Red Sox Rally to Continue Their Mastery Over Orioles
Red Sox 7, Orioles 5
Baltimore Orioles' Ty Wigginton, bottom, slides out at second as Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia throws to first to take out Cesar Izturis, completing a double play in the second inning of a baseball game at Boston's Fenway Park, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
(Steven Senne - AP)
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Thursday, September 10, 2009
BOSTON, Sept. 9 -- The sizable gap between the two teams in proven major league talent is a perfectly acceptable explanation for the Boston Red Sox' recent dominance over the Baltimore Orioles.
But there are more subtle differences as well that fall in the realm of one team finding a way to win and the other, always the Orioles in this matchup, consistently finding ways to lose.
Victor Martínez came off the bench and delivered a bases-loaded clearing double off Danys Baez to break a seventh-inning tie and push the Red Sox to a 7-5 victory over the Orioles in front of an announced 37,712 Wednesday at Fenway Park.
Already leading by a run, the Orioles had the bases loaded and one out in the sixth but couldn't tack on any runs. They then brought the tying run up in the ninth inning, but after giving up a sacrifice fly to Luke Scott, Jonathan Papelbon retired Ty Wigginton to end the game.
"The game came down to two phases -- getting the third out and getting a hit," Orioles Manager Dave Trembley said. "It didn't happen for us. It happened for them."
It was the Orioles' 13th loss to the Red Sox in 15 games this season, and they ended the away portion of their season series against Boston with a 1-8 record at Fenway Park, where they were outscored 59-27 this year. The Orioles are 7-31 in their last 38 games here dating from the 2005 season.
The loss dropped the Orioles to 56-83, which means they'll have to close the season with a 7-16 mark to avoid their first 100-loss season since 1988. That stretch starts Friday at new Yankee Stadium, where the Orioles haven't won in 2009.
Wednesday night's loss marred Brian Roberts becoming just the fourth player in major league history to record three or more 50-double seasons. The other three -- Tris Speaker, Paul Waner and Stan Musial -- are in the Hall of Fame. Roberts's 50th double came off the Green Monster in the fifth inning. He then stole third and scored on Nolan Reimold's sacrifice fly to cut the Orioles' deficit to 3-2 in the fifth inning.
It was also Roberts, who drew a bases-loaded walk to bring home the tying run in the sixth. Félix Pie followed with an RBI single on Ramon Ramírez's first pitch that gave the Orioles their first lead at 4-3.
