Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox’s Bats Come Alive In Win Vs. Orioles

Junior Lake and Ryan Flaherty went a combined 1 for 8 in his stead as Baltimore boosted its slim postseason hopes with a three-game sweep at Washington.

“That was a tough play for the right fielder”, Bogaerts said on “Red Sox Final” after Boston’s 7-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Baltimore begins a series in Boston on Friday with little margin for error in the wild-card race.

According to oddsmakers from online sports book Mybookie.ag, the Red Sox are -108 money line favorites versus the Orioles, who have odds of -102 to win tonight’s game.

Kevin Gausman surrendered five runs over five innings in a loss to the Red Sox on Friday. T.J. McFarland managed to pick up two outs in short order after replacing Gausman, but Holt managed to flip a double into the left field corner, bringing Ortiz in to make it 5-0.

“I probably let my ego get the best of me”, Gausman said.

David Ortiz is 4 for 10 with two home runs against Gausman, and he accounted for Boston’s scoring Thursday with a two-run homer.

Both base runners, Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia, were off on the 3-2 pitch to Bogaerts.

Brock Holt is 0-for-3 with a walk.

The Red Sox signed Hill in August and sent him to Triple-A, where he finished out the season. And right fielder Mookie Betts provided it in the ninth inning, leaping over the right-field wall to steal a surefire home run from major-league leader Chris Davis. They did not record one from Nolan Reimold’s single to open the game until Dariel Alvarez’s leadoff infield single in the ninth.

Earlier this month, Hill became the first Red Sox pitcher to fan 10 or more in his initial two starts. Chen is 6-4 with a 3.78 ERA and 64 strikeouts in his career against the Red Sox.

Ortiz drove in another run in the eighth off left-hander Brian Matusz, doubling off the Green Monster in left to score Bogaerts.

Rich Hill had just earned a complete-game shutout in an incredibly exciting way.

Hill hadn’t started in the majors in six years before coming up in September.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said a day game after a night game can sometimes be overlooked by players.

Orioles: CF Adam Jones was out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight game because of back spasms.

Baltimore has won nine of 11 against the Red Sox. He’s scheduled to be evaluated Saturday. With a man on, Hill very briefly lost control, or at least decided not to risk a second hit from Reimold, walking him on four pitches.

The Orioles’ starters haven’t finished the sixth inning in any of their eight Fenway Park starts this season.