Red Sox’s 15-game win streak ends in loss to Orioles
The Red Sox's 15-game winning streak ended with a 5-1 loss to Baltimore on Wednesday. The streak had tied the longest in franchise history and left Boston one win shy of a new team record.
The Boston Red Sox's improbable 15-game winning streak came to an end Wednesday with a 5-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park.
Rookie starter Eduardo Rivera lasted just two innings, giving up four runs in the first inning before being pulled to jeers from the crowd. Rivera, filling in for injured rotation mainstay Ranger Suarez, had pitched effectively before the All-Star break but struggled in his most recent outing Friday and couldn't find his footing against Baltimore.
The loss snapped Boston's run of consecutive victories that had tied the longest win streak in club history—a 15-game streak set in 1946 by a Ted Williams-led team that reached the World Series. The Red Sox had won the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader 6-3, putting them one win away from setting a new franchise record.
Right-hander Brayan Bello provided stability in relief, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings to keep the game close. But Boston's bats, which had shown remarkable resilience throughout the streak with six comeback victories among their 15 wins, managed only a single run. Willson Contreras hit a ground-rule double and scored on Masataka Yoshida's RBI single in the fourth inning, but the Red Sox could not generate further offense against Orioles starter Kyle Bradish, who allowed one run over six innings.
The streak itself represented a dramatic turnaround for a franchise in freefall just weeks earlier. On June 24, Boston held the worst record in the American League at 32-46, sitting 14 games below .500. Since then, the Red Sox have won 20 of 23 games and climbed into third place in the AL wild-card race.
Suarez's absence forced Boston to rely on Rivera for Wednesday's start. The veteran had been recovering from a groin strain but fell ill earlier in the week, and intense workout sessions trying to prepare his return set back his recovery further.
Boston has three games scheduled this weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays, beginning an opportunity to start another winning stretch. The Red Sox hold 11 days before the August 3 trade deadline—a window in which management indicated the team is worth adding to given its recent performance.
