Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles Box Score on Sep 29, 2023

Nick Pivetta threw seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and the Boston Red Sox defeated the host Baltimore Orioles 3-0 on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak.

Trevor Story drove in two Boston runs with a fifth-inning home run.

The Orioles (100-60), who were coming off clinching the American League East a night earlier, had a five-game winning streak end.

Garrett Whitlock threw the final two innings of relief to finish a combined three-hitter for the Red Sox (77-83), who posted their third win in their last 14 games. Whitlock, who recorded his first save, added three more strikeouts to the Boston pitching total.

Pivetta (10-9), who issued the only walk by Boston pitchers, snapped a personal three-game skid with his first victory since an Aug. 23 relief stint. He has reached the 10-win mark for the second time in his seven-year career, with the other coming last year with a 10-12 record.

Jordan Westburg's double and Ryan Mountcastle's two singles were the only Baltimore hits.

Orioles starter John Means, in just his fourth start coming off a 2022 injury, retired the first 13 batters he faced. But Rob Refsnyder's double and Story's third homer of the season made it 2-0 in the top of the fifth.

It was otherwise an encouraging outing for Means (1-2) that should put him squarely in Baltimore's postseason plans. He struck out four without a walk while giving up two hits.

Only three of the 22 Boston batters who faced Means reached base, and Justin Turner, who led off the seventh with a single, was erased on a double play after Means departed.

Means, Jorge Lopez and Shintaro Fujinami ended up with four-hitter. Turner had two of the hits.

The Red Sox added a ninth-inning run off Fujinami without a hit. Ceddanne Rafaela walked, stole second, went to third on catcher James McCann's throwing error and scored on Rafael Devers' fielder's choice grounder.

--Field Level Media