BALTIMORE — This is how badly things are going for the Boston Red Sox: Two singles and a liner to the gap in right-center turns into a 1-2-3 inning for the opposition.
The Baltimore Orioles put on a dazzling defensive display Wednesday night in a 5-2 victory over the Red Sox, whose struggles this season could be summed up nicely during an unfortunate second inning.
Xander Bogaerts hit a liner off the center-field wall that Adam Jones snagged with his bare hand before throwing out the runner at second base. Pablo Sandoval followed with a single to left and was thrown out at second by Travis Snider. Jones then made a fine running catch of a liner by Mookie Betts.
Three up, three down the hard way.
“They did a great job defensively,” Boston manager John Farrell conceded. “They cut down a couple of guys at second base, but still, any time we mounted a little bit of an offensive threat, they answered right back.”
The Red Sox scored their runs in the third and sixth innings. Each time, Baltimore responded in the bottom half.
Most notably, after Boston closed to 3-2, the Orioles chased Red Sox starter Rick Porcello with a two-run outburst that essentially decided the issue.
“To me the entire game came down to the sixth inning,” Porcello said. “We got a run to cut (the deficit) down to one, then I couldn’t put up a zero.”
Dustin Pedroia had two hits and scored twice for the last-place Red Sox, who have lost nine of their last 10 road games.
Porcello (4-6) gave up five runs and 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings in losing his fourth straight start. In three appearances against Baltimore this year, he’s 0-2 with a 9.37 ERA.
J.J. Hardy had two RBIs for the Orioles, who will attempt to complete a three-game sweep on Thursday night. Baltimore is 6-3 against Boston this season, 4-1 at home.
Wei-Yin Chen (2-4) allowed two runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. The left-hander had only one win in his 11 previous starts despite carrying a solid 3.18 ERA.
In this one, the Baltimore defense gave him all the backing he needed. Not only did Jones shine in the second inning, but he also made an outstanding diving catch in the fifth to again rob Betts.
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