G19: Red Sox 6, Orioles 2

Red Sox - 400 011 000 - 6 14  0
Orioles - 000 000 011 - 2  6  1

Now that is the way you start a ball game!

Xander Bogaerts (ball, called strike) singled to right. Andrew Benintendi (ball, foul) singled to right. Mookie Betts homered to left. Hanley Ramírez homered to left. ... Orioles starter Kevin Gausman had thrown only eight pitches - and Boston led 4-0.

Benintendi finished the afternoon 5-for-5. Betts had two hits and two walks, Bogaerts had two hits, two runs scored, and a walk. Mitch Moreland also had two hits, including a home run in the fifth.

Eduardo Rodriguez (6-1-0-5-7, 108) retired the first nine Orioles and did not allow a hit until the fifth inning. He had some trouble with his control, walking three batters in the sixth.

Matt Barnes threw a 90 mph pitch at behind Manny Machado's head in the eighth inning and was ejected. At first, it was ruled that Machado was struck in the helmet, but after manager John Farrell complained, they ruled (correctly) that the ball had hit his bat. (Pedroia was seen talking from the dugout to Machado, apparently describing that Barnes's headhunting was "bullshit".)

Fernando Abad was unable to finish the ninth inning (Baltimore scored one run and had two men on), so Craig Kimbrel was asked to get the final out. He did.

Also, Dustin Pedroia reported swelling in both his left ankle and left knee and Farrell said Pedroia will have an MRI tomorrow in Boston "just to rule anything out".

Eduardo Rodriguez / Kevin Gausman

Bogaerts, SS
Benintendi, LF
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bradley, CF
Vazquez, C
Sandoval, 3B
Hernandez, 2B

Rodriguez has allowed seven runs in his two starts (10.1 innings). Boston starters not named Chris Sale have a combined ERA of 5.97.

As far as the hitters go, the Red Sox are 3-for-26 (.115) with runners on second and/or third over the last four games.

Also re Steven Wright: When he hurt his right shoulder pinch-running last August 7, he had a 3.01 ERA and had allowed eight home runs in 146.2 innings. Since the injury, his ERA is 8.46 and he has given up 11 homers in only 27.2 innings. Wright claims his shoulder is "back to 100 percent", but he also said:

I just don't feel like [the knuckleballs] have the violence that they used to have last year. ... It's just a matter of getting everything back, the muscle memory back, and getting back to where I was before the injury. ... I'm trying to get back to who I was before the injury.