Red Sox 1 - 4 Orioles
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Streaking Red Sox visit Orioles

Apr 26, 2011 - 2:42 PM

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(Sports Network) - The Boston Red Sox have seemingly recovered from their awful start to the season. The Red Sox try to stay hot tonight when they open a three-game set with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

After opening the year with six straight losses and just two wins through their first 12 games, the Red Sox have clawed their way back to within a game of .500 thanks to wins in eight of their last nine games.

Boston won its fifth straight game and completed a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Sunday, as Carl Crawford notched his first home run of the season and Adrian Gonzalez had three hits and drove in two runs to a 7-0 win.

John Lackey (2-2) was stellar in a scoreless eight-inning showing where he struck out six batters and allowed just six hits.

"I felt good," Lackey said. "I was locating pitches. We scored runs early and that helped. Our rhythm was the best it's been. This is a great place to pitch at."

Boston's starting pitching has keyed the turnaround, as the group has lasted at least five innings while allowing two runs or less in each of the last nine games. The impressive run, which has seen the rotation pitch to a 0.88 ERA, has tied the longest such streak in team history, set back in 1946.

Hoping to keep that momentum going tonight will be right-hander Clay Buchholz, who picked up his first win his last time out. Buchholz defeated the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, holding them a run and six hits in 5 1/3 innings, as he improved to 1-2 on the year to go along with a 5.31 ERA.

Buchholz has faced the Orioles nine times (eight starts) and is 5-2 against them with a 2.98 ERA. Buchholz, of course, no-hit the Orioles in just his second big league start back in 2007.

Baltimore, meanwhile, was swept in a weather-abbreviated two-game set by the New York Yankees over the weekend. The Orioles actually rallied from a three- run deficit in that one and tied the game in the ninth off of Mariano Rivera, before falling 6-3 in 11 innings.

"Close isn't good enough for those guys in that clubhouse," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "They're frustrated right now because they know that there's a very fine line and we'll get some breaks to go our way."

The Orioles have now lost 11 of their last 13 games following a 6-1 start to the season.

Hoping to right the ship tonight for the Orioles will be rookie right-hander Zach Britton, who is 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA. Britton bounced back from his first loss of the year on Wednesday to beat the Minnesota Twins, as he allowed three runs and five hits in six innings.

This will be his first-ever appearance against the Red Sox.

Boston split its 18 games with the O's last season, but was 16-2 against them in 2009.






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