BALTIMORE (AP) — Kyle Weiland was far more impressive in the encore than in his debut, yet the only thing he got to show for it was his first big league loss.
Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie outpitched Weiland, who allowed three runs over six innings, and the Orioles beat Boston 6-2 on Tuesday night.
Additional Photos
After lasting only four innings against Baltimore on July 10 in his first major league appearance, Weiland (0-1) displayed far more composure this time. The right-hander allowed six hits and walked three but left with the Red Sox trailing 3-2.
“I did a better job of controlling my emotions, and the adrenaline,” the rookie said. “I got a lot quicker to that comfort zone that I was talking about last time.”
After scoring 15 runs on Monday night, the Red Sox provided Weiland insufficient offensive backing.
“He pitched well,” said Josh Reddick, who had three hits. “Unfortunately, we didn’t give him the run support that anybody would want. But he battled his tail off.”
Boston manager Terry Francona liked what he saw from Weiland, the 108th overall pick in the 2008 amateur draft.
“I thought he represented himself very well,” Francona said. “It’s not an easy thing to do to come up and pitch in the big leagues first of all, and then right in the middle of a pennant race. But he had good poise, he likes to compete. I think it’s exciting what he can do.”
Guthrie allowed two runs in seven innings, and the Orioles got successive eighth-inning home runs from Derrek Lee and Mark Reynolds in ending a seven-game losing streak against the Red Sox.
. Guthrie (4-13) came in with the sixth-lowest run support in the AL, but he also gave up 12 runs over 10 innings in his prior two starts. In this one, Baltimore went ahead 3-0 after three innings and the right-hander made the lead stand up.
Guthrie gave up eight hits, struck out four and walked one. He had lost seven straight decisions against Boston since May 13, 2008.
Jim Johnson worked the final two innings for his first save. Orioles closer Kevin Gregg was unavailable because he was serving a three-game suspension for his involvement in a bench-clearing melee at Fenway Park on July 8.
During its seven-game skid against the Red Sox, Baltimore was outscored 61-32. So this victory was particularly enjoyable.
“We needed a win against them. They’ve been wearing us out,” Lee said. “Jeremy gave us just what we needed, a great pitching performance. He went deep. It’s nice when you can handle the ball over to J.J. with a lead. You’re feeling pretty confident at that point.”
The Red Sox lost for only the third time in 16 games despite getting a home run from Jarrod Saltalamacchia, his second in two nights.
Boston’s Dustin Pedroia beat out a grounder in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, tying a career high set in 2008. He has also reached base in 29 consecutive games, which also matches his career-best run.
Guthrie faced a lineup without Boston’s leading home run hitter, David Ortiz, who is also serving a three-game suspension stemming from the fight in the previous series between the teams.
The game drew a crowd of 32,314, many of whom were cheering for the Red Sox. It’s a common occurrence at Camden Yards when Boston comes to town, although Orioles manager Buck Showalter wasn’t complaining.
“Well, we had a lot of Red Sox people here last night,” he said before the game. “We’ll take their admission and put it towards keeping our players. Thank you very much.”
Baltimore went up 2-0 in the second inning when Jones and Matt Wieters singled, Reynolds hit an RBI double and Nolan Reimold followed with a run-scoring grounder.
Weiland retired the first two batters in the third before Nick Markakis drew a walk, Jones singled and Wieters bounced an RBI single off the glove of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.
Saltalamacchia made it 3-2 in the fifth with a drive over the right-field scoreboard after Reddick hit a leadoff double. Boston then put runners on the corners with two outs before Pedroia grounded out.
The Red Sox didn’t get another runner past first base the rest of the way.
Lee hit a two-run shot and Reynolds added his 21st homer of the season in the eighth. Both drives came off Alfredo Aceves.
NOTES: Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury hit into a DP for only the sixth time in 383 at-bats. … Markakis’ 11-game hitting streak ended. … It was only the fourth win in 19 games for the last-place Orioles. … Reynolds broke out of a 5-for-39 skid with three hits.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
