BOSTON — Rick Porcello was the exception this weekend. Red Sox starting pitchers throwing well was the norm.
It’s a welcome reversal from the first couple turns through the rotation. David Price followed the Friday lead of Eduardo Rodriguez in locking up the Orioles, and Boston is at the doorstep of a first series victory this season.
Xander Bogaerts provided all the offensive support, and it was far more than Price and a pair of relievers needed on a splendid [...]
BOSTON — Rick Porcello was the exception this weekend. Red Sox starting pitchers throwing well was the norm.
It’s a welcome reversal from the first couple turns through the rotation. David Price followed the Friday lead of Eduardo Rodriguez in locking up the Orioles, and Boston is at the doorstep of a first series victory this season.
Xander Bogaerts provided all the offensive support, and it was far more than Price and a pair of relievers needed on a splendid afternoon at Fenway Park. Baltimore was limited to just five hits in a 4-0 shutout, the second blanking authored by Red Sox pitching in as many Sundays.
Bogaerts drove a sacrifice fly to deep center field in the bottom of the fourth and went the same way with a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. Mitch Moreland’s solo shot was the difference in a 1-0 victory at Arizona last weekend, a game in which Hector Velazquez turned in three scoreless frames in a spot start. These were more conventional circumstances, as one of the projected horses in the Boston rotation delivered as expected.
Price required 92 pitches to navigate through seven innings, working out of trouble spots in three of his last four. Joey Rickard reached on a two-base error to lead off the fourth and doubles to left by Richie Martin and Trey Mancini gave the Orioles threats in the sixth and seventh. None of those men reached third base, as Rickard came closest when he was caught stealing with one out.
It was the first scoreless outing of more than three innings by any Red Sox starter this season. Price also authored the last in the clinching Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Astros, firing six shutout innings in a 4-1 victory. The left-hander lowered his earned-run average from a bloated 6.00 to a more respectable 3.79.
The Red Sox were wasteful at the plate in the second, failing to score despite putting the first two men on. It was a different story in the fourth when Steve Pearce singled to right and J.D. Martinez doubled to the corner in left, putting two more in scoring position. Bogaerts sent Cedric Mullins to the edge of the warning track with a deep fly, making it 1-0.
Ryan Brasier stranded Baltimore runners at the corners in the eighth and Boston added to its lead immediately following. Singles by Mookie Betts and Martinez brought up Bogaerts, who crushed a hanging 1-and-1 slider from Josh Lucas to the bleachers in center. It was suddenly a comfortable cushion and the near-sellout crowd of 36,023 fans let out a collective exhale.
Rodriguez fired 6 2/3 strong innings on Friday in a 6-4 victory over Baltimore, making a lone mistake when Dwight Smith Jr. ran into a changeup and rode it out to right field for a two-run homer. The left-hander allowed just three hits and struck out eight against no walks, a nearly identical line to the one posted by Price.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25