G15: Red Sox 3, Orioles 1

Orioles - 100 000 000 - 1  3  1
Red Sox - 000 012 00x - 3 10  0

Andrew Benintendi and Mitch Moreland each had three hits in four trips to the plate. Despite having 33 plate appearances, the Baltimore Orioles failed to out-hit either Boston batter. Benintendi doubled, tripled, and singled and Moreland had two doubles and a single.

The Red Sox have won 12 of their last 13 games and are 13-2 (a team record through 15 games). They lead the AL East by 3.5 games over the Blue Jays, with the Yankees 5.5 GB.

On a raw, cold, and rainy afternoon (34 degrees*, with a 25 mph wind blowing in from center), the Red Sox finally got to Dylan Bundy (5.2-7-3-2-6, 94) when it looked like the Orioles right-hander might outpitch Chris Sale (5-2-1-2-8, 93).

*: It was the coldest game time temperature at Fenway Park since April 17, 2003. That game, a Pedro-led 6-0 win over the Devil Rays, was also 34.

Sale - eschewing long sleeves (as usual) despite the cold - threw more than 20 pitches in three of his five innings (21-12-22 27-11). He allowed a single to Trey Mancini on his first pitch of the day and Manny Machado's double two batters later gave Baltimore a 1-0 lead. Sale did not allow another hit, though he issued a walk in both the third and fourth innings. In the fourth, he faced only four batters, walking one and striking out three, but he needed 27 pitches.

Boston got a runner as far as second base against Bundy in the second, third, and fourth innings, but could not get the big hit to get on the board. Mitch Moreland doubled with one out in the second and Rafael Devers walked, but Christian Vazquez struck out and Brock Holt fouled to third. Benintendi doubled with two down in the third and watched as Hanley Ramirez fanned. J.D. Martinez walked to start the fourth and took second on a two-out wild pitch, but Vazquez popped to second.

Matters improved in the fifth. Tzu-Wei Lin singled with one out and was forced by Jackie Bradley, who stole second. Benintendi tripled into the right field corner to tie the game at 1-1. Ramirez stranded him with a line out to center.

Martinez reached on a fielding error and Moreland's opposite-field drive short-hopped the wall in left, giving Boston runners at second and third to start the sixth. Bundy's first pitch to Devers was wild and Martinez scored (Moreland remained at second). Devers and Vazquez both struck out, but Holt reached on an infield single and Lin's liner to right bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double. Boston led 3-1.

Benintendi singled and stole second in the seventh and, after Ramirez and JDM went down on strikes, was thrown out at the plate when he tried to score on Moreland's hit to left.

Heath Hembree gave up a single to the leadoff man in the top of the sixth, but got the next three batters. He also pitched a perfect seventh, striking out two. (He had a six-pitch stretch in which he retired four batters.) Matt Barnes struck out the first two batters in the eighth and Craig Kimbrel fanned the last two batters in the ninth.

Six games were postponed throughout MLB today, including a Tigers/MFY doubleheader.

Dylan Bundy / Chris Sale

Bradley, RF
Benintendi, CF
Ramirez, DH
Martinez, LF
Moreland, 1B
Devers, 3B
Vazquez, C
Holt, 2B
Lin, SS

                                 Record      12th Win
         Regular Season        After G14     Occurred
2004 -  98-64  2nd AL East*       9-5           G18         * Won World Series
2007 -  96-66  Won AL East*       9-5           G17         * Won World Series
2013 -  97-65  Won AL East*      10-4           G16         * Won World Series
2016 -  93-69  Won AL East        7-7           G21
2017 -  93-69  Won AL East        9-5           G22
2018 -                           12-2           G14