Red Sox 1, Orioles 4: Quick Reaction

It's a special kind of torture, pulling within reach of a winning record four times and never once arriving at that point. 0-0, 10-10, 11-11, and now 21-21, each followed by 0-1, 10-11, 11-12, and 21-22 respectively.

There is little to be said for Boston's effort tonight outside of two individuals. Kevin Youkilis hit a solo shot in the fourth, making his return to the lineup a successful one, so there's that. And after allowing a two-run homer to Steve Tolleson in the second, Felix Doubront settled down to pitch six innings, striking out nine batters along the way.

As for the rest? Adrian Gonzalez at least had a couple of hard hit balls, one going for a single. The rest of the bunch did nothing against a pitcher who entered the game with an ERA of 5.36. Matusz was once one of the best prospects in the game, yes, but he's done nothing this year to prove he's still deserving of any real recognition. At least not until tonight.

About the only other thing worth mentioning is Matt Albers giving up a two-run shot of his own. It's pretty typical Matt Albers, looking unhittable for a month and then coughing up big homers. There's a reason Bobby Valentine has gone away from him in the last few weeks even with his minuscule ERA: aside from short periods of effectiveness, Matt Albers hasn't been good for any significant part of his career. The goal for the Sox now has to be keeping his ERA down and value up so someone will bite when the Sox are ready to ship him our and bring Melancon up.

Boston can still make it a series win tomorrow afternoon, but a winning record will have to wait for at least two more games.