Thursday was a night of missed chances for the Orioles, both within their one-game visit to Fenway Park and what the matchup meant to the playoff race they surprisingly find themselves in.
In a 4-3 defeat to the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore wasted several scoring opportunities and missed the chance to gain ground in the postseason picture on a day many of its tightest competitors were dormant.
“Losing sucks either way,” starting pitcher Dean Kremer said. “To take an L, it sucks.”
A victory would have given the Orioles (58-53) sole possession of the American League’s third wild-card spot, having entered the day tied with the Tampa Bay Rays. Instead, they not only lost to a Boston team trying to make its way back into the playoff mix, but also dropped half a game of ground to the current three wild-card teams: the Toronto Blue Jays, the Seattle Mariners and the Rays.
The Orioles went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, with the hits coming consecutively in a three-run sixth, while Eric Hosmer’s sixth-inning RBI double off Nick Vespi, who inherited a runner from Kremer, proved to be decisive.
Thursday’s singular game in Boston marks the start of a seven-game road trip during which the Orioles will play three-game series against Tampa Bay and Toronto. This game was originally scheduled for the first week of the season but was reshuffled after the Major League Baseball lockout postponed each team’s first two series. With the victory, Boston (54-58) technically earned its first series win of the year against an AL East foe, having previously been 0-11-1.
“Losing’s not fun, never is,” rookie designated hitter Terrin Vavra said. “But especially when you’re in this situation, obviously, we want to go out and win every night. But the reality of it, that’s not going to happen. What we can do now is just focus on tomorrow and putting our best foot forward.”
RISP, but no reward
Baltimore fell behind early Thursday, with the Red Sox hitting Kremer hard in the first few innings as Boston built a 3-0 lead after three. The Orioles put runners on the corners in the top of the first, but Vavra struck out looking on three called strikes, including at least two off the plate inside. In effect, he was hampered by showing the awareness of the strike zone the Orioles pride themselves on organizationally.
“I think I could have done a better job of making that adjustment and realizing he was going to be calling that pitch,” Vavra said. “But at the same time, I’m gonna stick to what has gotten me here, and I think that gives me the best opportunity.”
Vavra singled in the fourth to put two on for Austin Hays, who then grounded into an inning-ending double play. As the Orioles struggled offensively, Kremer settled in, retiring nine of 10 Red Sox to get through the fifth. Of the 16 balls put in play off Kremer, 11 left Boston’s bat at 95 mph or more, Baseball Savant’s benchmark for hard-hit contact.
“I thought he was good after he gave up three runs,” Hyde said. “After he got hit a little bit with the cutter, he kind of started pitching and mixing more and was more aggressive.”
That gave the Orioles the chance to break through in the sixth. Cedric Mullins singled to open the frame, improving his August batting average to .343. Rookie sensation Adley Rutschman then drew a walk, becoming the first Oriole with 11 free passes in a seven-game span since Brady Anderson in 2000.
After neither Anthony Santander nor Ryan Mountcastle came through, Vavra lashed a two-run triple down the right field line. In his first 10 plate appearances with a runner in scoring position, Vavra is hitting .625 with a 1.600 OPS. He then scored the tying run when Hays reached on an infield single.
“Anytime you’re up with runners on, you want to do your best to get them across the plate,” Vavra said. “It’s something I take pride in, just trying to do a job when I can. This game is not easy. It’s not going to happen every time, and that makes those moments a little bit more special.”
Kremer came back out for the sixth and retired the first two Red Sox, with a two-out walk leaving him shy of a quality start. Hyde turned to Vespi for a left-on-left matchup with Hosmer, who drilled an elevated 1-2 slider to right-center. Vespi has allowed a batting line of .314/.375/543 to same-handed hitters during his major league stints.
Baltimore went about trying to tie the score, but to little avail. Jorge Mateo singled in the top of the seventh and stole his AL-leading 27th base, one off the major league lead, but was left at third base when Rutschman struck out looking. Eight of the final nine Orioles were retired, with Ramón Urías’ two-out single in the ninth going for naught when Mateo struck out.
“We had a really nice rally to come back down three, Vavra with a huge hit for us there, and we didn’t score after that,” Hyde said. “Just not enough offense tonight.”
Around the horn
>> Originally scheduled to start Thursday’s game before Wednesday’s rainout, Austin Voth will instead open Friday’s series opener against the Rays. The Orioles have listed their starters for Saturday and Sunday as TBA. Spenser Watkins and Jordan Lyles would be on turn to pitch.
ORIOLES@RAYS
Friday, 7:10 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
