G13: Red Sox 7, Orioles 1 (7, rain)

Orioles - 010 000 0 - 1  4  3
Red Sox - 104 002 x - 7  5  0

A horribly inclement Patriots Day afternoon at Fenway - windy, cold, rainy - was made slightly more comfortable by a number of gifts by the Orioles' defense that gave the Red Sox a rain-shortened victory. Although Boston sent 10 men to the plate in the third inning, the Red Sox had only one hit. Wei-Yin Chen walked four batters, and he and Manny Machado committed fielding errors.

Before that, though, the two teams - who began the day tied for first place at 7-5 - traded runs. Mookie Betts singled to right, immediately stole second, and took third on catcher Ryan Lavarnway's throwing error. David Ortiz brought Betts home with a sacrifice fly to right. In the top of the second, Travis Snider tripled on a hard line drive that skipped past Betts and rolled to the garage door in deep center. Two batters later, Ryan Flaherty's double off the Wall tied the game at 1-1.

Xander Bogaerts walked to start the pivotal third. Ryan Hanigan lined a single down the right field line and Bogaerts took third. Betts hit a routine chopper back to the mound. As Chen (4.1-3-5-5-3, 95) gloved it, he looked towards Bogaerts at third, and dropped the ball. Chen then picked it up and dropped it again, finally throwing very late to first base. Bogaerts scored and Boston had runners at first and second. Dustin Pedroia was out on a sacrifice bunt to first baseman Chris Davis, but FY may have been trying for a hit. Ortiz fouled out to third for the second out. Allen Craig, who took over for Hanley Ramirez in the top half of the inning (Ramirez left because of "illness"), walked, loading the bases. Chen then walked Mike Napoli, forcing in a run. Shane Victorino followed with a hot grounder that Machado tried to backhand. The ball caromed off his glove and rolled towards the left field corner. Two runs scored. Chen walked Brock Holt before Bogaerts popped out to third.

Boston added two runs in the sixth against Jason Garcia. With one out Hanigan was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. He scored from first as third base coach Brian Butterfield read the play perfectly, and Hanigan slid in safely ahead of the tag. Garcia fell behind Ortiz 2-0 and put him on intentionally. Craig gummed up that strategy by lining a single to left, scoring FY.

Justin Masterson was very good (5-3-1-3-6, 93), with a biting slider, although his only perfect inning was the fourth. Junichi Tazawa pitched the sixth and two batters in the seventh, before Robbie Ross came in to get an inning-ending double play.

As the Red Sox prepared to bat in the seventh inning, and after three innings of steady rain, the umpires called the tarp out. (The rain was falling quite hard through the sixth and seventh; perhaps Red Sox management wanted the game to continue so they could present GBA. Once that was done ... tarp time!)

According to NESN, it was 44 degrees when the first pitch was thrown, with an 18 mph wind blowing in from right.

Wei-Yin Chen / Justin Masterson

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

Kyle Brasseur, ESPN:

Through their first 12 games of the season, Red Sox starters have the worst ERA in the league with a combined mark of 6.24. Only Joe Kelly -- the team's No. 5 starter -- has an ERA under six.

Ryan Hannable, WEEI:

Of the 12 games the Red Sox have played so far this season, Red Sox starters have recorded an out in the seventh inning just three times, gone less than five innings three times, and have allowed more than seven runs four times.

Gordon Edes, ESPN:

Write off Boston's Five Guys? Hold the bile, pass the patience, please