Albert Suárez gave another strong scoreless performance for Baltimore, and with home runs from Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, the Orioles won 4-2 over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, splitting their four-game series.
Suárez (6-4) had briefly returned to the bullpen after the trade deadline, but with Grayson Rodriguez injured, the Orioles needed him back in the rotation.
Suárez has now had three straight starts, totaling 17 2/3 innings, without allowing a run. Even though Baltimore was outhit 11-3 in this game, they managed to win after losing the first two games of the series.
Suárez allowed seven hits, struck out six, and didn’t issue any walks in six innings. He struck out Tyler O’Neill on a full count after the first two batters reached base in the fourth inning. Although two more batters reached base in the sixth, the 34-year-old right-hander struck out three in that inning.
“He’s really professional and mature,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “He just really goes on to the next pitch really, really well because he’s got a lot of years of experience here and overseas.”
Three relievers finished the game. Seranthony Domínguez entered in the eighth with a three-run lead and retired Romy Gonzalez on a bases-loaded popup. He allowed a one-out home run to Rob Refsnyder in the ninth but held on for his third save since being traded to the Orioles before the deadline.
The Orioles moved within half a game of the AL East-leading New York Yankees, who played Detroit later on Sunday. Boston fell to 3 1/2 games behind Kansas City for the final American League wild-card spot.
“Every game is a big one for us,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We have a good team. We’re in the hunt.”
Kutter Crawford (8-10) allowed three runs and two hits in 5 1/3 innings, improving after giving up 26 runs in 24 innings over his previous five starts. Rutschman’s solo home run started the scoring. Baltimore then had runners on first and second with no outs in the sixth inning.
