The Sports Xchange
Aug 26, 2017
BOSTON -- Tim Beckham's three-run homer capped Baltimore's five-run second inning, Kevin Gausman tossed 7 2/3 scoreless frames with five strikeouts and the Orioles blanked the Boston Red Sox 7-0 Saturday at Fenway Park.
Beckham's homer was his 18th of the season and his sixth since joining the Orioles in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on July 31. Beckham has 42 hits in 24 games since the trade.
Gausman (10-9) got the first two outs of the eighth before being relieved by Richard Bleier. Gausman allowed four hits and three walks on his 117 pitches.
Baltimore (64-65) improved to 9-6 against the Red Sox this season, but still trails American League East-leading Boston (73-56) by nine games in the division standings.
The Red Sox's lead atop the AL East shrunk to 3 1/2 games following the New York Yankees' 6-3 win against the Seattle Mariners.
The Orioles entered the day 2 1/2 games out of the second AL wild-card spot.
Jonathan Schoop added a solo home run for the Orioles, his 28th of the year to tie Manny Machado for the team lead.
It was Schoop's team-leading 95th RBI of the season, establishing a single-season RBI record for an Orioles second baseman. The previous record was 94 by Roberto Alomar in 1996.
Craig Gentry had two RBIs and Mark Trumbo also drove in a run for Baltimore, which scored 23 runs in taking the first two games of the series after a 16-3 blowout win Friday.
Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez (4-4) took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over 6 2/3 frames.
Rodriguez is winless in his last nine starts and has not earned a victory since May 26 against the Mariners.
Mookie Betts (2-for-3) and Mitch Moreland (2-for-3) had the only four hits for Boston.
Baltimore put the game away quickly with its five-run outburst in the second.
Trumbo and Gentry knocked two-out, RBI singles before Beckham unloaded on a 3-2 Rodriguez pitch and sent the ball approximately 394 feet over the Green Monster in left field.
Schoop's solo homer sailed an estimated 414 feet into straightaway center in the eighth.
Gentry's RBI double in the ninth capped the scoring.
NOTES: Boston INF/OF Eduardo Nunez was in the lineup, hitting leadoff and starting at second base, after leaving Friday's game with left wrist/thumb sprains following a second-inning collision with Baltimore 3B Manny Machado at second. ... Red Sox LHP David Price (left elbow inflammation) threw for a second straight day and out to 120 feet on Saturday. ... Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia (left knee inflammation) worked on the field and took batting practice before the game. ... Red Sox CF Jackie Bradley Jr. (left thumb sprain) is improving and was fitted for a small hand brace. ... Orioles SS J.J. Hardy (right wrist fracture) was scheduled to play another rehab game with Triple-A Norfolk. ... Baltimore manager Buck Showalter won his 1,492nd game Friday, moving him into 23rd place on major league baseball's all-time managerial wins list. ... Orioles LHP Wade Miley (7-10, 5.11 ERA) counters Red Sox RHP Doug Fister (3-6, 4.78 ERA) in Sunday's series finale.