Aaron Cook is set to make his Red Sox debut in Fenway Park as Boston takes on the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of their three-game series.
We'll keep you up-to-date on all the action as it goes down in Fenway.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 2, Final -- And the Red Sox fall to 11-15.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 2, Mid 9th -- Scott Atchison makes it three scoreless innings. My question: why is it that the Sox bullpen can record scoreless innings when the game is in no way on the line, but not otherwise?
Orioles 8, Red Sox 2, End 8th -- The Red Sox threaten with a Dustin Pedroia double and Adrian Gonzalez single, but can't bring any home to score, leaving this a 6-run gave headed to the ninth.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 2, Mid 8th -- Scott Atchison walks Wilson Betemit with two down in the eighth, but battles back to strike out Mark Reynolds and keep the Orioles at their eight.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 2, End 7th -- Runs! Two of them! Adrian Gonzalez singles with one out in the inning and then scores on a double from Ryan Sweeney, who makes his way home when Cody Ross drops a blood single to right. This game still seems out of hand, but at least it's no shutout.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 0, Mid 7th -- Scott Atchison makes a good show of things in the seventh, taking over for Clayton Mortensen with a 1-2-3 inning. But for the unfortunate injury to Aaron Cook and his subsequent collapse, this may be a very different game.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 0, End 6th -- Oh, hey, another 1-2-3 inning with Nick Punto striking out. Somehow this is not the most surprising thing to ever happen.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 0, Mid 6th -- Not nearly so impressive an inning for Mortensen, who allows a double and records no strikeouts, but when it's his third scoreless frame since allowing the homer, that kind of outweighs the other considerations.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 0, End 5th -- The Red Sox aren't hitting, but credit the Orioles' defense, they're a big part of that too. The Sox seem to have way more than their fair share of line drive outs in this series, with Robert Andino's sharp reflexes leaving Ryan Sweeney the latest victim.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 0, Mid 5th -- Another inning, another two strikeouts for Clayton Mortensen. Who saw this coming? Apparently Ben Cherington. That Scutaro trade is starting to look might good.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 0, End 4th -- David Ortiz finally gives the Sox another baserunner with a leadoff walk. Then Adrian Gonzalez looks awful striking out and Mike Aviles grounds into a double play. No signs of life here.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 0, Mid 4th -- Clayton Mortensen recovers nicely with a 1-2-3 fourth, striking out two batters in the process which, you might remember, is the sort of thing he has done in his limited time with the Sox.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 0, End 3rd -- More futility from the Boston lineup. 1-2-3 go Byrd, Punto, and Pedroia. It's 2:15 and this game is already over.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 0, Mid 3rd -- Aaron Cook's first start for the Sox has gone horribly awry, and it's hard to imagine it's not got something to do with the canyon that was dug into his knee by the spike of Chris Davis. A wise if perhaps a bit unsportsmanlike bunt from Endy Chavez gave the Orioles a one-out baserunner, and a walk to J.J. Hardy made it two. No longer able to place the ball in the bottom of the zone as he had at the start of the game, Cook would let a run come in on a line drive single, and then saw three more score on an Adam Jones homer. Three more hits would come before he was mercifully removed from the game for Clayton Mortensen...who proceeded to offer up another homer to Mark Reynolds, leaving the score at an untouchable 8-0.
Orioles 1, Red Sox 0, End 2nd -- The Sox lineup can't match the intensity of their starter, going down 1-2-3 in a quiet second inning.
Orioles 1, Red Sox 0, Mid 2nd -- The Orioles have their first run of the game, but Aaron Cook is absolutely the hero of the inning. After getting the first two Baltimore batters out, Cook surrendered a pair of singles through the air, putting runners on the corners. That's when things got disgusting. A passed ball from Jarrod Saltalamacchia saw the runner come home from third, and Aaron Cook meet him at the plate, with the ball arriving just too late to keep the run out.
(Graphic description to follow, for those weak of stomach)
Unfortunately for Cook, Davis had gotten all of his knee with his spikes. With the trainer visiting home plate, we were treated to a terrible peek at the inner workings of Cook's knee, with a flap of skin having been pulled down by Davis' cleats.
Amazingly enough, after a quick trip to the clubhouse, Cook returned to the mound to record the final out, and seems set to stay in the game, blood-stained pants and all.
Orioles 0, Red Sox 0, End 1st -- Dustin Pedroia provides the first hit of the game--a dribbler down the third base line that Mark Reynolds simply gives up on, allowing the second baseman to reach after Nick Punto struck out to start the inning. David Ortiz would also go down by way of the K, but Adrian Gonzalez moved Pedroia to third with a double, giving Mike Aviles a shot for the RBI. The shortstop would give it a run, hitting a ground ball up the middle, but Robert Andino (who else) made the ranging play for the out.
Orioles 0, Red Sox 0, Mid 1st -- So far, Aaron Cook is exactly as advertised--almost ridiculously so. Throwing exclusively his sinker, Cook induced three straight ground balls from the top of the Orioles' lineup, requiring just nine pitches to retire the side. It's a very encouraging start for the Sox on a day when they could really use some innings to help aid their bullpen after the thirteen-inning marathon on Friday.