As for the game, what a disaster. Once again the Boston Red Sox got a bad start from Chris Sale (1-2, 8.22 ERA) who was tipping his pitches against the Baltimore Orioles. The O's didn't miss against Sale and Chris did not record a strikeout in five innings. The Sox broke out to a 4-0 lead after 3 innings on Dean Kremer but Dean and the Baltimore bullpen allowed just one hit and two walks after that. The O's scored a run in the third, three in the fourth and one in the fifth to take command. The Sox had trouble with the umpires all night as both Hitting Coach Pete Fatse and Manager Alex Cora were both ejected as the O's beat the Sox 5-4 at Camden Yards.
Kremer got the ball in the top of the first inning and Alex Verdugo was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to start. Rafael Devers took strike three and Justin Turner went down hacking to end the inning. Sale got the ball in the bottom of the first and Austin Hays grounded out to short to start. Adley Rutschman flied out to left and Ryan Mountcastle grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second inning as Masataka Yoshida got a base hit to center to start. Kike Hernandez grounded into a double play but Triston Casas belted his third home run of the season to put the Sox ahead. Jarren Duran grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Anthony Santander flied out to center to start the top of the third before Ramon Urias drew a walk. James McCann flied out to center and Urias was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the third as Connor Wong drew a walk to start. Wong moved to second on the grounder to short by Yu Chang and Verdugo singled him home. Devers then blasted his 9th home run of the season to increase the lead. Turner flied out to center but Yoshida ripped a base hit to center. Hernandez popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.
The O's began their comeback in the bottom of the third as Cedric Mullins doubled to left to start. Jorge Mateo lined out to right but Adam Frazier singled to left to score Mullins. Hays grounded into a double play to end the inning but it was 4-1 Sox.
Kremer turned up the heat in the top of the fourth as Casas took strike three to start. Duran and Wong both struck out swinging to end the inning. The O's pounded Sale in the bottom of the fourth as Rutschman flied out to center to start. Mountcastle singled to left, Santander doubled to center and Urias scored both runners with a double to center. McCann ripped a base hit to right to score Urias with the tying run. Mullins grounded into a double play to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the fifth as Chang flied out to right to start. Verdugo lined out to left and Devers grounded out to first to end the inning. The O's completed the comeback in the bottom of the fifth as Mateo doubled to left to start. Mateo moved to third on the Frazier grounder to first but Hays singled to left to score Mateo, putting the O's up for good. Rutchsman singled to right to move Hays to third but Mountcastle hit into a double play to end the inning with the O's up 5-4. Sale gave up a hit to all 9 men in the lineup and left the game after 5 innings and 4 runs allowed.
The O's got a little help from the umpires in the top of the sixth as Turner singled to left to start. Yoshida got a base hit to left but Turner was foolishly thrown out at third. Home plate umpire Junior Valentine called a a pitch to Hernandez not even close a strike and Red Sox hitting coach Peter Fatse ran out of the dugout with a bat, chasing Valentine with it until he was ejected. Hernandez flied out to right to chase Kremer as Keegan Akin came in to pitch to Casas. Casas grounded out to second to end the inning.
Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Santander popped up to third to start. Urias grounded out to third and McCann grounded out to third as well to end the inning.
Bryan Baker came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Duran struck out swinging to start. Wong walked but everything fell apart as Wong was thrown out at second and Chang keeled over clutching his hand. Chang had to be carried out on a stretcher, loaded onto an ambulance and rushed to the local ICU as Christian Arroyo took his spot. Arroyo struck out swinging to end the inning. Not what the Sox needed, another injury.
Brennan Bernardino made his Sox debut in the bottom of the seventh and Mullins greeted him with a seeing eye single to short. Mateo lined out to right but Frazier forced Mullins at second. Hays got a base hit to right to move Frazier to third but Rutschman flied out to right to end the inning.
Danny Coulumbe came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Verdugo grounded out to first to start. Devers struck out swinging and Turner flied out to right to end the inning. Mountcastle got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the eighth but Santander banged into a double play. Urias got a base hit to right but McCann flied out to right to end the inning.
Ryan McKenna took over in right to start the top of the ninth and Yoshida walked to chase Coulumbe. Yennier Cano came in to face Hernandez and Raimel Tapia pinch ran for Yoshida. Tapia took second on a balk and Hernandez was rung up on yet another borderline call. Casas struck out swinging and third base umpire Quinn Wolcott tossed Cora for barking at the umpires. Cora ran out of the dugout with a sickle and chased Wolcott into the bleachers but Duran lined out to third to end the game. The O's had won it 5-4.
Jackass of the Night is Chris Sale. He was handed a 4 run lead and pissed it away, allowing 5 runs in 5 innings while tipping his pitches to the point of striking out zero batters.
The Good:
Masataka Yoshida was 3 for 3 with a walk.
Connor Wong walked twice and scored a run.
Ryan Brasier tossed a scoreless sixth inning.
Brennan Bernardino tossed 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Yu Chang was 0 for 2
Christian Arroyo struck out for Chang in the 7th.
The Ugly:
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but the one hit was a 2 run home run.
Justin Turner was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Triston Casas was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but the one hit was a home run.
Honorable Mention:
Raimel Tapia pinch ran for Yoshida in the ninth inning.
Final Thoughts:
This was one of the most frustrating games of the season in yet another winnable game. Cora was asleep at the wheel by letting Sale pitch the fifth inning when it was clear he was tipping and why in the holy blue hell didn't he have Hernandez bunt Tapia to third after the balk was called? The umpiring was giving questionable calls the Baltimore all night but that's not even close to the problem of Sale tipping. If he doesn't fix himself, how many other teams are going to tee off on him? Even on bad days he gets a a lot of strikeouts but the O's knew exactly when to swing and when to lay off. If Yu Chang is hurt for a significant amount of time, we may see Enmanuel Valdez or Bobby Dalbec back up here by tomorrow. The Sox have way too many injuries early in the season but better now than in July. Bernardino and Brasier have to be given credit not only for holding the fort but saving the rest of the arms for tomorrow when its most likely they'll be needed. The less said of this disaster, the better. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow evening when Corey Kluber (0-4, 8.50 ERA) looks to get out of his funk as he takes on Kyle Bradish of Baltimore. The game begins at 6:35 PM at Camden Yards.
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