Nick Pivetta threw seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and the Boston Red Sox defeated the host Baltimore Orioles 3-0 on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Trevor Story drove in two Boston runs with a fifth-inning home run.
The Orioles (100-60), who were coming off clinching the American League East a night earlier, had a five-game winning streak end.
Garrett Whitlock threw the final two innings of relief to finish a combined three-hitter for the Red Sox (77-83), who posted their third win in their last 14 games. Whitlock, who recorded his first save, added three more strikeouts to the Boston pitching total.
Pivetta (10-9), who issued the only walk by Boston pitchers, snapped a personal three-game skid with his first victory since an Aug. 23 relief stint. He has reached the 10-win mark for the second time in his seven-year career, with the other coming last year with a 10-12 record.
Jordan Westburg’s double and Ryan Mountcastle’s two singles were the only Baltimore hits.
Orioles starter John Means, in just his fourth start coming off a 2022 injury, retired the first 13 batters he faced. But Rob Refsnyder’s double and Story’s third homer of the season made it 2-0 in the top of the fifth.
It was otherwise an encouraging outing for Means (1-2) that should put him squarely in Baltimore’s postseason plans. He struck out four without a walk while giving up two hits.
Only three of the 22 Boston batters who faced Means reached base, and Justin Turner, who led off the seventh with a single, was erased on a double play after Means departed.
Means, Jorge Lopez and Shintaro Fujinami ended up with four-hitter. Turner had two of the hits.
The Red Sox added a ninth-inning run off Fujinami without a hit. Ceddanne Rafaela walked, stole second, went to third on catcher James McCann’s throwing error and scored on Rafael Devers’ fielder’s choice grounder.
–Field Level Media
