October 5, 2013: Red Sox 9 Orioles 8 (Red Sox lead series, 2-0)

Starter John Lackey gave up seven runs, but the Red Sox still come away with the win in a wild back-and-forth affair. The Sox are the only team to be up 2 games to none in their division series; the other 3 are tied at a game each.

The Sox started out with 2 runs in the first and it looked like they were going to feast on Orioles pitching once again. Instead the Orioles teed off on Lackey, scoring 5 runs in the 2nd off 5 hits, including a 3-run JJ Hardy home run. Will Middlebrooks pulled the Sox back within a run with a solo shot in the 3rd, then added a 2-run shot in the 5th to tie it. A Sox run on on a Stephen Drew RBI double in the 5th gave them a 6-5 lead.

The Orioles weren't done though, and took the lead back in the top of the 6th on a Danny Valencia 2-run homer that chased Lackey from the game. Jarrod Saltalamacchia led off the bottom of the 7th with a ground ball that got past Hardy for an error, and I brought in Quintin Berry to pinch run, needing that tying run. Drew doubled to send Berry to 3rd, Middlebrooks grounded out, but Jacoby Ellsbury came through with a single to score 2 runners and give the Sox the lead again.

The O's still weren't done, and got back-to-back doubles from Matt Weiters and Valencia to tie it up. The Sox had Mike Napoli, David Ross and Berry due up in the bottom of the 8th, and I was starting to regret bringing Berry into the game to replace Daniel Nava in LF, and having Ross take Nava's spot in the lineup while replacing Salty behind the dish. Berry made it all worthwhile though by smacking a solo homer to give the Sox the lead. Koji Uehara took the 9th, and earned the save.

BOXSCORE: 2013 Baltimore Orioles At 2013 Boston Red Sox             10/5/2013
 
  Orioles            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Red Sox            AB  R  H RBI AVG
  B.Roberts 2B        5  0  1  0 .133     J.Ellsbury CF       4  0  1  2 .286  
  N.Markakis RF       5  0  1  0 .231     S.Victorino RF      4  0  2  0 .429  
D-A.Casilla PR        0  0  0  0 ----     D.Pedroia 2B        5  1  2  0 .500  
  A.Jones CF          5  0  0  0 .071     D.Ortiz DH          5  1  1  0 .250  
  C.Davis 1B          2  2  1  0 .400     M.Napoli 1B         5  0  1  1 .333  
  M.Wieters C         4  2  2  0 .250     D.Nava LF           3  1  1  1 .143  
  D.Valencia DH       4  2  3  4 .333   B-D.Ross C            1  0  0  0 .000  
  N.McLouth LF        4  1  1  1 .333     J.Saltalamacchia C  4  1  2  0 .375  
  J.Hardy SS          3  1  1  3 .182   A-Q.Berry PR,LF       1  2  1  11.000  
  R.Flaherty 3B       3  0  1  0 .143     S.Drew SS           5  1  2  1 .250  
C-S.Pearce PH         1  0  0  0 .500     W.Middlebrooks 3B   4  2  2  3 .375  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      36  8 11  8                 Totals      41  9 15  9
 
A-Pinch Ran For Saltalamacchia In 7th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Nava In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Flaherty In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Ran For Markakis In 9th Inning
 
Orioles......... 0 5 0  0 0 2  0 1 0  -  8 11  2
Red Sox......... 2 1 0  2 1 0  2 1    -  9 15  1
 
Orioles (1-2)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
M.Gonzalez                4      10   6   6   1   5   2 106  13.50
B.Norris                  2       1   1   0   1   3   0  28   6.00
B.Matusz                  0       1   1   1   0   0   0   4   ----
T.Hunter L(0-1) BS(2nd)   2       3   1   1   0   0   1  22   2.57
Totals                    8      15   9   8   2   8   3
 
Red Sox (2-0)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
J.Lackey                  5 1/3   8   7   7   2   4   2  80  11.81
F.Morales                 1 2/3   0   0   0   1   2   0  20   0.00
C.Breslow W(1-0) BS(1st)  1       2   1   1   0   1   0  18   9.00
K.Uehara SAVE(1st)        1       1   0   0   0   1   0  16   0.00
Totals                    9      11   8   8   3   8   2
 
ATTENDANCE- 34,412 DATE- Saturday, October 5th 2013 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Brian O'Nora, Bill Welke, Adrian Johnson, Fieldin Culbreth
T- 3:36
LEFT ON BASE- Orioles: 4  Red Sox:11
DOUBLE PLAYS- Orioles: 0  Red Sox: 2
ERRORS- J.Hardy, M.Gonzalez, J.Saltalamacchia
DOUBLES- M.Wieters(1st), D.Valencia(1st), S.Drew-2(2nd)
HOME RUNS- D.Valencia(1st), J.Hardy(1st), Q.Berry(1st), W.Middlebrooks-2(2nd)
RBIs- D.Valencia-4(4th), N.McLouth(2nd), J.Hardy-3(3rd), J.Ellsbury-2(3rd),
      M.Napoli(1st), D.Nava(1st), Q.Berry(1st), S.Drew(1st),
      W.Middlebrooks-3(3rd)
WALKS- C.Davis-2, J.Hardy, J.Ellsbury, S.Victorino
HIT BY PITCH- D.Nava
STRIKE OUTS- B.Roberts, N.Markakis, A.Jones, C.Davis, D.Valencia, N.McLouth,
             R.Flaherty-2, J.Ellsbury-2, D.Pedroia, D.Ortiz, M.Napoli-3, S.Drew
GIDP- N.Markakis-2
WILD PITCHES- M.Gonzalez
2-out RBI- M.Napoli, D.Nava, Q.Berry
RLISP 2-out- J.Saltalamacchia, M.Napoli-2, D.Pedroia-2, D.Ortiz, J.Hardy
TEAM RISP- Orioles: 4 for 6  Red Sox: 5 for 15
WEB GEMS- Top 3rd: Stephen Drew robbed Adam Jones of a base hit.
 
Third baseman Will Middlebrooks blasted 2 homeruns and had 3 RBI as the Boston
Red Sox bested the Baltimore Orioles 9 to 8 at Fenway Park.
 
Middlebrooks made sure the Boston fans enjoyed themselves.  He smashed a
solo-shot out of the park in the 2nd inning and cracked a two-run shot in the
4th inning.  The game was a wild affair with the lead changing hands 6 times.
 
The winning pitcher was Craig Breslow(1-0) who allowed 1 run in 1 inning. Koji
Uehara earned the save, his 1st.  Tommy Hunter(0-1) was hit with the loss in
relief.