The Red Sox were blown out by the Orioles at Fenway Park on Monday night. Playing in front of 24,809 to close out Memorial Day, Boston fell to Baltimore by a final score of 10-0 to drop to 23-26 on the season.
Rich Hill, making his ninth start of the year for the Sox, got roughed up for six earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over four-plus innings of work.
The veteran left-hander plunked the very first batter he faced — Austin Hays — in the first inning before giving up an RBI triple to Trey Mancini. Ryan Mountcastle followed by crushing a solo shot to left-center field that gave the O’s an early 2-0 lead.
Fast forward to the third, Hill yielded a one-out single to Mountcastle and a two-run home run to Ramon Urias two batters later. In the fifth, Hill allowed both Mancini and Mountcastle to reach base on a walk and ground-rule double, which put runners at second and third for Anthony Santander.
At that moment, Red Sox manager Alex Cora gave Hill the hook in favor of Hirokazu Sawamura. The 42-year-old southpaw wound up throwing 92 pitches (59 strikes) while seeing his ERA on the season inflate to 4.85. Sawamura, meanwhile, allowed both runners he inherited to score in the fifth before retiring the side in order in the sixth.
Already up six runs, the Orioles added a seventh in their half of the seventh off Ryan Brasier when Hays scored on a Mountcastle double play. Brasier then stranded two base runners in the eighth to make way in the ninth for Matt Barnes, who served up a booming three-run homer to Santander that gave Baltimore a commanding 10-0 lead.
On the other side of things, the Sox lineup was held in check by Orioles starter Tyler Wells. Trevor Story and Xander Bogaerts were the only two who managed hits off the right-hander. Otherwise, Boston mustered a total of four hits while going 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and leaving five runners on base as a team.
With the loss, the Red Sox have dropped four of their last seven games since winning six straight. They have lost a series for the first time May 11 and are now 7-14 when playing American League East opponents.
Next up: Reds vs. Red Sox
The Red Sox will welcome the Reds into town for the first time in eight years for a quick two-game interleague series that begins Tuesday night. In the opener, it will be right-hander Michael Wacha getting the ball for Boston and fellow righty Luis Castillo doing the same for Cincinnati.
First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.
(Picture of Rich Hill: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
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