and Mike Napoli swinging.

The Red Sox stranded runners at first and second in both the second and third innings. In the fifth, Blake Swihart doubled but was stranded as both Holt and Castillo made outs. Castillo was in the game because Hanley Ramirez left after fouling a ball off his left knee in the third inning. Ramirez stayed in long enough to finish his plate appearance, which ended in a walk. Castillo came in as a pinch-runner.

Rodriguez pitched out of a few jams. He threw 27 pitches in the first inning, giving up a single and a walk. He allowed a hit and a walk in the fourth, but got out of it when Pearce hit into a double play. With runners at first and second and one out in the fifth, he fanned both Delmon Young and Adam Jones to keep the game scoreless.

Rodriguez became the first pitcher in major league history to pitch at least six innings in each of his first three starts and allow allowing one or fewer runs and three or fewer hits. He is also one of five pitchers since 1914 to strike out seven or more batters in each of his first three starts.

Eduardo Rodriguez / Miguel Gonzalez

Pedroia, 2B
Holt, RF
Ramirez, LF
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Sandoval, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, CF
Swihart, C

He's made only two major league starts, but Eduardo Rodriguez has done something no other pitcher has done in the modern era (since 1900): pitch at least seven innings and allow no more than one run and three hits in each of his first two big league starts.

              IP  H  R  BB  K  PIT
0508 at Tex  7.2  3  0   2  7  105   Red Sox won 5-1
0603 vs Min  7.0  2  1   2  7  103   Red Sox won 6-3

Rodriguez is also the first Red Sox left-hander with at least seven strikeouts in each of his first two starts since at least 1914. (Currently, searchable data does not go back farther than that.)