Orioles at Red Sox
Chris Davis was close to breaking through over his last several at-bats and finally snapped the longest hitless drought in major league history in fine fashion on Saturday. The Baltimore Orioles will try to ride that momentum to consecutive wins when they visit the Boston Red Sox for the third of a four-game series on Sunday.
Davis was 0-for-54 before singling in a pair in the first inning on Saturday and added a go-ahead double in the fifth before tacking on an insurance run with an RBI fielder's choice in the sixth and finishing 3-for-5 with four RBIs to lead the Orioles to a 9-5 victory. The win snapped a four-game slide for Baltimore, which finally put together a solid pitching performance after yielding a total of 37 runs in the four losses. The Red Sox are dealing with their own pitching woes and could not string together back-to-back quality starts after getting the first win from a starting pitcher on the season in Friday's 6-4, series-opening triumph. Boston might not have to see Davis with left-hander David Price taking the mound on Sunday opposite Baltimore rookie lefty John Means.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, MASN (Baltimore), NESN (Boston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles LH John Means (1-1, 2.08 ERA) vs. Red Sox LH David Price (0-1, 6.00)
Means is taking his second turn in the rotation in place of right-hander Alex Cobb, who is out with a back injury. Means, who made three solid relief appearances before making his first career start on Tuesday, suffered the loss while allowing five runs - one earned - on four hits and a walk in three innings against Oakland. The 25-year-old rookie owns 10 strikeouts in 8 2/3 total innings but only one of those came in his lone start.
Price served up three home runs in his season debut against Oakland on April 1 but fared better in his second start at Arizona on April 6. The former Cy Young Award winner yielded four runs on seven hits over six innings against the Diamondbacks but all four of the runs came in the second inning and he did not factor in the decision. Price had his way with Baltimore last season, going 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts while striking out 24 in 20 total frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Red Sox RF and reigning AL MVP Mookie Betts is 2-for-18 with one extra-base hit over the last six games.
2. Orioles 3B Rio Ruiz went 2-for-4 on Saturday, doubling his hit total from the previous six games.
3. Boston RHP Colten Brewer allowed four runs without recording an out on Saturday.