After a big night from Cedric Mullins that helped the Orioles end their slump, Baltimore will look for a series win on Wednesday in the deciding game of a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.
With a 5-3 win over Boston on Tuesday and the Kansas City Royals’ 5-0 win over the Yankees, the Orioles moved within a half game of New York for first place in the league standings East American
Mullins hit two home runs as Baltimore ended a three-game hitting streak, a night after the Red Sox won 12-3 in the series opener. The Orioles (83-63) have scored seven runs in their last five games, losing four times in that span.
“Cedric has had some good at-bats the last few weeks, and he was huge for us (Tuesday),” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “I was happy with our offense. We didn’t push hard enough, but I think we did a better job of moving the lineup, getting walks, and those big hits are starting to come a little more often.”
Mullins hit a solo home run in the first inning and a two-run home run in the third. Both came against Boston starter Kutter Crawford, who has allowed 31 home runs this season — the most of any major league pitcher. It was the fifth multi-home run game of Mullins’ career.
“I was able to play today,” Mullins said. “It was a good morale booster in the dressing room… Great dynamic for the next day.
The Red Sox (73-72) have been shutout 10 times and are four games behind the Minnesota Twins in the race for the last wild card spot in the American League.
Boston manager Alex Cora admitted he was frustrated with his team’s inconsistent offense. The Red Sox are 8-49 this season when scoring fewer than four runs. “We’re an offensive club and at one point we were the best offense in baseball,” Cora said. “We felt that every time we played a fair game we had a chance to score a lot of points, and we didn’t do that in the last month, month and a half. “When we were in shape, everyone hit the ball. everywhere and it happened that they were all fighting at the same time.”
The likely starters on Wednesday are Baltimore righty Dean Kremer (7-9, 4.27 ERA) and Boston righty Nick Pivetta (5-10, 4.38).
Kremer pitched 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 didn’t strike out the next two batters before striking out. It was Kremer’s first start since he was hit in the right forearm by a fly ball on Aug. 1. 31.
Kremer is 1-1 with a 6.45 ERA in eight career starts against the Red Sox. He did not face Boston this year.
Pivetta allowed one run on five hits in six innings in the Red Sox’s 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday, but was not a factor in the decision. He struck out six batters and allowed three walks. Pivetta is 8-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 13 career starts against the Orioles. He took the loss in Baltimore on August 15 after allowing three runs on three hits in five innings.