Bullpen Does the Sox In Again, Fall 6-7 to the Orioles

If this was Tim Wakefield's last regularly scheduled start, it'll be a shame.

After pitching 6.2 great innings, Tim Wakefield left with a 4-1 lead and a runner on second.

And then the bullpen imploded. Again. Hideki Okajima allowed a double and a home run to tie the game before recording the final out in the 7^th, and Scott Atchison and Scott Schoeneweis combined to allow 5 baserunners and 3 runs while recording only 1 out (by Schoeneweis on a bunt attempt) in the 10^th inning. The Red Sox put on a late rally, but failed to score the tying run, and that was all she wrote.

The Red Sox still manage a series win, 2-1, but had to be hoping for a sweep against the destitute Orioles. They'll try again tomorrow against a suddenly slumping Toronto Blue Jays team.

Game Notes:

• The rally fell short when Marco Scutaro hit a line drive directly at Ty Wigginton.
• Adrian Beltre had two errors in the first inning (one was later changed to a hit), and then played stellar defense for the rest of the game.
• Had the Red Sox won, they would have been 9-10--the record the Yankees held last year through 19 games. Instead, they're 8-11 and 3 games under .500. Feels like a big difference.