Orioles win third straight on pitching, stellar defense
two games isn’t exactly thriving this year.
Chen was facing a Boston lineup that did not include slugger David Ortiz, who is hitting .114 this season against lefties. Ortiz, 39, is one of several accomplished Red Sox hitters who are struggling; heading into Wednesday Boston was ranked 12th of 15 American League teams in runs scored.
And Chen kept that drought going, thanks in part to some tremendous Orioles defense, particularly in the second inning.
Boston’s Xander Bogaerts led off the second by hitting a ball off the wall in center, but Jones made a swift pickup and tremendous throw to shortstop J.J. Hardy to get Bogaerts sliding into second. He was initially called safe, but Showalter challenged the call and it was reversed in 25 seconds.
The next batter, Pablo Sandoval, ripped a pitch into the leftfield corner and tried for a double. He was thrown out by Snider, giving the Orioles a majors-leading 20 outfield assists this year. It was the first time the Orioles had back-to-back outfield assists in one inning since July 18, 2009, when Nick Markakis and Nolan Reimold did it.
“I think you saw everybody in a rhythm,” Snider said. “It’s been something early on we kind of struggled with some new guys and mixing into different positions. But it’s good to see things coming together. Guys have been working hard all year so we can go out and play like that.”
Jones wasn’t done helping Chen. The final batter of the second, Mookie Betts, lined an apparent double to right-center but Jones, a four-time Gold Glove winner, made a leaping grab to end the inning.
Jones robbed Betts of extra bases again in the fifth with a running and diving stab of a sinking liner — one of the better plays of his illustrious career.
“I told him I would have caught that ball standing up, but he didn’t believe me,” Snider joked. “No, getting to play next to Andrew McCutchen [in Pittsburgh] and now Adam Jones, I’m pretty spoiled getting to watch these guys play each night. And he’s just a tremendous ballplayer and that was a tremendous play.”
Later in the inning, third baseman Manny Machado gloved a sharp bouncer and turned an impressive 5-4-3 double play. The Orioles’ trademark defense seems to be coming together again.
“We have been one of the top defensive teams in baseball the last few years,” Jones said. “So it’s of the utmost importance.”
After the game, Jones was pied in the face by Machado — a role reversal because Jones is usually the one who pies his teammates.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jones said. “I enjoy it.”
The Orioles defense showed cracks only in the sixth — and it cost Chen a run.
Through five innings, he had permitted just one run, on a third-inning double by Brock Holt. After allowing a leadoff double to Dustin Pedroia and a single to Holt in the sixth, Chen was replaced by Tommy Hunter.
Hunter recorded a strikeout and then Mike Napoli hit into what should have been an inning-ending double play. Instead, second baseman Ryan Flaherty bounced the throw to first and Chris Davis couldn’t scoop it, enabling Pedroia to score. Hunter then induced another groundout to keep Chen (2-4) in line for the win.
The victory was Chen’s first since May 9 at New York and first at Camden Yards since September. Because he didn’t last six, Chen failed to record the quality start, but he and the Orioles will take the win.
“I’m happy because in the past I didn’t pitch all that well against the Red Sox,” Chen said through an interpreter. “But today with my pitching out there and the great plays my teammates made, we had a win tonight.”
The Orioles offense picked up five runs on 10 hits in 51⁄ innings against Boston’s Rick Porcello (4-6). Hardy drove in two runs with a double and a sacrifice fly, his first multi-RBI game since September.
The Orioles bullpen took over from there; it has allowed just one hit in 82⁄ innings against the Red Sox this week. Hunter and Darren O’Day (second save) each threw two perfect innings while O’Day struck out three in the ninth — just the fifth time in 415 career appearances in which he has fanned the side.