JIMENEZ, O'S BAFFLE BOSOX
3 Baltimore Hurlers Combine on 1-Hitter
BALTIMORE, Apr. 1 (AP) - Ubaldo Jimenez and a pair of relievers combined on a
one-hit shutout as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-0 at
Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Jimenez allowed a single to Dustin Pedroia,
the second hitter of the game. It was the only hit the Red Sox managed in
the entire contest. Jimenez threw seven innings, allowing Pedroia's base
hit and two walks while striking out seven. Darren O'Day and Zach Britton
combined to retire all six batters they faced, five of them on strikes.
Remarkably, the game started out poorly for Jimenez. He walked lead-off
man Daniel Nava to open the affair, then allowed Pedroia's hit, putting runners
on first and second with no outs. But David Ortiz struck out and Jimenez
induced Mike Napoli to ground to third baseman Ryan Flaherty who stepped on the
bag to force Nava then threw to second to nail Pedroia, completing the
inning-ending double play.
After Pedroia's single, Jimenez retired 15 consecutive Boston batters. The
string ended when Wade Middlebrooks drew a one-out free pass in the sixth inning
and the Red Sox had their second baserunner in scoring position when a wild
pitch advanced Middlebrooks to second. But Jimenez avoided trouble by
retiring Nava on a pop to first and Pedroia on a fly ball to shallow right.
The Orioles took the lead for good in the second. With one out, Nelson
Cruz singled to right-center off Boston starter John Lackey. A wild pitch
moved Cruz to second and he scored when Matt Wieters doubled off the base of the
left-center field wall. J.J. Hardy followed with a single to right,
putting runners on first and third and Ryan Flaherty lifted a sacrifice fly to
left, scoring Wieters to put Baltimore on top, 2-0.
The Orioles added an insurance run in the fifth. Flaherty led off with a
single to left-center and Steve Lombardozzi followed with the second of his
three base hits on the night, putting runners on first and second. Nick
Markakis struck out but the third strike eluded catcher A.J. Pierzynski; the
passed ball put runners on second and third. David Lough's sacrifice fly
brought Flaherty home with the team's third run.
Orioles pitchers retired the final 11 Boston hitters they faced. Jimenez
set the Red Sox down in order in the seventh and O'Day duplicated the effort in
the eighth with a flourish, striking out the side. Britton came on in the
ninth and got Middlebrooks on a grounder to short and fanned pinch hitter
Jonathan Herrera. Pedroia prolonged the contest by drawing a two-out walk
but Britton struck out Ortiz on three pitches to close out the game and earn his
second save in as many opportunities.
4/2/2014, Bos14-Bal14, Oriole Park at Camden Yards 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2014 Red Sox 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 2014 Orioles 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 x 3 7 0 4 1 Red Sox AB R H BI AVG Orioles AB R H BI AVG Nava rf 2 0 0 0 .200 Markakis rf 4 0 0 0 .000 Herrera,J ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Lough lf 3 0 0 1 .000 Pedroia 2b 3 0 1 0 .429 Jones,A cf 4 0 0 0 .143 Ortiz dh 4 0 0 0 .000 Davis,C 1b 4 0 0 0 .125 Napoli 1b 3 0 0 0 .286 Cruz,N dh 3 1 1 0 .286 Gomes,J lf 3 0 0 0 .250 Wieters c 3 1 1 1 .167 Sizemore,G cf 3 0 0 0 .000 Hardy,J ss 3 0 1 0 .429 Bogaerts ss 3 0 0 0 .000 Flaherty 3b 2 1 1 1 .500 Pierzynski c 3 0 0 0 .429 Lombardozzi 2b 3 0 3 0 1.000 Middlebrooks 3b 2 0 0 0 .200 29 3 7 3 27 0 1 0 Red Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Lackey L 0-1 7.0 7 3 2 0 5 94 63 2.57 Miller,A 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 16 10 0.00 8.0 7 3 2 0 5 110 73 Orioles INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Jimenez,U W 1-0 7.0 1 0 0 2 7 95 58 0.00 O'Day H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 12 9 0.00 Britton,Z S 2 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 17 9 0.00 9.0 1 0 0 3 12 124 76 Bos: Herrera,J batted for Nava in the 9th 2B-Wieters(1). RBI-Lough(1), Wieters(1), Flaherty(2). K-Pedroia, Ortiz 2, Napoli, Gomes,J, Sizemore,G 2, Bogaerts 2, Pierzynski 2, Herrera,J, Markakis, Davis,C 2, Hardy,J 2. BB-Nava, Pedroia, Middlebrooks. SF-Lough, Flaherty. PB-Pierzynski. WP-Lackey, Jimenez,U. GWRBI: Wieters Temperature: 61, Sky: clear, Wind: in from center at 6 MPH. Attendance: 36,875 Game Time: 2:10