Buchholz took the mound in the top of the first inning and Alejandro De Aza flied out to center to begin the game. Steve Pearce singled to left but Chris Davis struck out swinging. Adam Jones singled to right but Jimmy Paredes grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning. Clay didn't throw a lot of pitches but guys got on base, that trend would continue the whole game. O's starter Chris Tillman had no such struggle against an impotent Red Sox lineup. Brock Holt let the bottom of the first off and struck out swinging. Dustin Pedroia grounded out to second and David Ortiz was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single into a double to end the inning.
Manny Machado grounded out to third to start the top of the second and Caleb Joseph struck out swinging. Ryan Flaherty singled to center but Everth Cabrera grounded out to second to end the inning. Hanley Ramirez grounded out to second to begin the bottom of the second, Pablo Sandoval flied out to left and Mike Napoli grounded out to short to end the inning..
De Aza grounded out to second to begin the top of the third. Pearce and Davis both struck out swinging to end the inning. Daniel Nava grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third but Xander Bogaerts walked. Ryan Hanigan struck out looking but Holt singled Bogaerts to third. With a chance to put the Sox on top, Pedroia grounded out to third to end the inning.
Could the Sox answer? Ortiz singled to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch to start the bottom of the 4th. That was it as Ramirez struck out swinging, Sandoval grounded out to short and Napoli flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox failed to capitalize in the bottom of the fifth as Nava struck out looking to begin. Bogaerts flied out to right but Hanigan walked. Holt singled to center and with the tying run at first....Pedroia struck out swinging to end the inning.
Buchholz finished his outing with a flourish in the top of the sixth. Cabrera flied out to left, De Aza grounded out to second and Pearce flied out to center to end the inning. Buchholz had given up 11 hits but only allowed one walk and 2 runs in 6 innings, normally that would be enough for a win.
The Sox finally struck back in the bottom of the sixth. Ortiz doubled to right and moved to third on a Ramirez ground out. Tillman then chucked a routine grounder away to allow Sandoval to reach first and Ortiz to score. Napoli singled to left to put the tying run at second and chase Tillman. Brad Brach relieved Tillman and killed the rally by getting Nava to ground into a double play to end the inning. All that and the Sox still trailed 2-1.
Alexi Ogando pitched the top of the seventh and struck out Davis swinging to start. Jones grounded back to the mound and Paredes grounded out to first to end the inning and keep the Sox in the game. Bogarts lined out to center to start the bottom of the seventh and Hanigan struck out looking. Holt singled. Holt beat out an infield single to first and stole second. With the tying run at second.....Pedroia struck out swinging to end the inning.
Anthony Varvaro took over for Ogando in the top of the eighth and Machado walked to start. Machado was erased on the failed bunt by Joseph. Flaherty lined out to right and Cabrera grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning. Darren O'Day relieved Brach and walked Ortiz to begin the bottom of the eighth. Mookie Betts pinch ran for Ortiz but it didn't do a lick of good as Ramirez banged into a double play. Sandoval struck out swinging to end the inning.
The O's put the game away in the top of the 9th against Robbie Ross Jr. De Aza was thrown out on a bunt attempt but Pearce singled to left. Davis then launched a home run into the monster seats to ice the game. Jones flied out to center and Paredes flied out to right to end the inning with the O's up 4-1. The Sox gave up Anthony Ranaudo for this??
Zach Britton came on to pitch the bottom of the 9th while David Lough was brought in to right field and Pearce replaced Davis at first. Napoli grounded back to the mound Allen Craig pinch hit for Nava and struck out looking. Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the game. The O's had won it 4-1.
Jackass of the Night is a tough one but I have to go with Dustin Pedroia. He was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in key spots when the game was in reach.
The Good:
Brock Holt was 3 for 4 with a stolen base.
David Ortiz was 3 for 3 with a walk
Alexi Ogando pitched a scoreless seventh inning
Anthony Varvaro pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and wasn't charged with an error, but he should have been.
Daniel Nava was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Robbie Ross Jr let the game get out of hand by allowing the two run bomb to Chris Davis in the top of the 9th.
Allen Craig struck out in his pinch hit appearance.
The Ugly
Clay Buchholz pitched reasonably well, only allowing two runs and a walk in 6 innings. Only problem was the ELEVEN hits allowed.
Pablo Sandoval was 0 for 4 but Tillman's error apparently was enough to give him an rbi.
Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Ryan Hanigan was 0 for 2 with a walk.
Honorable Mention:
Mookie Betts pinch ran for Ortiz but was erased on a double-play.
Final Thoughts:
For the first 10 games of this season, the Sox looked more like the 2013 team. They looked more like last year's bunch in this game. The Sox left men on base, banged into double plays, the bullpen failed to keep them in the game and they couldn't hit an ace starter in Tillman. It was the first time all year the Sox offense was completely shut down. At least Buchholz battled in this one and if the Sox had any kind of an offense, they could have pulled it out. Its early in the season but these are the losses that plagued the Sox last year, can't drop too many winnable games with a team like the Orioles. The Sox look to right the ship tomorrow afternoon in the third game of the series when Rick Porcello goes up against Miguel Gonzalez at 1:30 PM at Fenway Park.
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