By Tiffany Williams –
The Red Sox entered Tuesday night at Fenway Park hoping to avoid a sweep and halt their recent skid, but instead fell 4-3 in 11 innings to the Orioles in a frustrating loss that showcased both resilience and missed opportunities.
Boston dropped its third straight game and has now lost eight of its last 12, falling to 68-59. For a team that had surged with a seven-game winning streak from July 29 to August 5, the August slide has raised concerns as the postseason race tightens.
The Red Sox trailed for much of the night before Nathaniel Lowe, playing in just his second game with Boston after being signed prior to Monday’s contest, delivered a dramatic game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was his fourth career home run in the ninth inning or later to tie or take the lead. But despite the late surge, Boston left the winning run stranded three separate times with the bases loaded, going 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position overall.
That inability to convert ultimately cost them in the 11th, when rookie Samuel Basallo, appearing in just his third career game for Baltimore, grounded out to bring home the go-ahead run. The Orioles bullpen then closed the door, sealing Baltimore’s sixth win in its last seven games.
Boston’s offense showed flashes but never capitalized when it mattered most. Connor Wong and Roman Anthony each turned in multi-hit nights, with Wong recording his third in the last 11 games and Anthony continuing his torrid stretch since late June. Still, the Red Sox managed just three runs, marking the fifth time in their last six games they’ve been held to three or fewer. Over that span, they’ve hit only three home runs and eight doubles, a stark contrast to the more balanced attack that fueled their July surge.
On the mound, Walker Buehler gave the Sox four innings, allowing two runs while battling command issues. He walked four and was lifted in the fifth after allowing the first two men to reach. While he’s steadied somewhat after a brutal June, Buehler has now failed to reach the fifth inning in nine of his starts this season, putting continued strain on Boston’s bullpen.
That bullpen performed admirably in spots, keeping Baltimore off the board in high-leverage situations. The most dramatic sequence came in the top of the eighth, when the Orioles loaded the bases with nobody out, only for Boston pitchers to strike out three consecutive batters. Yet the relief corps couldn’t hold forever, and Basallo’s grounder in the 11th proved decisive.
Manager Alex Cora’s club has now dropped to 7-12 in extra-inning games this season, the most such games played in Major League Baseball. What’s more troubling is how they’ve unfolded at Fenway Park, where Boston has now lost three straight home contests and four of its last six, undoing much of the momentum from a dominant 14-1 run at home between early July and early August.
Baltimore, meanwhile, continues to dig itself out from a brutal start to the year. With the win, the Orioles improved to 59-67 and earned their third road sweep of the season. Their pitching, particularly the rotation, has been the backbone of their turnaround, with starters posting a league-best 2.97 ERA since July 19. On Tuesday, it was Tomoyuki Sugano who kept the Red Sox at bay, holding them to one unearned run over five innings.
For Boston, the loss underscores a troubling pattern. Since the All-Star break, they are just 8-11 in games decided by three runs or fewer, including 4-5 in one-run games. The inability to finish close contests, paired with an offense that has suddenly gone quiet, has left the Red Sox vulnerable in a tightening American League playoff picture.
The Red Sox will look to regroup quickly as they continue their homestand. But with the season winding down, the margin for error is shrinking, and nights like Tuesday’s—where opportunities slip away and opponents seize the moment—are becoming increasingly costly.