The Boston Red Sox’s busy offseason promised improvement from a forgettable 2014 season, but at least one thing seems to remain unchanged.
The Baltimore Orioles are still winning at Fenway Park
But this is not what the Red Sox wanted from their starting rotation. After one turn through, the starting staff posted a sterling 2.30 ERA in 34 1/3 innings. Yet those numbers came against weak-hitting lineups in Philadelphia and New York.
Through a dozen games, the Red Sox starting staff has now combined for a 6.24 ERA in 66 1/3 innings, worst in the majors.
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Boston (7-5) dropped seven of 10 home contests with the Orioles (7-5) last season, and have followed with two losses in three tries during this four-game set. Baltimore got to Rick Porcello for eight runs in five innings of Sunday’s 8-3 win as Adam Jones and Ryan Flaherty went deep.
Jones is 8 for 14 with five RBIs in this series, part of a nine-game stretch in which he’s hitting .571 with five home runs and 14 driven in. Jones’ 35 RBIs at Fenway in his career are his most at any opposing stadium.
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Masterson (1-0, 7.59 ERA) shined in the first start of his second stint with Boston, pitching six strong innings of a 6-2 win at Philadelphia on April 9. He followed with an abysmal performance Tuesday at Fenway, allowing seven runs and 13 baserunners in 4 2-3 innings before the Red Sox rallied for an 8-7 victory over Washington.
Baltimore will go with Wei-Yin Chen (0-0, 4.35). He failed to escape the fifth inning of Baltimore’s 6-5 win over Tampa Bay on April 7, but held the New York Yankees to two runs through six last Monday in a 6-5 loss.
Chen owned a 5.26 ERA through his first nine starts against Boston, but has since lowered that to 4.24 following two excellent outings in which he has allowed seven hits and one run over 14 innings.
Dustin Pedroia has fared well against Chen in his career, going 14 of 27 with a triple and five doubles.
After going 2 for 18 in his first five games at Fenway, Hanley Ramirez went 2 for 4 Sunday and hit his fifth homer. He went deep only 13 times last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Sox will hope to split the series Monday morning in their annual 11:05 a.m. ET game on Patriots Day. Masterson will toe the rubber for Boston, opposed by Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen.
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