Baltimore @ Boston preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 28, 2013 ) Baltimore 3, Boston 4

The Baltimore Orioles planned to jump back into the American League East race with a strong showing this week. Instead, the Orioles will just try to avoid a three-game sweep when they visit the Boston Red Sox for the finale of a three-game series on Thursday. The Red Sox, who are going for their fifth straight win, own a 2 1/2-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the division.

Baltimore was pounded 13-2 in Tuesday’s opener and squandered a late lead in a 4-3 setback on Wednesday. Those two losses pushed the Orioles 7 1/2 games behind Boston in the East and 4 1/2 behind the Oakland Athletics in the race for the second AL wild-card spot. The Red Sox are getting strong production from the top of their lineup, where Jacoby Ellsbury, Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia are a combined 13-for-22 with nine RBIs and nine runs scored in the series.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, MASN (Baltimore), NESN (Boston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Chris Tillman (14-4, 3.66 ERA) vs. Red Sox LH Jon Lester (12-7, 3.97)

Tillman makes his fifth attempt at recording his 15th win but is not getting a lot of run support of late. The 25-year-old allowed one run and matched a career high with nine strikeouts in eight innings against Oakland on Saturday but did not receive a decision. Tillman yielded two hits over seven scoreless frames to beat Boston on July 26 and is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA in eight career starts against the Red Sox.

Lester is in a groove since the All-Star break as he looks to surrender two or fewer earned runs for the fifth straight start. The Washington native allowed one run on three hits to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday after holding the San Francisco Giants scoreless over 8 1/3 frames earlier last week. Lester tossed seven scoreless innings against the Orioles on July 28 to earn a win and is 15-2 lifetime versus the division rivals.

WALK-OFFS

1. Red Sox DH David Ortiz is 0-for-18 in his last five games.

2. Baltimore 1B Chris Davis, who hit his league-leading 47th home run Wednesday, is 2-for-19 with one blast against Lester in his career.

3. Boston’s rotation has produced eight straight quality starts.

PREDICTION: Red Sox 5, Orioles 3