Batless: Guthrie Quiets Sox, Orioles Take 6-2 Win

Some losses seem easier than others. Maybe it's just me, but Tuesday's seems to be one of those.

Perhaps it was that Kyle Weiland actually showed some life. He was mediocre in the early going, giving up three runs in the first three innings to put the Sox in an early 3-0 hole. He came out with a line not particularly pretty--if only peripherally speaking--but he tightened up his command as the night progressed, kept the ball down in the zone throughout the second half of his outing, and left the game without allowing any more damage in the rest of his six innings of work. 

Maybe it's just a matter of who beat who. The Red Sox took some bad swings, yes, but really tonight was Jeremy Guthrie's game. He made more than enough good pitches to deserve a win, and he left with just that. The defense behind him was not the stuff of highlight reels, but they got the job done. The only damage the Sox managed to do came in the fifth inning, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia clubbing a two-run shot just over the wall in right field. 

For some reason, it doesn't even hurt that the Sox had a chance late, only losing it when Alfredo Aceves suffered what was, for him, the worst relief implosion of the season, allowing a pair of two-out homers to put the game away as the Orioles took a 6-2 lead they would not relinquish.

Simply put, the Orioles played better tonight, and coming after a 15-run performance as this game does, it's hard to truly get angry with the lack of offensive production. It helps that Josh Reddick had three hits and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a home run; it's never been the top of the lineup that needs to prove itself. It also doesn't hurt that the Sox maintained their lead over the East, only dropping one to the Rays, who now sit seven back of Boston.

We'll go again in a few short hours, and see if the Sox can't take their second series out of the break.