Sunday, June 4, 2017

World Champions 1983, 1970, 1966 American League Champions 1983, 1979, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1966 American League East Division Champions 2014, 1997, 1983, 1979, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1969 American League Wild Card 2016, 2012, 1996 Game Stories: Sunday, June 4, 2017 Dylan Bundy lasts five for shortest start of season in Orioles' 5-2 loss to Red Sox The Sun 6/3 Price earns 1st win of season as Red Sox beat Orioles 5-2 Associated Press 6/3 Orioles back in third place following 5-2 loss (with quotes) MASNsports.com 6/3 David Price with a strong start as Boston wins 5-2 (quotes added) MASNsports.com 6/3 Bundy labors over five as O's fall to Red Sox MLB.com 6/3 Dylan Bundy has shortest outing of the season as O s lose to Red Sox CSN Mid-Atlantic 6/3 Orioles Do Little Against David Price In 5-2 Loss To Red Sox PressBoxOnline.com 6/3 Columns: Trey Mancini overcomes scouting stereotypes to show promise as Orioles regular The Sun 6/3 Orioles notes: No concern with Chance Sisco's slow start; Dan Duquette on veteran optouts The Sun 6/3 Sale presents latest challenge for Orioles MASNsports.com 6/4 Showalter on Castillo, Jackson and more (O s down 4-1) MASNsports.com 6/3 Fred Manfra on wrapping up 25 years in O s radio booth MASNsports.com 6/4 Machado showing signs of emerging at plate MLB.com 6/3 Aces on tap when Tillman, Sale meet at Camden MLB.com 6/4 Red Sox aim for split with Orioles Associated Press 6/4

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-dylan-bundy-lasts-five-for-shortest-startof-season-in-orioles-5-2-loss-to-red-sox-20170603-story.html Dylan Bundy lasts five for shortest start of season in Orioles' 5-2 loss to Red Sox By Jon Meoli/ The Sun June 3, 2017 The shortest outing of Dylan Bundy s otherwise strong 2017 season had a particularly foul feeling to it. In the Orioles 5-2 loss Saturday night at Camden Yards, he threw an even 100 pitches, and allowed just two runs on four hits and a walk in five innings. But 30 of his pitches were fouled off as Boston Red Sox hitters didn t let him get many quick at-bats. "It was a push to get through five," manager Buck Showalter said. "They had like 30, 31 foul balls? Kind of did a good job of extending a lot of at-bats, and it kind of piled up on him. He pitched well. He pitched well." "They were just fouling pitches off and I think that was part to do with them seeing me four times [this season]," Bundy said. "But I was making pitches, and they were just fouling off, pitcher's pitchers that they were fouling off, and you can't control that. It was a tough game." In the second inning, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. fouled off three 3-2 pitches before striking out to end a nine-pitch at-bat and catcher Christian Vázquez followed it up by fouling off five pitches in another nine-pitch at-bat that ended with a single. That forced Bundy to throw 27 pitches in the frame. He was efficient in the third, but a 31-pitch fourth inning featured an 11-pitch at-bat by first baseman Mitch Moreland, where he swatted away five foul balls. Three pitches after Moreland was retired, Boston slugger Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run home run to left field to spoil Bundy s day. Entering Saturday s action, according to Statcast data on Baseball Savant, Bundy ranked 11th in baseball with 230 foul balls allowed this season, representing 20.09 percent of his 1,145 pitches thrown. Saturday s even 30 percent was a big jump from that, and it cost him. Bundy s five innings represented his shortest start of the year after he pitched at least six innings in each of his first 11 starts this season. His ERA rose to 2.93 as he gave way to left-hander Richard Bleier. Tough spot, rough results: After two scoreless innings of relief from Bleier and with the Orioles (29-25) trailing 2-1, Ubaldo Jiménez came on and struggled out of the bullpen. Right fielder Mookie Betts worked the count full and led off the inning with his first hit of the series, a double to left field. Betts went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a dribbler to second base by shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts scored from first on a double by Ramirez that gave the Red Sox a 4-1 lead. With Jiménez s unique delivery and general difficulty getting into a groove early in games, it s tough to say when is a good spot to bring him on in relief. Given Showalter s aversion to using his top relievers when trailing, situations like Saturday are going to require Jiménez from time to time. But his inclusion in Saturday s action wasn t well-received by the Orioles supporters among the 35,460 at Camden Yards, who booed him on his way off the mound. Showalter said they had no other choice.

"As opposed to who?" he said. "That s it. We re not going to use Mike Wright, he had two days in a row. Darren [O'Day] and [Brad Brach] aren t going to pitch unless we re ahead, we re trying to stay away from them. Givens was a no-go tonight. So we had Bleier and them and that s where we were." Left-hander Donnie Hart was responsible for Boston s fifth run in the ninth inning. Dealing David Price: Bundy s counterpart, David Price, looked like the time off to start the year as he healed an elbow problem did him a world of good. After going five innings Monday at the Chicago White Sox, Price shut down the Orioles over seven innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. Left fielder Joey Rickard singled to open the home half of the first inning, and the Orioles had only one man on base a leadoff walk in the fourth inning by center fielder Adam Jones until designated hitter Chris Davis opened the sixth with a single. Third baseman Manny Machado then led off the seventh with his 12th home run of the year. The Orioles threatened with a pair of two-out hits in the eighth, but closer Craig Kimbrel got out of it. Kimbrel posted a four-out save, but allowed a run on Trey Mancini s RBI double in the ninth and let the Orioles bring the tying run to the plate before finishing them off. Manny means business: A season full of games played only against the Red Sox would probably be harder than a traditional major league schedule, but it might be something Machado would enjoy. Machado led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run to left field, his sixth against Boston this year. His home run Friday night went 465 feet, according to Statcast. At 369 feet, Saturday s home run was considerably shorter but still worth a run. http://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameid=370603101 Price earns 1st win of season as Red Sox beat Orioles 5-2 By Associated Press June 3, 2017 BALTIMORE -- David Price returned to form against the Baltimore Orioles, and after he was done, the skilled left-hander made this perfectly clear: The best is yet to come. Price took a three-hitter into the eighth inning to earn his first win of the season, Hanley Ramirez homered and the Boston Red Sox rolled to a 5-2 victory Saturday night. Making his second start since coming off the disabled list with a strained left elbow, Price (1-0) allowed one run over seven-plus innings. After belatedly launching his 2017 season with an uneven outing against the White Sox on Monday, Price looked every bit like a five-time All-Star against Baltimore. "I feel like it's going to continue to get better," he said. "That's my fourth outing with an umpire, my fourth outing with guys on base. I expect to get a lot better than this." Price was plenty good enough in this one. He gave up three hits, struck out seven and did not allow a runner past first base until Manny Machado led off the seventh with a home run. That was the only flaw in an otherwise sparkling performance that enabled Price to improve to 12-5 lifetime against the Orioles, including 7-0 at Camden Yards. "The game was about not being able to do much against one of the best pitchers in the game," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

Craig Kimbrel gave up a ninth-inning run, but picked up his 16th save in 17 tries. Boston took the lead for good in the fourth inning when Ramirez lined an 0-2 pitch from Dylan Bundy into the left-field seats after Xander Bogaerts drew a leadoff walk. Bundy (6-4) threw 100 pitches over five innings in his fourth start this season against Boston. He's 2-2 in those games. "I was making pitches and they were just fouling off, pitcher's pitches," Bundy said. "You can't control that." There once was a time when Price had the same kind of problem. In this one, he needed only 92 pitches to get into the eighth. "I don't want to be out there throwing 100 pitches or 90 pitches through five innings. That's eight years ago when I did that," Price said. "I want to get back to being efficient and getting a lot of early outs." After Machado connected in the seventh, the Red Sox went up 4-1 in the eighth against Ubaldo Jimenez. Bogaerts hit a run-producing grounder and scored on a double by Ramirez. The victory -- Boston's first in a four-game series that concludes Sunday -- lifted the Red Sox past Baltimore into second place in the AL East. "It was a big night for David and a boost for us," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. NOTEWORTHY Four of Ramirez's seven HRs this season have come against the Orioles.... Baltimore fell to 19-9 at home.... Red Sox rookie OF Andrew Benintendi ended an 0-for-19 skid with a sixth-inning single.... Boston's Mookie Betts got two hits and now has 499 for his career.... RH batters were 0 for 47 against Kimbrel this season until Mark Trumbo singled in the ninth. ASHER ENCORE Orioles RHP Alec Asher was so impressive Friday night against Boston (6 1/3 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs) that manager Buck Showalter named him the starter Thursday in Washington. Asher has thus far started twice since replacing Jimenez in the rotation. TRAINER'S ROOM Red Sox: INF Josh Rutledge was a late scratch due to dehydration.... Manager John Farrell said 2B Dustin Pedroia's injured wrist continues to improve. Pedroia was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday. "We project that his first day eligible, he'd be ready to go," Farrell said.. Reliever Matt Barnes was unavailable while attending a personal matter, but is expected to return Sunday. Orioles: C Welington Castillo could end up spending the minimum time on DL after sustaining a testicular injury Tuesday night. "I'm hoping the last day or two of the 10 days that he's a go," Showalter said. UP NEXT Red Sox: LHP Chris Sale (6-2, 2.77 ERA), who has won his last five decisions and leads the majors with 110 strikeouts, gets the start in the series finale Sunday. Orioles: Making his sixth start since coming off the DL, Chris Tillman (1-2, 5.87 ERA) seeks to rebound from a rocky outing (2 2/3 innings, 5 runs) against the Yankees on Tuesday.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/06/orioles-back-in-third-place-following-5-2- loss.html Orioles back in third place following 5-2 loss (with quotes) By Roch Kubatko/ MASNsports.com June 3, 2017 Maybe it was familiarity that bred Dylan Bundy s shortest start of the season. Facing the Red Sox for the fourth time in 52 days, Bundy didn t make it past the fifth inning due to his triple-digit pitch count and the Orioles lost 5-2 before an announced crowd of 35,470 at Camden Yards. Bundy hadn t gone fewer than five innings in 11 starts, but he was pulled with the Orioles behind 2-0. Both runs scored on Hanley Ramirez s homer with one out in the fourth. Ubaldo Jiménez surrendered two runs in the eighth and Donnie Hart gave up one in the ninth. Trey Mancini had an RBI double off Craig Kimbrel with two outs in the ninth inning - the first run permitted by Boston s closer since April 20, but Seth Smith struck out looking as the potential tying run. Smith is 0-for-6 with five strikeouts lifetime versus Kimbrel, who threw 33 pitches. The Red Sox had four hits off Bundy, who walked one and struck out four. Manager Buck Showalter removed him after 100 pitches and brought in southpaw Richard Bleier with two of the next three hitters batting from the left side. Tonight marked only the second time in 12 outings that Bundy didn t register a quality start. Heading into the game, Bundy had allowed five runs and 18 hits in 20 1/3 innings against Boston while winning two of three decisions. The Orioles (29-25) are back in third place, a half-game behind the Red Sox and 3 1/2 behind the Yankees, who won earlier today. Manny Machado led off the seventh with a home run off David Price to reduce the lead to 2-1. Machado has 12 home runs on the season and half are against the Red Sox. Machado was 13-for-49 with two doubles, six home runs and 11 RBIs against the Red Sox following his towering fly ball to left field. It didn t reach the second deck, but it almost brought rain. Bleier worked two scoreless innings. Jiménez started the eighth and gave up two runs on Mookie Betts leadoff double, a sacrifice bunt, Jonathan Schoop s wide throw to the plate on Xander Bogaerts ground ball - the play was scored a fielder s choice and RBI - and Ramirez s RBI double. Jiménez concedes that he tends to struggle in his first inning, which made his insertion into a one-run game in the eighth more of a gamble. Darren O Day began warming next to him after Machado s home run, but Jiménez got the call, threw 36 pitches and allowed two runs. Betts singled off Hart in the ninth to score Deven Marrero, who doubled with one out. Bundy s velocity came back for a while. Not to his days before elbow surgery, but his fastball routinely hit 95 mph in the early innings. Betts led off the game by striking out on a slider, and Bundy stranded Bogaerts after a two-out double. Ramirez led off the second by strikeout out on a changeup, and Jackie Bradley Jr. followed by swinging through a 95 mph heater. Christian Vázquez singled with two outs, the ball eluding a sliding Mark Trumbo in right field, but Pablo Sandoval grounded out.

Two scoreless innings and three strikeouts, but also 42 pitches. Thirty of them were fastballs. Bundy threw 12 pitches while retiring the side in order in the third, but Mitch Moreland worked him for 11 in the fourth before lining to center field, his at-bat coming after Bogaerts leadoff walk. That s a productive out even if it didn t advance the runner. How often does the next hitter benefit from a prolonged at-bat? Ramirez followed with a home run into the left field seats on an 0-2 curveball after Bundy threw a slider and 93 mph fastball. It was the Orioles first deficit in 30 innings. Ramirez was 3-for-17 lifetime against Bundy before coming to the plate again. Bogaerts is 7-for- 20 with two doubles and a home run. Bundy threw 31 pitches in the fourth to raise his count to 85. Not typical for him this season. He retired the side in order in the fifth, but he also reached triple digits. Price retired nine in a row after Joey Rickard s leadoff single in the first. Adam Jones walked leading off the fourth, but Price got a popup and double play. Chris Davis led off the fifth with a single, but the Orioles couldn t do anything with it. Price struck out two batters in the inning. Five of the eight leadoff hitters reached against Price, who departed after Schoop struck out and made it to first base on a passed ball. Schoop was erased on a double play, but the Orioles put two aboard against Joe Kelly on singles by pinch-hitter Hyun Soo Kim and Rickard. Red Sox manager John Farrell brought in Kimbrel to face Jones. Jones was 0-for-2 with two strikeouts lifetime against Kimbrel. Right-handers were 0-for-45 against Kimbrel this season. Jones struck out looking at a 99 mph fastball. Trumbo singled with one out in the ninth to end Kimbrel s streak against right-handers at 0-for- 47. Davis struck out, Trumbo scored on Mancini s double off the out-of-town scoreboard in right field, Schoop walked, Smith struck out and second place was fun while it lasted. Showalter on taking Bundy out at 100 pitches: It was a push to get through five. They had like, 30, 31 foul balls (25)? Kind of did a good job of extending a lot of at-bats and it kind of piled up on him. He pitched well. He pitched well. On what made Price so good: Cutter, making the ball move both ways, commanding the ball. The changeup. The cutter was a big pitch for him, trying to cover it away. Obviously, he s got plenty of fastball to make you hurry, then the changeup is there and it looks like you kind of think he s going to get in a pattern and he doesn t get in a pattern. You try to go over the plate and he comes back in, hard in and the cutter. He s a guy that s added a pitch as he s gone on in his career. He s one of the best. That s what they do. On tack-on runs: That was our problem tonight. We only scored one run. If they don t give us second base, we only score one run. They gave us second base for the second run. The game was about not being able to do much with one of the best pitchers in the game for me. On why he used Jiménez: As opposed to who? That s it. We re not going to use Mike Wright, he had two days in a row. Darren and Brachy (Brad Brach) aren t going to pitch unless we re ahead. We re trying to stay away from them. (Mychal) Givens was a no-go tonight. So we had Bleier and them and that s where we were. He s capable of doing it. Other than his first inning, he did a pretty good job for us last time. Didn t tonight.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/06/david-price-with-a-strong-start-as-bostonwins-5-2.html David Price with a strong start as Boston wins 5-2 (quotes added) By Steve Melewski/ MASNsports.com June 3, 2017 The Orioles struggled to get to left-hander David Price tonight. When they finally did and cut their two-run deficit to one, Boston added two keys runs in the eighth off struggling right-hander Ubaldo Jiménez. The late runs, Hanley Ramirez s three-rbi night and Price s strong outing helped Boston secure a 5-2 win tonight in front of 35,470 at Camden Yards. And they have a chance to even the fourgame series on Sunday afternoon. Down four runs in the ninth, the Orioles actually brought the tying run to the plate against Craig Kimbrel after a Trey Mancini RBI double made it 5-2. But with two men on, Kimbrel got a called third strike against Seth Smith to end it. Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy failed to pitch six innings in a game for the first time this year after doing so 11 straight starts. He went five innings allowing four hits and two runs with one walk and four strikeouts. He needed 100 pitches to get 15 outs. The Red Sox really made him work during a 27-pitch second inning where they failed to score and a 31-pitch fourth when they did. Xander Bogaerts drew a leadoff walk that inning. One out later he scored ahead of a Ramirez two-run homer to left. Bundy hung an 0-2 curveball, and Ramirez got just enough for his seventh homer and a 2-0 lead. The ball traveled 362 feet. Ramirez had no homers or RBIs over his previous 31 at-bats. The Orioles finally got to Price when Manny Machado hit a fly ball to left that just cleared the wall for his 12th homer in the last of the seventh. He hit a 1-0 fastball at 93 mph to cut the lead to 2-1. Machado has six homers in 12 games versus Boston. It was Machado s fourth career homer in 37 at-bats off Price. Boston made it 4-1 in the eighth against Jiménez who replaced Richard Bleier after he threw two scoreless innings. Mookie Betts led off with a double after he had been 0-for-11 in the series. He advanced to third on a sac bunt and scored on Bogaerts grounder to second. With the infield in, Jonathan Schoop threw home but it was late and to the first base side of the plate as Betts slid in safely. Bogaerts would score when Ramirez drilled a two-out double to left for the three-run lead and a three-rbi night. Betts RBI single in the ninth off Donnie Hart made it a 5-1 game. Price went seven innings plus one batter in his second 2017 start. He gave up just three hits and one run with a walk and seven strikeouts on 92 pitches. He improved to 1-0 with an ERA of 3.00. In 25 career starts versus Baltimore, he is 12-5 with an ERA of 2.81. In 11 career starts at Oriole Park, he is 7-0 with a ERA of 2.96. The Orioles fall back into third place, a half-game behind Boston at 29-25. They had won four of five coming in but over a longer stretch are 7-15 in the last 22 games. Boston won for the ninth time in 13 games to go to 30-25. In the series finale on Sunday afternoon, Chris Tillman (1-2, 5.87 ERA) faces lefty Chris Sale (6-2, 2.77 ERA). Postgame quotes:

Bundy on Boston getting his pitch count up: Yeah, I was making pitches and they were fouling them off. That was part of them seeing me four times. Pitcher s pitches they were fouling off. Can t control that. So tough game. Bundy on allowing two runs over five innings: I mean, it s all right. It ain t good. Obviously we lost. I came out of the game and we were losing. That s on me. I hung a curveball and I told myself before the pitch all I had to do was bounce it. Then it s a whole different at-bat, whole different game if I bounce it like it was supposed to. Bundy on facing Boston four times already: There are no secrets, that s for sure. They know what I ve got and I know what they have to offer. Like I ve said before, it s a chess game and obviously I made some wrong moves here and there. Mancini on facing Price: He looked really good. Mixed all his pitches well. From a comparison from my standpoint, he pitched kind of like how CC Sabathia pitches. Just mixes in that cutter a lot in and it s very effective. He ll get you with one thing one at-bat and then he ll go to something different when you make an adjustment. He did a really good job tonight of locating, mixing pitches and keeping everybody off balance. Mancini on O s making Kimbrel throw 33 pitches and how it could impact Sunday s game: You know it stinks we didn t win the game and that is the most important thing. Come tomorrow if it s a close game and he might not be available, that could come into play and be a good thing. But right now, I don t think everybody is thinking about that too much. http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/234159630/david-price-red-sox-beat-dylan-bundy-os/ Bundy labors over five as O's fall to Red Sox By Brittany Ghiroli and Ian Browne / MLB.com June 3, 2017 BALTIMORE -- This is the David Price the Red Sox have been waiting for. In his second start back from the disabled list, Price tossed seven-plus impressive innings to lead the Red Sox to a 5-2 win over the Orioles on Saturday night. The lefty, who improved to 7-0 in 11 career starts at Camden Yards, allowed just three hits and exited after a strikeout and passed ball allowed Jonathan Schoop to reach leading off the eighth. It was Price's first win of 2017. "It felt real good," said Price. "To go out there and to get into that sixth inning and then the seventh and face a batter in the eighth, that's what I needed to do. That's what we needed from me today, and it felt good to be able to do that." "Obviously he's got plenty of fastball to make you hurry, and the changeup's there, you try to think he's going to get into a pattern and you try to go back over the plate he comes back in with the cutter," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said about Price. "He's one of those guys who's adding pitches as he goes on in his career. He's one of the best." Hanley Ramirez put Boston on the board with his sixth homer of the year, a two-run shot in the top of the fourth inning. He also doubled in one of the Sox two insurance runs in the eighth, along with Xander Bogaerts' fielder's-choice RBI, off Ubaldo Jimenez. Hanley Ramirez smacks a double and a home run, driving in three runs to lead the Red Sox past the Orioles It was a big win for the Red Sox, after losing the first two games of this four-game set in Baltimore. "We needed a W," said Ramirez. "We came out, Price did his job, and the bullpen guys are the best."

The victory moved Boston (30-25) back ahead of Baltimore (29-25) for second place in the American League East. Orioles starter Dylan Bundy turned in his shortest start of the season, at five innings, surrendering Ramirez's homer and giving up four hits and a walk over the 100-pitch outing. O's third baseman Manny Machado tallied the lone run off Price, homering to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Trey Mancini doubled in the other run in the ninth, as Baltimore brought the tying run to the plate but couldn't complete a comeback. Other than the one misfire to Machado, Price was in top form. "He was outstanding," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "I thought tonight much more consistent location to all his pitches compared to just five days ago over in Chicago. He was able to throw his cutter to both sides of the plate, he threw some really good fastballs in to some big power right-handed hitters, to keep them from extending out over the plate, but he was in complete control." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Hanley comes through: In his past 31 at-bats coming into Saturday, Ramirez had no homers or RBIs, and a.162 average, with one extra-base hit. But the Sox DH sent Bundy's 0-2 hanging curve into the left-field seats to snap the scoreless tie, and he later added a key run with a sharp RBI double down the third-base line. Clutch Kimbrel: The Orioles got a two-out hit from Hyun Soo Kim and an infield hit back to reliever Joe Kelly to threaten in the eighth. That brought on Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel, who struck out Adam Jones to improve to an amazing 46 at-bats against right-handed hitters without allowing a hit this season. Mark Trumbo ended that streak at 47 with a one-out single in the ninth. QUOTABLE "I felt good. Just trying to make better pitches. I don't want to be out there throwing 100 pitches or 90 pitches through five innings. That was eight years ago, that's when I did that. So I want to get back to just being efficient, getting a lot of early outs and not giving up a whole lot of runs." - - Price "There's no secrets, that's for sure. They know what I got and I know what they have to offer. So, like I said before, it's a chess game. Obviously, I made some wrong moves." -- Bundy, on facing the Red Sox for a fourth time. UNDER REVIEW When third baseman Pablo Sandoval's throw to first on a grounder by Mancini pulled Mitch Moreland off the bag with two outs in the seventh, the Orioles had temporarily extended the inning against Price. But Farrell challenged the call, and it was overturned. It was Price's 87th pitch of the night. Given that Machado had hit a homer off him earlier in the inning, the out couldn't have come at a better time. WHAT'S NEXT Red Sox: The Red Sox send ace Chris Sale to the mound in Sunday's finale of this four-game series against the Orioles. The lefty gave up season highs in hits (10) and runs (5) while logging a season-low five innings his last time out, but he still got the win in his return to Chicago. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET. Orioles: The Orioles will close the four-game series by sending right-hander Chris Tillman to the mound on Sunday afternoon. Tillman is coming off his shortest outing of the season (2 2/3 innings), in which he gave up five runs on seven hits, including three home runs.

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/baltimore-orioles/dylan-bundy-has-shortest-outing-season-oslose-red-sox Dylan Bundy has shortest outing of the season as O s lose to Red Sox By Associated Press June 03, 2017 BALTIMORE -- David Price took a three-hitter into the eighth inning to earn his first win of the season, Hanley Ramirez homered and drove in three runs and the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 on Saturday night. Price (1-0) allowed one run over seven-plus innings in his second start since coming off the disabled list with a strained left elbow. After belatedly launching his 2017 season with an uneven outing against the White Sox on Monday, Price looked every bit like a five-time All-Star against Baltimore. The left-hander gave up three hits, struck out seven and did not allow a runner past first base until Manny Machado led off the seventh with a home run. That was the only flaw in an otherwise sparkling performance that enabled Price to improve to 12-5 lifetime against the Orioles, including 7-0 at Camden Yards. Craig Kimbrel gave up a ninth-inning run, but picked up his 16th save in 17 tries. Boston took the lead for good in the fourth inning when Ramirez lined an 0-2 pitch from Dylan Bundy into the left-field seats after Xander Bogaerts drew a leadoff walk. Bundy (6-4) threw 100 pitches over five innings in his fourth start this season against Boston. He's 2-2 in those games. After Machado connected in the seventh, the Red Sox went up 4-1 in the eighth against Ubaldo Jimenez. Bogaerts hit a run-producing grounder and scored on a double by Ramirez. The victory -- Boston's first in a four-game series that concludes Sunday -- lifted the Red Sox past Baltimore into second place in the AL East. NOTEWORTHY Four of Ramirez's seven HRs this season have come against the Orioles.... Baltimore fell to 19-9 at home.... Red Sox rookie OF Andrew Benintendi ended an 0-for-19 skid with a sixth-inning single.... Boston's Mookie Betts got two hits and now has 499 for his career.... RH batters were 0 for 47 against Kimbrel this season until Mark Trumbo singled in the ninth. ASHER ENCORE Orioles RHP Alec Asher was so impressive Friday night against Boston (6 1/3 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs) that manager Buck Showalter named him the starter Thursday in Washington. Asher has thus far started twice since replacing Jimenez in the rotation. TRAINER'S ROOM Red Sox: INF Josh Rutledge was a late scratch due to dehydration.... Manager John Farrell said 2B Dustin Pedroia's injured wrist continues to improve. Pedroia was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday. "We project that his first day eligible, he'd be ready to go," Farrell said.. Reliever Matt Barnes was unavailable while attending a personal matter, but is expected to return Sunday.

Orioles: C Welington Castillo could end up spending the minimum time on DL after sustaining a testicular injury Tuesday night. "I'm hoping the last day or two of the 10 days that he's a go," Showalter said. UP NEXT Red Sox: LHP Chris Sale (6-2, 2.77 ERA), who has won his last five decisions and leads the majors with 110 strikeouts, gets the start in the series finale Sunday. Orioles: Making his sixth start since coming off the DL, Chris Tillman (1-2, 5.87 ERA) seeks to rebound from a rocky outing (2 2/3 innings, 5 runs) against the Yankees on Tuesday. https://www.pressboxonline.com/2017/06/04/orioles-do-little-against-david-price-in-5-2-loss-tored-sox Orioles Do Little Against David Price In 5-2 Loss To Red Sox By Rich Dubroff / PressBoxOnline.com June 4, 2017 BALTIMORE -- In Dylan Bundy's first half season as a major league starter, he pitched six innings or more in just three of his first 14 starts. In his first 11 this season, he had thrown at least six innings in each of them. The 12th start was different. The right-hander had a nice looking line, but the patient Boston Red Sox forced him to throw 100 pitches in just five innings in the Baltimore Orioles' 5-2 loss to the Red Sox before 35,470 at Oriole Park June 3. The loss broke a three-game winning streak for the Orioles, but despite the relatively brief start for Bundy, it was a solid effort nevertheless. Boston's starter was David Price, in just his second start since returning from a left elbow strain. Price has never lost in Baltimore, and his career record is 7-0. Price allowed one run on three hits in seven-plus innings. "Game was about not being able to do much against one of the best pitchers in the game," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. Bundy allowed a two-run home run in the fourth to Hanley Ramirez, but wasn't pleased with the result. "It's all right, I think. It isn't good. Obviously, we lost. I came out of the game and we were losing, so that s on me," Bundy said. "I hung a curveball and I told myself before the pitch, all I've got to do is bounce it and it's a whole different at-bat, a whole different game. If I bounce it like I'm supposed to. And I just wasn't able to that pitch. Price gave up Manny Machado's 12th home run of the year. It was the second in as many nights for the third baseman. His first home run was estimated at 465 feet and landed in the second deck. This one just reached into the left field stands and was about 100 feet shorter. First baseman Trey Mancini, who hit his second major league home run off Price last September, was impressed with what he saw with Bundy. "He looked really good. Just mixed all his pitches well. From the comparison, at least from my standpoint, he pitched kind of like how CC Sabathia pitches. He just mixes in his cutter a lot in, and it's very effective," Mancini said. "He'll get you with one thing in one at-bat, and he'll go to something different the next at-bat. When you make an adjustment, he kind of switched it up, too. He did a really good job tonight of locating, mixing pitches and keeping everybody offbalance."

RELIEF GOOD AND NOT-SO-GOOD: Left-hander Richard Bleier threw two scoreless innings in relief of Bundy and saw his ERA drop to 2.45. Ubaldo Jimenez, in his second relief outing since being pulled from the starting rotation for Alec Asher, allowed two runs in the eighth. The right-hander gave up a leadoff double to Boston right fielder Mookie Betts, who scored on a fielder's choice. Another run scored on Ramirez's double. Showalter said he had little choice but to use Jimenez in that spot because right-handers Mychal Givens and Mike Wright were unavailable, and he hoped Jimenez could work two clean innings. "So we had Bleier and then that's kind of where we were," Showalter said. "He's capable of doing it. You know, in his first inning he did a pretty good job for us last time. Didn't tonight." KIMBREL TOUGH: Boston right-handed relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel, who came on with two on and two out in the eighth, struck out center fielder Adam Jones to end the inning. Orioles right fielder Mark Trumbo singled against Kimbrel in the ninth. Right-handed hitters had been 0-for-47 against him. First baseman Trey Mancini drove in Kimbrel, and the Orioles forced the closer to throw a season-high 33 pitches, possibly keeping him out of the game June 4. FOND FAREWELL FOR FRED: Orioles broadcaster Fred Manfra, who worked a limited schedule of games this season, will end his career June 4. Manfra has called Orioles games since 1993 with Jon Miller, Jim Hunter and Joe Angel, and is moving to Florida. COMING UP: The Orioles and Red Sox conclude their four-game series June 4 at 1:35 p.m. Right-hander Chris Tillman (1-2, 5.87) faces left-hander Chris Sale (6-2, 2.77). http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-red-sox-0604-20170603-story.html Trey Mancini overcomes scouting stereotypes to show promise as Orioles regular By Jon Meoli/ The Sun June 3, 2017 How far off the radar was Trey Mancini when it came time for a major league team to turn him into a professional four Junes ago? Ask the scout who, in a brief meeting with Mancini, asked him how many innings he'd thrown that year at Notre Dame. "Zero," Mancini told him. "I'm a first baseman." Flustered, the man asked a few more courtesy questions and then left. Mancini can laugh about it now. But it's hard to blame anyone for passing on the first baseman only the Orioles wanted, and who is evolving this year into an everyday player. In a baseball world where amateur talent and minor leaguers are evaluated based on their upside with a premium on athleticism, a right-handed-hitting first baseman isn't the most attractive of prospects. No one inside the game believes they can do it until they do it in the big leagues, and even then skepticism persists. Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim provides reminder of his potential in win over Red Sox Mancini, 25, has spent four years combating that, and is prepared to do so as long as he needs to beat away the stigmas of his archetype. "You can pretty much know from the second you're drafted," Mancini said. "Eighth round, first baseman you're going to have to hit. I knew that at the time, and I probably wasn't going to make the majors being a great defender and not being able to hit."

Everyone else who saw a player like him knew the same, and that's the problem, illustrating not only how hard player evaluation and development is but how unique a case like Mancini's has become. The only reason he was so firmly on the Orioles' radar for the 2013 draft was that Kirk Fredriksson, now an Orioles scout, was the general manager of the Holyoke Blue Sox in the New England Collegiate Baseball League and had Mancini on his team in 2011. Fredriksson was hired by the Orioles the following season, and stayed in contact with Mancini the following two years to let him know the Orioles were legitimate suitors in that draft. Not many other teams saw much in Mancini. Despite sharing the field with first-round pick Eric Jagielo, scouts didn't see much from Mancini that stood out. But Fredriksson wasn't parachuting in to form an opinion he knew from a whole summer. "Kirk is a natural judge of talent, and he hustles," Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said. "That summer, he got to know him, and he got to know what his skills were.... Kirk deserves all the credit for the club drafting Trey, because even in spring training, Notre Dame came down and they worked out our ballpark over at the minor leagues. All the scouts were over there driving down on Jagielo, the third baseman who went a lot higher in the draft. Kirk said, 'The guy you've got to look at is Mancini.'" Mancini acknowledges he had a poor start to his junior season the most important for college players and knows it might have been enough to turn scouts off to him. That he ended the year batting.389 with a 1.034 OPS and seven home runs didn't matter. Scouts focused on the holes in his swing and just how hard it is for a player whose defensive future was, at that point, first base only, to hit enough to be an impactful major leaguer. John Manuel, editor-in-chief at Baseball America, has spent long enough overseeing both draft coverage and minor league evaluations to know how the deck was stacked against Mancini early on. "It's amazing to me the symmetry with Mancini being an eighth-round pick that's where the Diamondbacks got Paul Goldschmidt, and they have a few things in common," Manuel said. "They're college players, and they're both bat-right/throw-right and played first base in college. So often, those guys are just perceived to be stiff and not athletic enough. "I just think scouts there might be 100 players like that, and they just assume that all of them are stiff. And that stiffness, that rigidity to their swing, their stance, their hands, the way they develop and produce power I think that most scouts believe those guys have too much stiffness to hit big league breaking stuff, right-on-right sliders. Like Crash Davis said, they throw exploding breaking stuff in the big leagues. That's what they think those guys can't hit. So those guys being exceptions, most of them, they're right about." Mancini certainly fit that profile, but rival scouts who have tracked his progress since the 2013 draft saw indicators early that he didn't fit that model. Whether it was his draft year in Short-A ball at Aberdeen or his first full season in 2014 with Low-A Delmarva, there was something more than an organizational first baseman there. He always got the run in. He always saw the ball well. He was never the most fluid in the field, and that could play into the negative stereotype. Every scout acknowledged that his swing could get a little long, too, which created holes for pitchers to exploit and would have made him susceptible to falling short like so many of his ilk. But his ability to cut down and produce, even at those low levels, showed a smart hitter. So did the fact that he shortened his swing in their view, lessening the holes and bringing more useful power into games. By the time Mancini started hitting in High-A Frederick in the first half of 2015, he was on the radar. Still, the threshold for producing at first base is so high that it took him doing it so far in the majors for the believers to emerge.

Now, reports are being revised from a potential platoon bat to a player with a chance to stay as a regular. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said there's little reason to doubt Mancini could carry it forward, if only because there's no level you can look back at and say he hasn't hit there. "He's one of those rare guys that has, I don't want to say mastered, but he doesn't have to look behind him at a level," Showalter said. "I challenge you to find anybody on the field that we play that has shown that he can hit at that level in the New York-Penn League [at Aberdeen], Delmarva, Frederick, Double-A [Bowie], Triple-A [Norfolk]. "It doesn't happen anymore in our game. They come too fast. I think a lot of it is because of the position he plays, and that used to be the blueprint of how you develop players, so when they came up here they had a foundation." Another scout who tracked Mancini since Double-A said he believes that foundation at the plate is based in his approach. Much of Mancini's success in the majors has come with, as Showalter calls it, the lack of ego in being willing to go the opposite way into right-center field. Mancini has done that at every level, and has developed all-field power without having to cheapen his approach to drive balls. His background going the other way with pitches on the outer half allowed him to stay on time and drive both fastballs and off-speed pitches consistently. At the major league level, at least for his first 155 plate appearances, that has meant success 10 home runs and a.919 OPS over parts of two seasons, with the requisite defensive aptitude at his adopted position in left field to hand him 20 starts in 27 games in May. That's another thing that proved serendipitous about Fredriksson's recommendation he was the one who recommended the team try Mancini in left field, as he did for his summer team in 2011. Duquette subscribes to an old adage: "If you can hit, you can hit." Mancini, he said, can hit. That's all anyone has asked him to do in these past four years. "That's the message that's portrayed to you, and I never doubted that for a second, and that's what happened," Mancini said. "I looked up and ended up making the team out of spring training, which wasn't really expected last year or a couple years ago. I knew it wasn't out of the realm of possibility, too." http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-notes-no-concern-with-chancesisco-s-slow-start-dan-duquette-on-veteran-opt-outs-20170603-story.html Orioles notes: No concern with Chance Sisco's slow start; Dan Duquette on veteran opt-outs Jon Meoli/ The Sun June 3, 2017 From afar, it seems Orioles top prospect Chance Sisco is having a slower adjustment to Triple-A than he has at any other level in the minors. But after catching up with minor league catching coordinator Don Werner on Saturday, manager Buck Showalter said he doesn t have any concerns. He likes the way he s receiving and catching the ball, and Donnie said the hitting part of it, regardless of what he s hitting now, that s not going to be an issue, Showalter said. They said his footwork has gotten a little off throwing, and they think they ve made some adjustments in that.

While Sisco s defense has been constantly evolving since the team selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft, his bat hasn t wavered much. Before this year, he d never ended a season batting lower than.297, and his all-fields approach and feel for hitting made him an intriguing prospect, provided his defense allowed him to stay at catcher. But this year, he entered Saturday batting.245 with over a strikeout per game (44 in 41 games) and a.680 OPS. He was the Orioles representative in last year s All-Star Futures Game and was No. 1 on several publications organizational top prospect lists this offseason. He s a guy who -- keep in mind, this guy hadn t caught that much until he got to pro ball, Showalter said. He s 22 in Triple-A, and I challenge you to find a 22-year-old catcher in Triple- A for somebody. It s a big jump for him, but I think when the body of work is done, I think you re going to like it. Delayed decisions: June 1 contract opt-outs for veteran minor leaguers Edwin Jackson and Pedro Álvarez have passed, but the Orioles have pushed those back to give themselves more time to decide whether to add either to their 25-man roster. Executive vice president Dan Duquette updated their situations Saturday, but said it wouldn t be a regular occurrence as the club works toward a resolution. I m not going to address it every day because it s really not considerate to the rest of the players and the clubs, Norfolk and here, Duquette said. But they did give us a couple more days to see if we could create a spot. For Jackson, who has come along well as a reliever for Triple-A Norfolk, that opt-out has been pushed to Monday, according to an industry source. From 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Jackson will have 24 hours to exercise his opt-out, and if he does, the Orioles will have 48 hours from then to add him to the 25-man major league roster before having to release him from his contract, making him a free agent able to sign with any other club. He entered Saturday with a 3.26 ERA over 19 1/3 innings with the Tides this year, mostly out of the bullpen. As for Álvarez, who hit 22 home runs for the Orioles last year and went into Saturday with 12 at Norfolk this year, Duquette said we had an agreement where he gave us a few more days to see if we could create a spot for him on the big league roster." In return for a couple more days, we gave him the option to stay with us or if he found a job, to take a job with another major league club, Duquette said. Castillo coming around: Catcher Welington Castillo played catch Saturday to begin his return from an injury suffered when a deflected pitch hit him in the groin area Tuesday. I was talking to him yesterday in the dugout," Showalter said. He was still sore. [Head athletic trainer Richie Bancells] was telling me last night before he left that if he felt OK today, they were going to start the progression. I m hoping that the last day or two of the 10 days [on the disabled list] that he s a go, and we have to talk about whether he wants to go catch some or not. Castillo is eligible to return June 10 in New York. Around the horn: Sunday will be the final game of longtime Orioles radio broadcaster Fred Manfra's career. He retired from full-time broadcasting after last season, and returned for a brief schedule this season.... Showalter said Alec Asher will remain in the rotation and will start Thursday in the makeup game at the Washington Nationals. Rookie Trey Mancini started at first base Saturday to give Chris Davis a day off the field. Showalter noted that even though the bulk of Mancini's work has come in the outfield, he wants the 25-year-old to remain comfortable playing first.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/06/sale-presents-latest-challenge-fororioles.html Sale presents latest challenge for Orioles By Roch Kubatko/ MASNsports.com June 4, 2017 The Orioles get a break today from opposing Cy Young Award winners. The streak ends at two with Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello and left-hander David Price. It s telling when left-hander Chris Sale represents a break. Sale has finished third, fourth, fifth twice and sixth in Cy Young voting in his eight years in the majors. He s 6-2 with a 2.77 ERA and 0.910 WHIP in his 11 starts this season spanning 78 innings, and his 110 strikeouts lead the majors. Sale is averaging 1.8 walks and 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Right-handers are hitting.197 against him and left-handers are hitting.200. Sounds like loads of fun for the Orioles. But, hey, at least he hasn t won a Cy Young. The first three games of the series have been drama-free, with no signs of retaliation. The bad blood seems to have dried. But no one in the home clubhouse has forgotten how Sale zipped a fastball behind Manny Machado s knees at Fenway Park, or his reaction later in the night when told of the third baseman s angry comments. Sale didn t care, said he wasn t losing any sleep over it. And manager John Farrell claimed that a guy who otherwise could have dotted a butterfly s backside simply missed his spot. The Orioles couldn t do much with Sale that night, though Machado hit a long home run off him and didn t exactly rush around the bases. He allowed two runs and three hits in eight innings, with two walks and 11 strikeouts. Sale has nine quality starts this year, but his last outing was his worst since joining the Red Sox. Pitching against his former team in Chicago, he allowed five earned runs (six total) and 10 hits over five innings. The nine strikeouts were a nice touch and the Red Sox won 13-7, but the White Sox put a few dents in the armor. Sale is making his seventh career start and 13 appearance against the Orioles and is 3-2 with a 3.19 ERA and 1.417 WHIP in 42 1/3 innings. He s 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA and 1.461 WHIP in seven games (four starts) at Camden Yards. Machado is 4-for-12 with a home run and five strikeouts against Sale, and Mark Trumbo is 5- for-17 with two doubles, a home run and seven strikeouts. Chris Davis is 1-for-12. Caleb Joseph is 2-for-12 with a double and five strikeouts, but he s not catching a day game after a night game. Francisco Peña will be behind the plate for his first look at Sale. Maybe the sixth start of the season shouldn t be classified as hugely important, but Chris Tillman could use a good one today. He lasted only 2 2/3 innings in his last outing against the Yankees, allowing five runs and seven hits and surrendering three home runs to raise his ERA from 4.43 to 5.87 and leave him with a 1.870 WHIP in 23 innings. The Red Sox might be the right opponent today. At least there s a favorable history for Tillman, who s 10-3 with a 2.95 ERA in 20 career starts against them. Jackie Bradley Jr. is 5-for-14 with a double, triple, home run and six strikeouts lifetime against Tillman. Xander Bogaerts is 2-for-20 with a home run and Chris Young is 1-for-10 with a double and five strikeouts.