The Red Sox are out to even their series up at one game a piece as they take on the Orioles in Camden Yards. We'll keep you up-to-date with all the action as it progresses.
Orioles 5, Red Sox 3, End 8th -- Clay Mortensen strands a pair of baserunners in the eighth to keep the Sox within two runs headed into the ninth.
Orioles 5, Red Sox 3, Mid 8th -- Pedro Strop gets the Red Sox to go in order in the eighth, leaving them with just three outs left. They won't have Adrian Gonzalez around, either, as both he and Bobby Valentine were ejected arguing over an alleged quick-pitch from Strop.
Orioles 5, Red Sox 3, End 7th -- Craig Breslow, who recorded the last out of the sixth, gets a clean inning of work against the top of the Baltimore order.
Orioles 5, Red Sox 3, Mid 7th -- The Sox manage to pull one back in the seventh thanks to a one-out error from J.C. Romero, whose errant throw on a come-backer pulls Mark Reynolds off the bag and allows Nick Punto to reach. A single from Jacoby Ellsbury moves Punto along to third, from where Carl Crawford is able to bring him home with a ground ball.
Orioles 5, Red Sox 2, End 6th -- And in typical Red Sox fashion, everything falls dramatically apart. Aaron Cook goes from a no-hitter to two runs in, giving up a one-out walk and two singles before throwing away the double play ball he so desperately needed well to the left of the second base bag. After a double to Nick Markakis brought home a third run, Cook was finally lifted for Andrew Miller, who got a ground ball to Dustin Pedroia who fired home for the out there, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia absorbing a big hit at the plate. The inning wasn't over yet, however. Bobby V elected to turn to Junichi Tazawa against Mark Reynolds and was rewarded with a rocket double to left and a ground ball that could have resulted in a sixth run were it not for a backhanded play by Mike Aviles to keep it from the outfield.
Red Sox 2, Orioles 0, Mid 6th -- Miguel Gonzalez lives dangerously, giving up a long fly ball to Adrian Gonzalez that just dies on the track in left and a sinking line drive to Cody Ross that Adam Jones makes a nice play on. Jarrod Saltalamacchia does manage to pick up a hit with a flare to right, but Mike Aviles is the third victim of good contact, no results, going down on a line drive of his own to end the threat.
Red Sox 2, Orioles 0, End 5th -- Aaron Cook again gives up a leadoff walk--just the second baserunner of the night for the Orioles--but this time the strikeout and two ground balls that follow all result in clear, clean outs, keeping the Orioles off the board yet again without any controversy.
Red Sox 2, Orioles 0, Mid 5th -- The Sox finally get on the board in the top of the fifth thanks to some set-up play by two unlikely sources. After a pop-up from Mike Aviles, both Scott Podsednik and Nick Punto jump-start the inning by going back up the middle for singles. With two on and one out, Jacoby Ellsbury provided a long fly ball to right-center and, while it didn't get out the way it might have in 2011, the ball did fall into the gap and kick up into the stands before the outfielders can close, allowing one run to come in.
While Carl Crawford's swing on the first pitch he saw could well have provided another hit, possibly even a double with better placement, he hits it right to Adam Jones in center. It is enough, however, for Punto to come home, with Jones throwing all the way to the backstop in his efforts to catch the infielder as he tagged up and scored.
Red Sox 0, Orioles 0, End 4th -- Aaron Cook and the Sox are saved a run thanks to a bad call at first base. After a leadoff walk to Nick Markakis, Cook gets three straight ground balls. The first two are outs, but the third one should have been called an infield single, as Mike Aviles took too long to get the ball to first. Laz Diaz, however, gives the call to the Red Sox, and the tie is preserved.
Red Sox 0, Orioles 0, Mid 4th -- Adrian Gonzalez gets on base this time, but it's with nobody on ahead of him. Cody Ross and Jarrod Saltalamacchia quickly make the next two outs, and it's another scoreless frame for the Sox, who have one run in thirteen innings against the Orioles.
Red Sox 0, Orioles 0, End 3rd -- The second pitch of the inning results in some sharp contact from Mark Reynolds, but the ball goes right to Mike Aviles at short, and the next two batters keep it on the ground for 1-2-3 third that costs Cook just the six pitches.
Red Sox 0, Orioles 0, Mid 3rd -- The Red Sox get some pretty decent contact off of Gonzalez in the third, but it hardly goes according to plan, with both Nick Punto and Carl Crawford's swings resulting on line drives that go right to the man, or hang up just too long to get in for a hit.
Red Sox 0, Orioles 0, End 2nd -- This time Cook doesn't bother with the one fly ball, keeping everything on the ground in the second, and all to the strong right side of the infield in a 1-2-3 inning.
Red Sox 0, Orioles 0, Mid 2nd -- Well, the Sox found a way to stop leaving ridiculous amounts of runners on base: you just don't put them there in the first place. 1-2-3 went the Boston bats in the top of the second, failing to so much as clear the Punto.
Red Sox 0, Orioles 0, End 1st -- Good news early on for Aaron Cook, who gets two ground ball outs in a clean first inning of work. More ground balls means more outs for the sinker specialist.
Red Sox 0, Orioles 0, Mid 1st -- The Sox pick up right where they left off last night. After Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out weakly to first, Carl Crawford worked a walk (a painful one at that, fouling a ball off of his ankle) and Dustin Pedroia singled through the left side of the infield to put runners at the corners with one out. Adrian Gonzalez, however, was up to the same tricks as in Tuesday's game, when he drove in zero runs despite having every opportunity. His fly ball produced the second out of the frame, and with Cody Ross going down on strikes behind him, the Red Sox already have two stranded runners.