Sloppy Daisuke, Slow Offense Cost Red Sox vs. Orioles

So the Orioles beat the Red Sox.

Again.

What is it about the birds this year that Boston can't solve? The O's are on a roll since Showalter showed up, but even before the Buck era began, it was rough going against Baltimore.

This time around it was a combination of a mediocre starter in Daisuke Matsuzaka, and a quiet night from yet another depleted lineup that let the Birds squeak by.

Daisuke was, sadly, his usual self. Five walks in six innings meant he was either going to have to strike everyone else out, or get lucky with the balls in play. He didn't, and he wasn't. At least not particularly. Six hits lead to four earned runs as Daisuke was chased in the seventh inning. Technically it was Daniel Bard who gave up the RBIs, but come on, Daisuke, this act is getting really old.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox put out yet another...unique lineup, featuring the likes of Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell. They performed about as well as you might expect. Victor Martinez' three-hit night was really the only standout offensive performance as the Sox' offense struggled to push just two runs across.

Not much good to be found here. Hideki Okajima had yet another scoreless inning, and Michael Bowden struck out the side in the ninth, but those are small victories in another disappointing loss to the Orioles.