Sep 10, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins (31) celebrates after hitting a two run home run during the third inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
After a big night from Cedric Mullins helped the Orioles break their slump, Baltimore will look to win the series on Wednesday in the decider of a three-game set against the host Boston Red Sox.
With a 5-3 win over Boston on Tuesday and the Kansas City Royals’ 5-0 victory over the Yankees, the Orioles moved within a half-game of first-place New York in the American League East.
Mullins homered twice and Baltimore snapped a three-game losing streak, a night after the Red Sox won 12-3 in the series opener. The Orioles (83-63) had scored seven runs in their previous five games and lost four times in that span.
“Cedric has had some really good at-bats over the last few weeks and he was instrumental for us (Tuesday),” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “I’m happy with our offense. We didn’t push hard enough, but I thought we did a better job of keeping the line moving, walking and those big hits are going to start coming a little bit more often.”
Mullins hit a solo homer in the first inning and a two-run shot in the third. Both came against Boston starting pitcher Kutter Crawford, who has allowed 31 homers this season, the most among major league pitchers. It was the fifth multi-homer game of Mullins’ career.
“I was able to hit some really good swings today,” Mullins said. “It was a good morale booster in the locker room… A big boost for the next day.”
The Red Sox (73-72) struck out 10 times in the loss and fell four games behind the Minnesota Twins in the chase for the final American League wild-card spot.
Boston manager Alex Cora admitted he’s frustrated by his team’s inconsistent offense. The Red Sox are 8-49 this season when scoring fewer than four runs.
“We’re an offensive-minded club and at one point we were the best offense in baseball,” Cora said. “We felt like whenever we faced a right-handed pitcher we had a chance to score a lot of runs, and we haven’t done that in the last month, month and a half.”
“When we were on a roll, everyone was hitting the ball all over the place and it turns out we’re all struggling at the same time.”
Wednesday’s probable pitchers are Baltimore right-hander Dean Kremer (7-9, 4.27 ERA) and Boston right-hander Nick Pivetta (5-10, 4.38).
Kremer began with six hitless innings in his last start (a 2-0 win over Tampa Bay) before Rays rookie Junior Caminero led off the seventh with a single. He did not retire either of the next two batters before exiting. It was Kremer’s first start since he was hit in the right forearm by a line drive on Aug. 31.
Kremer is 1-1 with a 6.45 ERA in eight career starts against the Red Sox. He has not faced Boston this year.
Pivetta allowed one run and five hits in six innings during the Red Sox’s 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday, but it did not influence the decision. He struck out six and walked three.
Pivetta is 8-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 13 career starts against the Orioles. He lost at Baltimore on Aug. 15 after allowing three runs and three hits in five innings.
–Field level media
