Britton made the Sox beat the ball in the dirt to start the top of the first inning. Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to second, Dustin Pedroia grounded out to short and Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to second to end the inning. Buchholz got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Brian Roberts lined out to first to start. Nick Markakis singled to left but Derrek Lee flied out to center. Vladimir Guerrero grounded into a force to end the inning.
Kevin Youkilis took strike three to start the top of the second but David Ortiz walked. Jed Lowrie forced Ortiz and second and JD Drew grounded out to first to end the inning. The O's struck first in the bottom of the second as Luke Scott singled to center to start. Adam Jones struck out swinging but Mark Reynolds doubled to left. Matt Wieters hit a ground ball off the first base bag for a hit to score Scott. Robert Andino struck out looking and Roberts whiffed to end the inning with the O's up 1-0.
Carl Crawford struck out swinging to start the top of the third and Jason Varitek grounded out to third. Ellsbury lined out to third to end the inning. The O's struck again in the bottom of the third although Markakis grounded out to first to start. Lee singled to right, Guerrero singled to left and Scott walked to load the bases before Lee scored on the sac fly by Jones. Reynolds was retired on a nubber in front of the plate to end the inning but it was 2-0 O's.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth as Pedroia got a base hit to center to start. Gonzalez moved Dustin to second with a grounder and Pedroia stole third. Youkilis hit a sac fly to score Pedroia and Ortiz hit a grounder under the glove of Roberts for an error. Lowrie grounded into a force to end the inning but it was 2-1 O's.
Wieters singled to right to open the bottom of the fourth but Andino flied out to right. Roberts flied out to center and Markakis grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fifth as Drew flied out to center to start. Crawford grounded out to short but Varitek singled to center. Ellsbury doubled to right and Pedroia walked to load the bases. Gonzalez grounded into a force to end the inning. The O's got another run back in the bottom of the fifth as Lee and Guerrero stroked back to back base hits to start. Scott beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners and Jones scored Lee with a sac fly to increase the lead. Reynolds took strike three to end the inning but it was 3-1 Baltimore.
The Sox blew another rally in the top of the sixth as Youkilis popped up to second to start. Ortiz singled to left but Lowrie flied out to right. Drew singled in the hole at second but Crawford flied out to center to end the inning. Buchholz got Wieters to fly out to left to start the bottom of the sixth and struck out Andino swinging. Roberts singled to center but Markakis flied out to left to end the inning.
Jim Johnson came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Varitek struck out swinging to start. Ellsbury lined out to first and Pedroia also struck out swinging to end the inning. The O's finally chased Buchholz in the bottom of the seventh although Lee flied out to center to start. Guerrero singled to left and Scott doubled past the diving Drew, causing Felix Pie to pinch run for Scott. Jones was intentionally walked to load the bases and Reynolds hit a rocket Ellsbury had to climb the wall in center to grab. Guerrero scored and the other runners moved up. That was it for Clay who allowed 4 runs on 3 sac flies and a ball off the first base bag. Not the best but not the worst either. Hideki Okajima came in and retired Wieters on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning with the O's up 4-1.
Gonzalez tried to start a rally in the top of the eighth with a double to left but Youkilis popped up to first and Ortiz went down hacking. Lowrie whiffed to end the inning. Matt Alberts came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Andino walked to start. Roberts and Markakis both flied out to left and Lee struck out swinging to end the inning.
Kevin Gregg came in to close out the top of the ninth and Drew grounded out to second to start. Crawford struck out swinging and Marco Scutaro pinch hit for Varitek. Scutaro flied out to right to end the game. The O's had won it 4-1.
Jackass of the Night is Jed Lowrie. He was 0 for 4 with a crucial strikeout in the eighth with a man on.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
David Ortiz was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Jason Varitek was 1 for 3.
Hideki Okajima retired the only man he faced.
Matt Albers pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Carl Crawford was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Marco Scutaro flied out as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4.
Adrian Gonzalez was just 1 for 4.
Kevin Youkilis was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
JD Drew was just 1 for 4.
Clay Buchholz took the loss but allowed 4 small ball runs in 6 2/3 innings. He allowed 12 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5.
Final Thoughts:
Much like the Bruins losing tonight on two 5 on 3 powerplay goals. the O's nickel and dimed the Red Sox all night. 3 sac flies and a fluke single off the first base bag was all the offense the O's needed. The Sox couldn't get anything done offensively against Britton or the bullpen despite numerous chances. Its like the Sox reverted to their opening weekend ways of getting guys on base but can't drive them in. It wasn't like the O's bullpen is indomitable either. Buchholz didn't even pitch that bad either, just a LOT of small ball by Baltimore won this game. Still, tip your cap to the O's for a job well done and hope the Sox can come back tomorrow with anger and aggression. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow against the O's when Josh Beckett (3-1) takes the hill opposite Jeremy Guthrie of the O's. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Camden Yards.
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