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Archives for July 20, 2026

14-Carat Gold for Red Sox

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By TERRY LYONS

FENWAY – The red hot Boston Red Sox defeated the orange hot Baltimore Orioles, 6-5, in a sloppy but exciting game before a sell-out crowd of 37,659 crazy fans (about 5,000 from the Charm City) on an absolutely gorgeous night at Fenway Park.

Boston came into the game, winners of a lucky 13 straight games. Baltimore travelled to Boston from Houston where they swept the Astros and had a season-high seven game winning streak of their own.

Something had to give.

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A partial final line score might tell the story as Baltimore scored five runs on 11 hits but committed four errors and left eight runners on base. Meanwhile, the Red Sox scored six runs on 10 hits, but committed no errors and left only four on base. The game was sloppy and it see-sawed back and forth all night long.

Baltimore went up 1-0 in the top of the first.

The Sox tied it at 1-1 with a Jarren Duran sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Willson Contreras who had a lead-off single.

Boston went up, 3-1, in the third, after Baltimore committed two errors and Ceddanne Rafaela scored on a Wilyer Abreu double to left.

Baltimore cut the lead to 3-2 in the fifth with an unlikely Christian Encarnation-Strand home run. For a .200 hitter, (we’ll call him Smith) has recorded two home runs and recorded multiple hits in two of his last five major league games. Tonight, the Orioles third baseman as=went 2-for-3, with a run scored, a homer and two RBI. Not bad for a guy who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk last Thursday.

The Orioles took the baton and scored two runs in the top of the sixth, cracking four hits with Jeremiah Jackson and (Smith) providing the RBI singles which knocked Boston starter Payton Tolle out of the game after 5.2 IP, giving up eight hits and four runs while walking one and striking out nine Orioles. Back and forth it was, and Boston tied it at four-all in the bottom of the sixth. It went to 5-5 at the end of the seventh inning.

Ping pong, see-saw, back-and-forth – call it what you want.

The game changer was in the bottom of the eighth inning with Baltimore reliever Tyler Wells on the mound.

Wells struck out the first two batters he faced, sending hot hitting Willson Contreras and DH Masataka Yoshida packing.

Batter-up for Caleb Durbin, the guy who soaked in some coaching from his Waltham, Mass batting advisor and has hit safely in 30 of 43 games, coming into tonight. Durbin also stroked a .305 batting average since his advisor struck gold back on May 28th. His 19 extra base hits and 14 multi-hit games add to his magical turn-around mid-season, But, when Durbin walked to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, he was O’s-for-3 with two fly-outs to right and a ground-out to short.

Call it hitting safely in 31 of 44 games as Durbin took a 1-0, 90 mph cutter and parked it over the famed Green Monster and across to Landsdowne Street which abuts the left field wall. It was Durbin’s 10th home run of the season and it gave Boston a 6-5 lead with ace closer Aroldis Chapman entering the game from his right field bullpen briar patch. Chapman, the American League’s all-star closer last week in Philadelphia, took the mound with 21 saves under his belt and the title of Major League Baseball’s all-time strikeout leader among relievers (1,367).

The drama unfolded, of course, as every game at Fenway Park seems to create a high stress level, even thought the Red Sox have been winning and were coming off a four game sweep of the AL East division leading Tampa Bay Rays.

Here’s the way it went down:

Chapman walked the lead-off hitter, pinch hitter Colton Cowser. With a man on first, Chapman – facing the top of the order – proceeded to strike-out Baltimore’s Taylor Ward and slugger Pete Alonso.

Orioles shortstop, Gunnar Henderson, was next and he doubled to left, but Cowser could only advance as far as third base.

Second and third, two men out, Chapman pitching to right fielder Tyler O’Neill.

Who will be the star of the game?

Durbin?

Chapman?

Or, O’Neill?

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How about the least likely player to earn that game-winning star honor, Boston shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng who moved quickly to his right and grabbed a rocket line-drive off O’Neill’s bat to end the game on what would’ve surely been a two-run single, a 7-6 lead, and a blown save for Chapman.

Instead, Chapman earned his 22nd save of the season, Garrett Whitlock was credited with the win for his one inning of shut-out pitching in the eighth.

Baltimore’s Wells took the tough loss.

The Orioles’ winning streak ended at seven, while Boston’s incredible turn-around and winning streak continue to the tune of 14 wins in a row, dating back to July 3rd. In their last 21 games, Boston is 19-2. They’re a major league best of 22-5 (.815) in their last 27 games, dating back to June 19th.

Boston is now 51-48 (.515) and trail the division-leading Rays by only six games. On July 2, Boston was 37-48, 14.5 games back of Tampa and mired in last place in the division.  They’ve swept the LA Angels, the Chicago White Sox, the lowly New York Mets and four important games from Tampa. While July 20 is far to early to be scoreboard watching, the Red Sox are one game away from tying the franchise record of a 15-game winning streak (April 25-May 10, 1946).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orioles in Town to Test Hot Sox

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FENWAY – (Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox started their 13-game win streak on the road before the MLB All-Star break, but home cooking has helped to fuel it.

After completing a four-game sweep of the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox look to keep the good times rolling when they welcome the Baltimore Orioles — who have won seven in a row themselves — into Boston for the start of a three-game series on Monday night.

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“I feel like we’ve flipped the script,” Boston third baseman Caleb Durbin said.

The current heater has Boston two games above the .500 mark for the first time since a win on Opening Day. Now the team is two games short of the club record of 15 straight set in 1946.

“You’re winning games against clubs that have a chance to be in the playoffs. That’s important,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “It’s important that we’re playing this way out of the All-Star break. It’s important that we’re doing it at home. All those things matter.”

Another thing that matters? The return of Willson Contreras.

Contreras’ two-run homer in the fifth inning on Sunday gave the Red Sox a 6-1 lead, which proved to be the final score, in support of another quality start from Sonny Gray. It was the first baseman’s second round-tripper in three games since returning from a suspension and his fourth in seven games since July 4.

The Red Sox hand the ball to Payton Tolle (5-6, 3.11 ERA) for his first start since the All-Star break after being limited to 3 2/3 innings last Sunday against the New York Mets in an effort to manage his workload. The 23-year-old was still effective, striking out seven and allowing just one run on three hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Another thing that matters? The return of Willson Contreras.

Contreras’ two-run homer in the fifth inning on Sunday gave the Red Sox a 6-1 lead, which proved to be the final score, in support of another quality start from Sonny Gray. It was the first baseman’s second round-tripper in three games since returning from a suspension and his fourth in seven games since July 4.

The Red Sox hand the ball to Payton Tolle (5-6, 3.11 ERA) for his first start since the All-Star break after being limited to 3 2/3 innings last Sunday against the New York Mets in an effort to manage his workload. The 23-year-old was still effective, striking out seven and allowing just one run on three hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Tolle has allowed just one run or fewer in three of his last four starts, while one of his three shutout performances this season came in his first career start against Baltimore on June 3, as he limited the Orioles to seven hits over six innings and struck out five.

Though the Orioles remain two games below .500 (49-51) on the season, they continued their winning ways with a 5-2 Sunday triumph and a three-game road sweep over the Houston Astros.

Baltimore managed just six hits, including a pair from Dylan Beavers, but seven walks and four hit batters helped set its offense in motion. Gunnar Henderson’s steal of home on a double steal also highlighted the effort.

“(Our offense just wants to) continue to put pressure on defenses,” Henderson said. “If you do that over the course of nine innings, you’re bound to break through.”

The Orioles did just that in the fifth, thanks to a two-run single by Leody Taveras.

As his team arrives in Boston, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz will be watching the status of catcher Samuel Basallo, who exited Sunday’s game with right shoulder discomfort during an at-bat in the second inning.

“It’s been a lingering thing, and obviously, he just aggravated it,” said Albernaz, who also noted that All-Star Adley Rutschman was experiencing left discomfort before the game.

Baltimore looks to continue its recent momentum with Shane Baz (4-9, 4.19) on the mound, searching for his first win since June 12. The righty has fanned nine batters in two of his five outings since then, including a 4 2/3-inning start last Sunday against the Kansas City Royals.

The rotation initially had Kyle Bradish scheduled to make the Monday start before he was pushed back a day. Bradish signed a five-year contract extension on Saturday, becoming the highest-paid pitcher in Orioles history.

Baz is 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA in six career starts against the Red Sox. He was a winner in Boston in that June 2 outing, pitching seven innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts.

–Field Level Media