Sept. 11 – Baltimore will host the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday looking to win the series in three deciding games after Cedric Mullins’ stellar performance helped the Orioles take the lead.
The Orioles beat Boston 5-3 on Tuesday and the Kansas City Royals beat the Yankees 5-0 to close the gap to New York to a half-game for first place in the AL East.
One night after the Red Sox won 12-3 in the series opener, Mullins hit two home runs to help Baltimore snap a three-game losing streak. The Orioles (83-63) had scored seven runs in their previous five games and lost four games in that span.
“Cedric has been hitting the ball really well the last couple of weeks and he’s going to be big for us (Tuesday),” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “I’m happy with our offense. We didn’t get enough breaks, but I think we’ve done a better job of pushing the defense, getting walks, and those big hits will start to come more often.”
Mullins hit a home run in the first inning and a two-run shot in the third inning. Both faced Boston starting pitcher Curt Crawford, who hit 31 home runs this season, the most among major league pitchers. It was Mullins’ fifth career multi-homer game.
“I was able to get some good swings on the ball today,” Mullins said. “It was a huge morale booster for the club … and the momentum going into day two was really good.”
The Red Sox (73-72) have 10 losses and fall four games behind the Minnesota Twins in the race for the American League’s final wild-card spot.
Boston head coach Alex Cora admitted he is frustrated with his team’s inconsistent offense. The Red Sox are 8-49 on the season but have scored less than four runs.
“We’re an aggressive club and at one point we were the best offensive team in baseball,” Cora said. “We feel like whenever we face right-handed hitters we have a chance to score a lot, but we haven’t done that in the last month and a half.
“When we warm up, everybody is hitting the ball around, and it just so happens that everybody is struggling at the same time.”
The expected starting pitchers on Wednesday are Baltimore right-hander Dean Kremer (7-9, 4.27 ERA) and Boston right-hander Nick Pivetta (5-10, 4.38).
Kramer pitched six hitless innings in his most recent start — a 2-0 win over Tampa Bay — before Rays rookie Junior Caminero hit a run in the seventh inning. He didn’t retire the next two batters before retiring him. This is Kramer’s first start since Aug. 31, when he was hit in the right forearm by a line drive.
Kramer has made eight career starts against the Red Sox and is 1-1 with a 6.45 ERA. He has not played against Boston yet this year.
Pivetta allowed one run on five hits in six innings in the Red Sox’ 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday, but he didn’t mind the decision. He struck out six and walked three.
Pivetta has started 13 career games against the Orioles and is 8-3 with a 3.33 ERA. On August 15, he lost to Baltimore, allowing three runs on three hits in five innings.
–Visual-level media
