Red Sox Tipped Over by Orioles— Fenway Turns Into Fen-blunder
Two-run ninth by Jarren Duran? Nice try—just not enough to make the bullpen look competent.
Game Recap
Hold your applause—or vodka—because the Sox hit the field Monday night and managed to do just enough for embarrassment. Baltimore’s Trevor Rogers—yes, Trevor Rogers—pierced our fragile optimism with a clinical six-plus innings of “I’ve seen worse” pitching, giving up only one run and punching out seven while doing it. Meanwhile, Boston starter Dustin May put up a “good-ish” start: six innings, two runs allowed, and a loss to boot.
Enter the bullpen, stage left, and deliver the expected disaster. Jovani Moran belched out two runs in the seventh, and Jordan Hicks basically threw in towels with two more in the ninth, turning a respectable outing into a shrug-worthy blowout.
Offensively, it was a tale of go-nowhere, with only Jarren Duran showing any urgency—ripping a two-run double in the ninth that scored all three Sox runs. But no, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Orioles’ tidy 6–3 victory.
Player Highlights (Because We Have To)
Trevor Rogers (BAL) – Mock standing ovation: shut down the Sox line-up like a bouncer at closing time. Clean, sharp, effective. Nice work, Rogers.
Gunnar Henderson (BAL) – Homer and a triple? Fine. Sure. He also collected two RBIs and three runs. Great night.
Samuel Basallo, Jeremiah Jackson, Dylan Beavers (BAL) – The rookies showed up and showed off. Multi-hit games for everyone—for a team that doesn’t even have the benefit of decades of misery? Impressive.
Dustin May (BOS) – A rare “you pitched okay, we still lost” performance. Credit where it’s due—but you still lit your own scoreboard on fire with that ERA.
Jarren Duran (BOS) – Two RBIs on a single swing in the ninth. At least someone remembered there was offense involved in baseball.
Jovani Moran & Jordan Hicks (BOS bullpen) – If the bullpen was a restaurant, they just set it ablaze. Fire drill not called. Yikes.
Stats Box Score
(Yes, that’s sarcastic. Of course the rest were completely invisible.)
Quotes & Commentary
Manager Alex Cora insisted “the bullpen wasn’t the problem”—which is technically true if you define “not the problem” as “epic zone of failure that killed any chance”.
Beautiful.
Authentic Boston optimism.
Opponent Misfires
Sure, Baltimore didn’t exactly show up with a marching band or fireworks. But honestly? They didn’t need to. Rogers had all of Boston’s bats on mute, the rookies choked out hits like it was nothing, and Henderson did more than his fair share. Their only mistake was giving Boston a window with that Duran double—otherwise they just circled around and feasted.
Red Sox Momentum Check
Let’s see—streak? Momentum? Those are cute little words that sound hopeful right before Fenway self-destructs. Boston falls to 68–58. Yankees are creeping within half‑a‑game. Sorry, but “momentum” and “this team’s direction” are about as real as a unicorn wearing socks.
Future Outlook
Next: Game 2 of this thrilling two-game homicide at Fenway...er, series. If the Sox can’t figure out how to not flame out with the bullpen again, expect more of the same. Bring in Bernardino? Snag fresh arms? We’d hope—but hope is a four-letter word in Boston.
Final Word
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