Orioles Hang To The Finish In 8-7 Loss To Red Sox
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles are playing significant games in September only because that's how the schedule turned out.
The hope is that one of these years, these late-season games will be meaningful to the Orioles because they will be the ones hunting down a playoff spot.
Stuck in the middle of Boston's late-season swoon, Baltimore lost 8-7 on Tuesday night. The victory enabled the Red Sox to stay tied with Tampa Bay for the AL wild-card spot with one game left.
Important for the Red Sox? Absolutely. Not so much for the Orioles, even though they have come to enjoy the spoiler's role.
"They're meaningful for them, not for us," Baltimore's Adam Jones said. "It would be different if we were playing meaningful games. This place would be rocking; it would be a totally different atmosphere. But they need the games more than we do, so I think all the pressure's on them."
The hope for the last-place Orioles is that they gain from the experience.
"The potential's there," manager Buck Showalter said. "I hope it makes them continue to be hungry to get some other things shored up so we can be a part of this in a different situation."
After blowing a nine-game lead in the span of 23 days, the Red Sox will send Jon Lester (15-9) to the mound against Baltimore on Wednesday night in an effort to get into the postseason for the fourth time in five years. Lester, Boston's winningest pitcher, will be throwing on three days' rest.
A month ago, the Red Sox would shudder at the prospect of a must-win situation on the final day. But here they are, and they intend to make the best of it.
"I think it's really good for baseball, not so good for my stomach," manager Terry Francona said. "It's exciting. If you don't want to show up (Wednesday) and play, you've got no pulse. My goodness, I can't remember being that nervous in a long time. Go back to the hotel and not sleep, and then show up and see what we can do."
Boston will be looking to put together its first winning streak since sweeping a doubleheader from Oakland on Aug. 27. If the Rays and Red Sox remain tied after Wednesday, Tampa Bay will host a one-game playoff Thursday.
"Everybody's been watching the scoreboard and knowing that we need to win tonight so we can come back (Wednesday) and fight through it again," Boston slugger David Ortiz said. "I hope if I'm still here next year we can make it easier. We're playing like this is a playoff already."
Rookie Ryan Lavarnway became the unlikeliest of heroes for Boston, hitting his first two major league homers after being thrust into the lineup because of injuries to catchers Jarrod Saltalamacchia (sore collarbone) and Jason Varitek (knee).
Lavarnway, a Yale philosophy major who never played a big league game before August, hit a three-run drive in the fourth inning and added a solo shot for an 8-4 lead in the eighth.
"We've seen a lot of interesting things here over the years, but that was right near the top," Francona said.
Lavarnway said, "It feels good, but the job's not done. We still got to go out (Wednesday) and win another ballgame."
Jacoby Ellsbury and Marco Scutaro also connected for Boston, which scored all its runs on home runs.
Alfredo Aceves (10-2) pitched 3 2/3 innings of three-hit relief for the Red Sox, who survived homers from Baltimore's Matt Wieters and Jones.
After the Orioles scored twice in the eighth off Daniel Bard to make it 8-6, Jonathan Papelbon survived a hectic ninth for his 31st save. Wieters drove in a run with a grounder and Baltimore had the potential tying run at second with two outs before Jones grounded out on a 3-2 pitch.
"We battled down to the final pitch," Jones said. "That's the way I live. You know we ain't going to quit."
Pitching at Camden Yards for the first time since being traded by Baltimore to Seattle in February 2008, Boston starter Erik Bedard gave up three runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings. The left-hander struck out six but needed 84 pitches to get 10 outs.
Bedard retired the first two batters without difficulty, then walked Nick Markakis and yielded an RBI double to Vladimir Guerrero to fall behind 1-0.
Boston took the lead in the third against rookie Zach Britton (11-11) when Scutaro hit a two-out double and Ellsbury followed with his 32nd homer. Ellsbury has hit in 35 straight games against the Orioles, a streak that began on April 17, 2009.
Lavarnway connected on a 3-2 pitch in the fourth following singles by David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez. Wieters answered in the bottom half with his 22nd home run, the second in two nights, to make it 5-3.
A triple by Carl Crawford and Scutaro's homer off Jason Berken made it 7-3 in the sixth. Jones led off the bottom half with a homer off Aceves.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
