Orioles win series with a laugher, beat Red Sox 10-0

Pure domination from the Birds as Tyler Wells turned in the best start of his career, the bullpen backed him up, and the lineup brought the power.

The Orioles concluded their AL East road trip in style with a 10-0 stomping of the host Red Sox to clinch a series win at Camden North Fenway Park on Monday night.

It was about as dominant a performance as you will see in Major League Baseball. On the night, the Orioles were the better team in every aspect of the game, and boy was it fun. The lineup got things going early, and they never let up.

The bats took advantage of a bad night for Rich Hill. MASN color commentator Jim Palmer noted that Hill’s stuff lacked its normal bite. Austin Hays opened up the first frame with a hit by pitch and scored two pitches later on a Trey Mancini triple to center field. After Mancini was thrown out at the plate attempting to score on a wild pitch, Ryan Mountcastle launched a loopy curveball beyond the Green Monster for a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

Ramón Urías added to the lead in the top of the third inning with a massive two-run home run of his own. Its estimated distance was 422 feet to straightaway centerfield. Mountcastle had reached base ahead of him on a single.

It was the fifth inning that finally did Hill in. Mancini walked to lead off and moved to third on a Mountcastle double. Both runners came in to score, first Mancini on a sacrifice fly from Anthony Santander, and then Mountcastle on a groundout by Urías.

Hays scored the seventh run of the night in the top of the seventh inning. After doubling to start the inning he scooted over to third on a Mancini single. Mountcastle grounded into a double play, missing out on the RBI, but scoring Hays anyway.

The Birds final onslaught came in the ninth inning. Santander brought the power once again, this time smoking a 96-mph Matt Barnes fastball into the Boston night, driving in Mancini (single) and Mountcastle (single) in the process, to give us our 10-0 final scoreline.

All the while, the Orioles pitching staff was baffling the Red Sox lineup.

Tyler Wells turned in the best start of his young career. He threw a career-high 88 pitches while tossing six scoreless innings, striking out three, walking one, and allowing just two hits. That performance earned him his second win of the season and brought his ERA down to 3.71.

What was remarkable about the outing was how stress-free it was. Of course, a substantial early lead helped make that possible. But it barely felt like the Red Sox even threatened to score. Xander Bogaerts doubled in the fourth inning, but that was as far as an opposing runner would get with Wells on the mound.

It was a dominant performance that represented exactly what makes Wells effective. He doesn’t miss many bats, but he also pounded the strike zone and encouraged weak contact. Allowing him to go beyond 80 pitches feels like a significant step for him and the Orioles. Clearly, they are confident that he is fully stretched out at this point, but it will still be interesting to see how they handle his workload given that he is coming off of a season as a reliever, and had missed the prior two seasons completely.

The bullpen trio of Dillon Tate, Joey Krehbiel, and Logan Gillaspie kept the shutout intact through their respective innings of work. Tate was particularly impressive. His sinker was up to 99 mph and it averaged 97.5 mph, a four-mph jump from his season average. His outstanding season continues.

Next up for the Birds is a home series against the Seattle Mariners. A win for the O’s on Tuesday would earn them a .500 record in the month of May. It’s a milestone that the franchise has not achieved since going 3-3 in July during the shortened 2020 season. Prior to that, you have to go back to July, 2019 for a full month of .500 ball.

Brandon Hyde has not yet announced a starter for the Seattle opener. It won’t be a current member of the rotation, but it could be someone currently on the roster. That news will be revealed, presumably, sometime before the 7:05 first pitch.