The Boston Red Sox, who are hanging in the American League wild-card race, will try to move closer to a playoff spot when they face the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday in the middle contest of a three-game series.
Boston (73-71) has won three of its past four games, and a 12-3 victory over Baltimore on Monday helped the Red Sox move within three games of the Minnesota Twins for the American League’s third wild-card spot.
“We’re right there,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Still right there. I don’t know how. They show up everyday, they work hard and they did an amazing job offensively (on Monday).
“Maybe this will be the way we’ll play the rest of the season. Platoon the rest of the way and try to maximize the roster. Be aggressive with pinch hitters and all that and see where it takes us.”
Rob Refsnyder and Tyler O’Neill highlighted the Monday win by both homering the third and eighth innings — just the second time ever that Red Sox teammates hit back-to-back homers twice in one game. Refsnyder finished the night with four hits and a career-high five RBIs in the win. O’Neil had three hits and three RBIs.
“It felt good to help the team out tonight,” Refsnyder said. “Hopefully we can build on (the win) and get the offense going. … It feels like we’re building a little bit of momentum. Try to stress everyone take the positives from tonight, turn the page and hopefully come out tomorrow and build on it.”
The Orioles (82-63) have lost four of their last five games, scoring a total of seven runs in the five contests while falling 1 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East. Baltimore is 24-25 since the All-Star break.
Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander provided most of the offensive highlights for Baltimore on Monday. Rutschman entered the game hitless in his last 12 at-bats, but he collected two hits. Santander also had two hits, including his 40th home run of the season.
“I thought we were more competitive offensively tonight,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said following the loss. “Our guys are grinding, there’s no doubt, and we just gotta turn the page on this and come back tomorrow. Not a whole lot went right tonight. Had a tough time putting zeros up out of the bullpen.”
The Tuesday pitching matchup features Baltimore right-hander Albert Suarez (7-5, 3.49 ERA) and Boston righty Kutter Crawford (8-13, 4.08).
Suarez had been pitching well until he gave up six runs on eight hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings during an 8-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. He allowed a season-high three home runs in that start. Suarez gave up four runs in 30 1/3 innings over his previous five outings.
Suarez is 1-0 with a 4.11 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against the Red Sox. He fired six scoreless innings, striking out six, to beat Boston on Aug. 18.
Crawford took the loss in his latest start — a 7-2 setback against the New York Mets on Sept. 3 — despite holding New York to two runs on one hit in six innings. He struck out eight and walked two. The hit he allowed was a two-run home run by Francisco Lindor.
Crawford has lost each of his past four starts but has a 3.52 ERA during that span. He is 0-3 with a 6.58 ERA in six career games (five starters) against Baltimore. This year vs. the Orioles, he is 0-2 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts.
The Orioles are 7-4 against the Red Sox this season.
–Field Level Media
