Red Sox Wrap: Orioles Clinch AL East In Boston’s Fifth Straight Loss

The Boston Red Sox added another loss to their dead-last finish, falling 2-0 to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night at Camden Yards.

With the loss, the Red Sox dropped to 76-83 while the Orioles improved to 100-59 and clinched the American League East.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Boston once again went down silent at the plate when facing an AL East rival, having no fight in the batter’s box whatsoever.

That spoiled a solid season finale from starting pitcher Chris Sale. The left-hander went five innings, allowing just one run off three hits. A solo home run surrendered was the only blemish to an encouraging outing from Sale who was revealed to be Boston’s expected Opening Day starter for 2024, according to Red Sox manager Alex Cora, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.

Both teams were lousy offensively, combining to collect just seven hits, but Baltimore came through with the biggest swings of the night.

The Red Sox lineup racked up 10 strikeouts with just two hitters — Masataka Yoshida and Trevor Story — being the only two not add to the total. They also went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, leaving five men on base.

That’s now five losses in a row with three games left to play for the Red Sox.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Baltimore’s Anthony Santander went deep off Sale, giving the Orioles just enough run production (one run) in order to send the Red Sox back to the loss column.

— Dean Kremer limited the Red Sox to no runs through 5 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts before handing it off to the Orioles bullpen.

— Sale ended the year on a strong note, pitching five innings while allowing just one run, taking the loss (5-6) with Boston’s offensive providing zero run support.

WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds of Connor Wong stealing a base at +880 entering the night. The 27-year-old cleared those odds, swiping his eighth of the season in the second inning. A $100 wager placed on Wong would’ve netted a $980 total payout.

ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox and Orioles continue their series in Baltimore on Friday night. First pitch from Oriole Park at Camden Yards is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.