Boston @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Jun 10, 2014 ) Boston 1, Baltimore 0
The Boston Red Sox pitching staff is getting used to paltry support and adjusting accordingly. The Red Sox attempt to post a second straight shutout when they visit the Baltimore Orioles in the rubber match of their three-game set Wednesday. Boston totaled one run in the first two games of the series and rookie Brock Holt is the only player in the lineup providing any consistent offense.
The Orioles are not exactly running up the score either, and they managed a total of two hits in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss after claiming a 4-0 victory in Monday’s opener. Baltimore has lost four of its last six games but at least is getting the strong starting pitching in this series that it lacked in the previous four contests. Red Sox rookie Brandon Workman took a no-hitter into the sixth on Tuesday and the back of the bullpen, which has seen its workload decrease due to the infrequent leads to be protected, came through again as Koji Uehara worked a scoreless ninth.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN, NESN (Boston), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Rubby De La Rosa (1-1, 2.84 ERA) vs. Orioles LH Wei-Yin Chen (6-2, 4.13)
De La Rosa is making his third start after not looking quite so sharp in his second turn. The Dominican struck out eight in seven scoreless innings in his first outing but was reached for four runs in 5 2/3 frames of a loss at Detroit on Friday. De La Rosa has recorded 13 strikeouts against two walks in 12 2/3 total innings.
Chen is riding a hot streak with a total of three runs allowed in 11 2/3 innings over his last two starts. The Taiwan native has not suffered a loss since May 3 and has issued a total of 11 walks in 69 2/3 frames. Chen faced Boston twice already this season, going 1-1 while yielding a total of seven runs and 16 hits in 10 2/3 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Red Sox SS Stephen Drew (oblique) missed the first two games of the series and remains day-to-day.
2. Baltimore 3B Manny Machado, who is appealing a five-game suspension, is 0-for-14 with six strikeouts in his last four contests.
3. Boston DH David Ortiz went 0-for-3 on Tuesday and is 11-for-75 since May 18.
PREDICTION: Orioles 6, Red Sox 2