Red Sox 7, Orioles 10: The win streak is over

The win streak is over because of a start that could have gone better for Hector Velazquez and a disastrous inning between Joe Kelly and Robby Scott. It was fun while it lasted.

A few pitchers would like to forget this game

The Red Sox offense did their job on Thursday afternoon against the Orioles, which we’ll get to in a second, but the pitching did not hold up their end of the bargain. Consider this revenge for the entire 2017 regular season, Red Sox hitters. Hector Velazquez got the start in this game, looking for a strong outing as the current favorite to start the fourth game of the season. Whether or not he makes that start has more to do with the health of Eduardo Rodriguez and/or Steven Wright, but Velazquez didn’t really help the perception of himself in this outing. It’s been an up-and-down spring for the righty, and that may be putting it kindly, and he struggled a bit again in this game. He did make it through 4 ¹⁄₃ innings, but he allowed four runs in this game including a couple of home runs. The dingers came from a couple of projected regulars for Baltimore in Tim Beckham and Chance Cisco. In addition to the home runs, Velazquez allowed a pair of singles and a walk while recording three strikeouts. For the spring, the righty is up to an ugly 6.75 ERA.

In the bullpen, minor leaguer Trevor Kelley had to come on to finish the fifth and got two outs and allowed one to reach on an error. In the sixth, it all fell apart. Joe Kelly started things off and after getting a strikeout he allowed a single followed by consecutive walks. He was then pulled with the bases loaded, leaving the mess for Robby Scott to clean up. Robby Scott did not clean up the mess. The southpaw faced five batters and allowed: a double, a single, a fielder’s choice, a double and a sacrifice fly. In the blink of an eye, the Orioles had scored six runs, and Scott’s day was done after recording just one out. Kelly has largely been fine this spring and his spot on the roster is secure, but the same can not be said for Scott. The lefty hasn’t had a terrible spring, but he’s been far from lights out and he’s on the fringe of the roster at the moment. After minor leaguer Matt Gorst finished off the sixth, Carson Smith came out and tossed a scoreless seventh with one strikeout to continue what’s been an encouraging spring. Tommy Layne finished the game with a scoreless eighth, though he allowed a double and a walk.

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The offense was pretty good, though

Although the Red Sox couldn’t get the win and there were a few pitching performances that left plenty to be desired, it was a good day to be a Red Sox hitter at least. Boston was particularly rude to Orioles starter Mike Wright, off of whom they scored seven runs in five innings. The biggest swing came from Christian Vazquez, who hit a solo homer to kick off a four-run second inning. This goes to show that his power in which he only hits home runs in wins only counts for the regular season. Vazquez also got a single in this game and is up to a .926 OPS this spring. Maybe last year wasn’t such a fluke after all? Boston’s other multi-hit game came from Mookie Betts, who had a double and a single. Remember how long it took for his first hit of the spring? Now he’s hitting .317 with a .941 OPS. Maybe he’s pretty good? J.D. Martinez didn’t get his first home run as a Red Sox hitter, but he did smash his first triple in a Red Sox uniform, so that’s neat. Ivan De Jesus had a double for the team’s other extra-base hit and Boston got singles from Eduardo Nuñez, Chris Madera, Sam Travis, Blake Swihart and Deven Marrero.

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