It's only one game...one loss. Put it behind you; forget about it; move on to the next game. At least that's what they say...and the ones that say it are always the losers.
The Orioles somehow managed to squander a 6-0 lead and fall to the Red Sox 8-7 at Fenway Park on Monday night.
Chris Tillman pitched five scoreless innings, and the O's backed him up with six runs in what seemed to be a sure win...until the bullpen showed up. Tillman was pulled after just 88 pitches, and we all were wondering exactly why he didn't come out to start the sixth, but after the game it was revealed that Tillman woke up with back stiffness and felt it stiffen up again during the fifth inning.
Tillman, fighting to stay in the rotation, allowed only five hits and three walks while striking out two in a gutsy performance in front of a rowdy Boston crowd. It's a shame his teammates couldn't get him the win he deserved...
The bullpen was the worst I've ever seen it this year, and the defense didn't help. Michael Gonzalez came on to start the sixth in what was essentially a "mop-up" game, with the Birds ahead by six and the Sox reeling. Two errors, three pitchers and five runs later, the sixth inning finally came to an end. Gonzalez, Jeremy Accardo and Clay Rapada combined to pitch one frame, allowing five runs (two earned) on five hits (the same amount Boston managed in the five previous innings off Tillman).
Jim Johnson allowed another run to cross the plate in the seventh before Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless eighth. With the O's clinging to a one-run lead, Kevin Gregg managed to record just one out in the ninth before surrendering a game-winning, two-run double to give the Red Sox the walk-off win (both runners were on via the free-pass by Gregg, who blew his third save in ten attempts).
Offensively, the O's looked good early on...the Birds scored twice in the first inning courtesy of a two-run double off the bat of Derrek Lee (Lee left in the third inning with a strained oblique and is day-to-day). The O's had a chance to blow the game wide open but stranded the bases loaded and were unable to score again until the third inning. They tacked on two more in the fifth and another in the sixth to take a commanding lead...or so we thought. Mark Reynolds led-off the seventh with a solo homer, but it just wasn't enough...
The Red Sox (21-20) are over .500 for the first time this season. The Orioles (19-21) missed out on their chance to get back to .500. The O's are back in the cellar in the AL East.
I know it was just one game, but it was a big one. The Orioles now send rookie Zach Britton to the mound with the hope of evening the two-game series. If nothing else, Britton should aim to go nine innings...
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