 and draw closer to clinching a postseason berth. The Red Sox started the day with a three-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East.It was the second straight tight, lengthy game between these AL East rivals. Boston won in 11 innings on Monday night and is 15-3 in extra-inning games - tying a franchise record for extra-inning wins set in 1943.In this one, pitching and defense proved to be the winning formula. After Drew Pomeranz allowed five hits over 6 1/3 innings, five relievers held the Orioles hitless the rest of the way.''They've been able, to a man, hand it off to the next guy and continue to build a bridge until we can scratch out a run - tonight not even with an RBI,'' manager John Farrell said. ''We find a way to push a run across.'' With a runner on second and two outs in the 11th, Brach (4-5) walked Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts to load the bases for Mitch Moreland, who sidestepped a bouncing pitch from Brach that enabled Bradley to score without a throw.Joe Kelly (4-1) worked the 10th and Matt Barnes got three outs for his first save.''They've been unbelievable,'' Boston's Brock Holt said of the bullpen. ''That's why our record is what is in extra-inning games, because of those guys.'' The game stretched into extra innings in part because Bradley made a sensational catch to rob Baltimore slugger Chris Davis of a home run in the fifth inning. Bradley quickly judged the trajectory of the ball while running to his left, then left his feet and stretched his arm over the 7-foot wall in center field.The finish came after Pomeranz and Kevin Gausman locked up in a scoreless duel that was essentially the exact opposite of Monday night's 10-8 slugfest.Although he didn't get his 17th win, Pomeranz lowered his ERA to 3.15 and set a career high by pitching at least six innings for the 17th time (in 30 starts).Gausman was even sharper, giving up just three hits over eight innings with one walk and seven strikeouts.The right-hander retired the first 14 batters he faced before Rafael Devers singled off the right-field wall.Baltimore threatened in the third inning when Manny Machado hit a two-out double, but he was thrown out by Benintendi trying to score on Jonathan Schoop's single to left field.No one else got to third base until the sixth, when Baltimore had runners at the corners with two outs before Pomeranz struck out Mark Trumbo with a high, outside fastball.The Orioles have lost 11 of 13 to fall out of contention.''They're very frustrated right now,'' manager Buck Showalter said. ''You can imagine grinding as our guys have since February and not being able to push a run like that across in some of these games when we pitch well. That's been a challenge for us. I feel for them because I know how much it means to them.'' TRAINER'S ROOMRed Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia, who left Monday's game in the fourth inning after fouling a ball off his nose, did not start but was used as a pinch hitter in the 10th inning and grounded into a double play. Farrell said Pedroia will likely return to the starting lineup Wednesday. . DH Hanley Ramirez (left arm soreness) was out of the starting lineup for the sixth consecutive game. Farrell said Ramirez was available to pinch hit and is likely to start Wednesday.UP NEXTRed Sox: Chris Sale (16-7, 2.86 ERA) will seek to match his career high in wins Wednesday night in the series finale. He needs 13 strikeouts to become the first AL pitcher with 300 in a season since Pedro Martinez in 1999.Orioles: Wade Miley (8-13, 5.32 ERA) has lost his last three starts. The left-hander gave up six runs and got only one out against the Yankees on Friday night.----More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Red Sox face Orioles with eye toward AL East title 1h ago• 2 min read BALTIMORE -- The Boston Red Sox scored a big victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night. Now they want to keep going in the second game of the series on Tuesday and move one step closer to the American League East title.The 10-8, 11-inning win on Monday allowed the Red Sox (86-64) to keep a three-game lead over the New York Yankees (83-67), who beat the Minnesota Twins. The Red Sox and Yankees each have 12 games left.Boston manager John Farrell said that even though his club is in first place, nothing is going to change in the last two weeks.The Red Sox simply are trying to gain some wins and take the AL East for a second consecutive season."Our approach is to win every night," Farrell said. "That hasn't changed. Nothing has been taken for granted. Nothing will be taken for granted." The Red Sox should feel good about the second game of the three-game set with left-hander Drew Pomeranz (16-5, 3.28 ERA) taking on Kevin Gausman (11-10, 4.83).Pomeranz has been hot in the second half of the season. He is 7-1 with a 2.86 ERA in 12 starts since the All-Star break.In his career, Pomeranz is 2-3 with a 4.24 ERA against the Orioles. He is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in three starts vs. Baltimore this year.Gausman has been the Orioles' second-best starter in recent weeks, behind Dylan Bundy. The right-hander has posted an 8-3 record since June 27, giving an inconsistent rotation some help.Gausman is 4-6 with a 4.25 ERA against Boston in his career, including a 1=2 mark with a 3.86 ERA in three starts this year.He could also be helped by the fact that the Orioles play much better at home than on the road. Baltimore is 44-31 at home and just 29-47 on the road.For Boston, Mookie Betts didn't miss a full game after sustaining a right thumb contusion and leaving in the fifth inning of a Sunday loss at Tampa Bay. He started Monday and went 2-for-6 with four RBIs, including a key three-run double in a five-run fifth inning.That was his 600th career hit -- in his 500th game. He also has 999 total bases.Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia left the game in the fourth inning after fouling off a ball off the plate that came back and hit him right in the nose. The team called it a "nasal contusion," and Farrell said the nose wasn't broken.Pedroia is day-to-day.Farrell said Hanley Ramirez (left arm soreness) will be back in starting lineup at some point in this series. Ramirez pinch-hit in the Monday win.Adam Jones returned to the Baltimore lineup on Monday after sitting out two of the last three games of the weekend series against the Yankees due to general soreness. He went 1-for-5 in the opener against Boston."He got shortened up a couple of games in New York, so I'm hoping (he's OK)," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said.The Orioles' defense, usually very strong, made eight errors last week as the team was in the midst of a 2-8 road trip. Showalter said the club needs to improve on that in the season's final two weeks.
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