The Red Sox Pre-Cap Podcast: Recapping the Orioles, Previewing the Angels

Welcome back to the latest episode of the The Pre-Cap Podcast, your place on the OTM Podcast Network to recap the latest series and look ahead to what’s next on the schedule. Today we’ll take a look back at the horrific series the Red Sox just had with the Baltimore Orioles, and chat about what’s to come as the first place Los Angeles Angels come to Fenway.

On Friday against the Orioles, Rich Hill toed the rubber and had a rather stellar outing. While he only lasted four innings — he was pulled apparently for pitch count — even though he was cruising through the first four on only 50 pitches, 35 of which were strikes. He finished the game with zero runs, zero walks, a single hit, to go with four strikeouts. Houck piggybacked and and went three scoreless innings himself. The Red Sox offense had a little bit of a heartbeat in the third inning, scoring three runs, including a two-run blast from Christian Arroyo. The Red Sox won 3-1.

Game Story

The second game of the weekend was, in the beginning, looking to be the type of win fans could be proud of. Nathan Eovaldi took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and finished seven extremely strong innings on three hits, no walks, no runs with eight strikeouts. Quite frankly, this is the stuff of aces. The Red Sox offense, however, went completely silent. Dead in the water silent. A blown save in the eighth for Matt Barnes, and an errant throw in the 10th from Hirokazu Sawamura, sealed the 2-1 loss to the Orioles.

Game Story

Then there was the finale. Nick Pivetta tossed 4 ¹⁄₃ innings, giving up three runs and walking no one (which every Sox starter did as well this weekend), and struck out five. After a rain delay in the fifth, the real implosion came with Phillips Valdez on the mound. The righty hit a batter, walked another, gave up a double, and allowed four runs before his day was over. It was the stuff of nightmare fuel. The offense came alive in the ninth on a J.D. Martinez grand slam, but unfortunately for the Red Sox they were still a grand slam worth of runs behind. The Red Sox would go on to lose, 9-5.

The Red Sox return to Fenway on Tuesday to start a three-game set against the Angels, and let’s only hope with Michael Wacha on the bump they can right the ship.