The Baltimore Orioles might be one of the worst teams in MLB right now. But on Sunday, it was the Boston Red Sox who were doomed by a comedy of errors.
In the final game of a four-game series, the Orioles beat the Red Sox 5-1 in Boston on Sunday. Baltimore sealed the game with a wild two-run Little League home run from designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn in the eighth inning.
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Things went about as bad as they could have for Boston on this play: O’Hearn’s hit went deep into right-center, where a miscommunication between Red Sox outfielders Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela led to an awkward attempt to get the ball into the infield.
Rafaela eventually tossed the ball toward infielder Marcelo Mayer — who just got called up to the majors on Saturday to replace the injured Alex Bregman. But Rafaela’s throw badly overshot Mayer’s glove and actually hit O’Hearn as he safely stood on second base.
From there, Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson ran in for a score while O’Hearn sprinted to third. Mayer did his best to follow, but his ball went way wide of third baseman Nick Sogard; as a result, O’Hearn slid into third and kept running to home plate for the score.
O’Hearn’s unconventional two-run homer brought the Orioles’ lead to 5-0. The Red Sox eventually scored in the bottom of the ninth, bringing the final score to 5-1.
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The loss sealed a 2-2 series split for Boston against the worst team in the AL East.
Sunday’s loss felt like the latest in a series of embarrassments for the Red Sox. Starting pitcher Walker Buehler returned to the mound Sunday, days after being ejected alongside Boston manager Alex Cora for yelling at an umpire. Buehler allowed four hits and two runs in five innings.
The call-up of Mayer has also had some mixed results. The young infielder scored Boston’s only run off an Abraham Toro RBI single, but he was also a key part of the disastrous eighth inning.
O’Hearn had a great game overall, hitting a solo homer in the sixth inning — to nearly the exact same spot in the outfield.
With the win Sunday and a 2-1 win over the Red Sox on Saturday, the Orioles move to 18-34 on the season — leaving plenty of room for improvement. But at least Baltimore has a great highlight clip.
