Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – Dustin Pedroia went 2-for-3 with an RBI and
run scored as the Boston Red Sox won a rain-shortened Patriots’ Day affair,
7-1, against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on Monday.
Mookie Betts added a hit and two runs scored for the Red Sox, who salvaged a
split of this four-game set after this game was called following the top of
the seventh.
Ryan Hanigan had a hit, was hit by a pitch twice and scored two runs for
Boston, which has won 11 of their last 16 Patriots’ Day games and ended a
seven-game homestand 4-3.
Boston starting pitcher Justin Masterson (2-0) picked up the win, going just
five innings. The right-hander was charged with one run on three hits,
striking out six and walking three.
Ryan Flaherty went 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Orioles, who had won two
straight against Boston after dropping the series opener.
The Red Sox got going in the first inning thanks to Betts, who led off with a
base hit, stole second, moved to third on a throwing error by catcher Ryan
Lavarnway on the play and scored on a David Ortiz sacrifice fly to right.
Baltimore, though, tied the game in the second after Travis Snyder started the
inning with a triple and scored on Flaherty’s one-out double.
Boston went ahead in the third inning thanks to Baltimore starter Wei-Yin Chen
(0-1) losing the strike zone and a two errors.
After Xander Bogaerts walked and moved to third on Hanigan’s base hit, Chen
committed the first error of the inning, failing to cleanly field a slow
comebacker off the bat of Betts to allow a run to score and Betts to reach
safely.
Two outs later, Chen walked Allen Craig and Mike Napoli to force home
another run. Shane Victorino followed with a grounder to third, that Manny
Machado misplayed into a ground-rule double after a fan touched the ball along
the third base line, allowing two more runs to score to give Boston a 5-1
lead.
Boston added to its lead in the sixth inning when Pedroia doubled home a
run and scored on Craig’s base hit for a six-run cushion.
Chen allowed five unearned runs on three hits, striking out three and walking
five in 4 1/3 innings.
Game Notes
Baltimore’s Adam Jones had a nine-game hitting streak halted … Craig
replaced Hanley Ramirez (illness) in left field in the top of the third …
Betts ended an 0-for-11 skip with his first-inning single … Boston begins
its second road trip of the season Tuesday, playing three games in Tampa Bay
before heading to Baltimore for a three-game weekend set … The Orioles next
travel to Toronto for a three-game set starting Tuesday to end their seven-
game road trip … The Red Sox are 69-51 all-time on Patriots’ Day, with 26
doubleheaders between 1903 and 1966.
