 struck out six over six shutout innings for the Orioles, who won for just the 53rd time this season.''We've been kind of waiting for this type of game. They don't happen very often, where it's smooth,'' Hyde said.Baltimore also guaranteed that the Red Sox will finish with a losing record at Fenway Park, adding to the sting of missing the playoffs one year after winning the World Series. The Red Sox fell to 37-40 at Fenway, where they last finished with a losing record in 2014 - when they were also coming off a World Series championship.Boston will finish with a winning record overall but losing record at home for just the second time in franchise history.Nunez's three-run shot to left in the third off of Nathan Eovaldi (2-1) was just about all the scoring the Orioles needed.Eovaldi allowed only three hits, but walked four and the Red Sox never recovered after falling behind on the homer by Nunez on an 0-2 pitch.''I feel like I threw the ball well tonight,'' Eovaldi said. ''It was just the walks that got me. And also having Nunez right there, 0-2, and then I left it down the middle and he was able to hit it out. That was the difference really.'' Xander Bogaerts broke up the shutout with a single up the middle, scoring Rafael Devers, who led off the ninth with a double off Richard Bleier. Although Bleier couldn't preserve the shutout, he picked off Bogaerts for the first out and Boston didn't get another runner on base.The Red Sox were just 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position.Wojciechowski allowed four hits and walked one. He pitched out of a jam in the third after Mookie Betts led off with a single. The Orioles saved a run with another strong defensive play in the fourth.Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a drive that bounced off the top of the short wall in right after Sam Travis was hit by a pitch. The ball bounced back into play and DJ Stewart got it to first baseman Trey Mancini on one hop, then Mancini fired it home to catcher Chance Sisco in plenty of time to get Travis, who attempted to make it all the way around from first.''We played some great defense,'' Wojciechowski said. ''I had a couple lineouts and some balls kind of fell my way today, but I was happy with the way I competed.'' Eovaldi allowed three runs on three hits and four walks over five innings. He struck out three.LOOKING AHEADRed Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner addressed the club's future in a pregame news conference, pledging to slash payroll and get under the luxury tax next season.Henry said the club fired Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, on Sept. 8 because of differing opinions on how to build for the future. Regardless of who is hired to replace Dombrowski, Henry and Werner said Alex Cora will return for a third season as manager.TRAINER'S ROOMRed Sox: LF Andrew Benintendi was out of the lineup after leaving Thursday's game at Texas in the fourth inning when he fouled a pitch off his right calf. . RF Mookie Betts returned as Boston's designated hitter after missing two games with a jammed toe. Gorkys Hernandez started in right field for Betts.UP NEXTOrioles LHP John Means (11-11, 3.54 ERA) faces Red Sox RHP Jhoulys Chacin (3-11, 5.81) on Saturday afternoon in the next-to-last game of the season for both clubs.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Stumbling Red Sox happy to face O's againFLMStumbling Red Sox happy to face O's againBefore the season began, a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at home in the final weekend seemed like the perfect opportunity for the Boston Red Sox to ease their way into the postseason.Except the Red Sox didn't hold up their end of the bargain, stumbling out of the gate and never fully recovering, which led to their elimination from the playoffs in mid-September. Boston (83-76) will have nothing but individual milestones to play for as it ends its season against visiting Baltimore beginning Friday.Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (2-0, 6.03 ERA) will take the mound for the Red Sox in the opener of the matchup. Baltimore will counter with righty Asher Wojciechowski (3-8, 5.31).The Orioles (52-107) were once again the punching bag of the American League East this season, losing 51 of their 73 contests to date against division opponents. The Red Sox have gone 11-5 against them, including a three-game sweep in their last meeting at Fenway Park.Boston enters this weekend having won two of three against the Rangers in Texas to complete the road portion of its schedule. The Red Sox lost 7-5 in Thursday's finale, ending the 2019 campaign 46-35 in away games.Meanwhile, at home, the Red Sox have gone 37-41, a far cry from their usual success at Fenway. Highlights this weekend include third baseman Rafael Devers needing four hits to reach 200 on the season, outfielder Mookie Betts one away from 30 homers and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez gunning for his 20th victory in Sunday's finale."Just finish strong," Rodriguez said. "That was the plan when I got here in spring training, finish the season strong, get ready for the next one." The Orioles are far from finishing the season strong, having lost seven of their last 10 games prior to a day off Thursday. Still, the team has shown fight of late, twice losing in extra innings over the past week."I want them to feel what it feels like to win, and I feel sorry for some guys a little bit at times because they're trying so hard to win, and something happens late in the game, and it doesn't happen," Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said."I think there is going to be a day sometime soon where we're going to win those games that we should've won, and our guys are going to look back at this and probably be better because of it," Hyde said.Orioles third baseman Renato Nunez is one homer from 30, and outfielder Trey Mancini needs six RBIs to reach 100 on the year.Wojciechowski has struggled his way to the season's finish line, going 1-5 with a 6.41 ERA in 10 starts since the beginning of August. His best outing of the year came against the Red Sox in July, when he held them to one hit and struck out 10 over 7 1/3 innings in a 5-0 victory.For his career, Wojciechowski is 1-1 with a 1.32 ERA in three games (two starts) versus Boston.Eovaldi is 3-0 in eight starts against Baltimore, though with a 5.65 ERA. The righty reached six innings for just the second time this season in his most recent game, when he held the Tampa Bay Rays to three runs and seven hits in a 7-4 victory.--Field Level Media
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