BOSTON — Zach Britton has done a masterful job of closing games for the Baltimore Orioles this season, and he might just help them close out the American League East.
Britton converted a four-out save on Tuesday night, making him an incredible 42-for-42 in save opportunities on the season, as the Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 6-3 at Fenway Park.
“You run out of things to describe what he’s done for us this year,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Britton, who set down Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz in order in the ninth inning.
“To go out there in the ninth inning and go three up, three down the top of their order … on the road, that’s hard to do,” Showalter added.
J.J. Hardy and Nolan Reimold provided the bulk of the damage with homers in a five-run Orioles’ second, and Jonathan Schoop added a solo homer in the ninth.
Baltimore (79-65) pulled into a tie for second place in the AL East with the Toronto Blue Jays, who lost at home to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.
The Orioles and Blue Jays are two games back of division-leading Boston (81-63), which slugged its way to a 12-2 victory in the series opener Monday and had won five of six coming in.
“It might be the toughest division in baseball,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said.
Britton leads the AL in saves, and his remarkable save streak is the longest to start a season in major league history by a southpaw, according to STATS, LLC.
“It’s very impressive,” Reimold said of Britton. “Every time he comes in, you feel like the game’s over.”
Dylan Bundy (9-5) escaped with a victory after a rocky 5 1/3-inning start, giving up three runs on six hits and four walks with four strikeouts.
Bogaerts clubbed his 19th homer, Travis Shaw was 3-for-4, and Pedroia and Jackie Bradley Jr. had two hits apiece for Boston.
“(A five-run deficit) in Fenway Park is nothing,” Shaw said. “We didn’t think that was going to be enough to win tonight.”
Drew Pomeranz (2-5) lasted only two-plus innings, surrendering five runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three. He dropped to 10-12 overall after beginning the year with the San Diego Padres.
Pomeranz ran into trouble early and was gone before an out was recorded in the third inning.
Hardy launched a 3-2 pitch from Pomeranz for a three-run homer, which bounced off the Selfeo sign on top of the Green Monster in left field with one out in the second.
It was Hardy’s first homer since an Aug. 29 blast and his 10th of the campaign.
Reimold, making his first start since Sept. 3, added a two-run shot — his sixth of 2016 — two batters later, clanging a 3-2 Pomeranz pitch off the light tower on the Monster.
“It’s pretty frustrating,” Pomeranz said. “I was trying to get in on some of those guys and the ball was just shooting back over toward the middle of the plate.”
Bundy didn’t fare much better in the Baltimore second, loading the bases with one out in the frame.
He walked Ryan Hanigan and Pedroia in consecutive plate appearances to cut Boston’s deficit to three, but struck out Bogaerts and induced an inning-ending David Ortiz bounce out to first.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Bundy said. “It could have been 6-5 or something like that.”
Bogaerts redeemed himself with a solo blast onto the second row of the Monster to lead off the fifth.
Schoop’s insurance blast in the ninth was his 24th of 2016.
NOTES: Boston LF Andrew Benintendi was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list, but OF Chris Young started in left field. The move came a day early because INF/OF Brock Holt has a sore shoulder. Benintendi, 22, landed on the DL on Aug. 25 with a left knee sprain. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft made his major league debut Aug. 2. … Baltimore OF Steve Pearce (forearm) was not in the lineup and may undergo an MRI exam. … Red Sox INF Yoan Moncada, 21, was named the 2016 Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America. Moncada, who did not start, hit .294 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs in 106 games between Single-A-Advanced Salem and Double-A Portland. … Orioles RHP Kevin Gausman (7-10, 3.61 ERA) opposes Red Sox RHP Rick Porcello (20-3, 3.21 ERA) in Wednesday’s series finale.
Rays 6, Blue Jays 2
TORONTO — Alexei Ramirez hit a three-run homer, Steven Souza Jr. hit a solo shot, Drew Smyly won his fifth consecutive decision, and the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 Tuesday night.
The victory gave the Rays (61-83) the season series over the Blue Jays (79-65) at 10-8 with the rubber match in the current three-game series to be played Wednesday afternoon.
Russell Martin hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays, who entered the game second in the American League East, two games behind the Boston Red Sox.
Smyly (7-11) allowed two runs on five hits and one walk in 5 2/3 innings. The left-hander struck out four.
Marcus Stroman (9-8) allowed four hits, four walks and three runs in six innings. The Toronto right-hander struck out four in losing his third consecutive start.
The Rays led 3-0 after Ramirez’s fifth-inning, three-run homer. Martin’s 18th homer of the season with two outs in the sixth trimmed the lead to 3-2, also scoring Jose Bautista, who had walked.
Ryan Garton replaced Smyly after Martin’s homer.
Souza hit his 17th homer of the season with one out in the seventh against Joe Biagini, and the Rays led 4-2.
Left-hander Dana Eveland, recalled Monday from the minors, replaced Garton in the bottom of the seventh after a leadoff single by Kevin Pillar, and he struck out Ezequiel Carrera.
Danny Farquhar replaced Eveland to face pinch hitter Dioner Navarro, who flied out to left. Devon Travis kept the inning alive with a single to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Bautista walked to load the bases before Edwin Encarnacion struck out to end the threat.
Rays reliever Kevin Jepsen pitched around a single in the eighth.
The Rays scored twice in the ninth.
Corey Dickerson opened the ninth with an infield single against Matt Dermody. Scott Feldman entered the game and walked Souza. Ramirez sacrificed the runners to second and third. Bobby Wilson walked to load the bases.
Logan Forsythe forced Wilson at second on a slow grounder to shortstop as a run scored.
Aaron Loup replaced Feldman and threw a run-scoring wild pitch on his first offering, then hit Kevin Kiermaier with a pitch to load the bases again.
Erasmo Ramirez pitched a perfect ninth for the Rays.
The Rays had a promising start to the third when Souza walked and took second on a single by Ramirez.
Stroman retired Bobby Wilson on a called third strike and Logan Forsythe bounced to shortstop to start the inning-ending double play.
Kevin Kiermaier led off the fourth with a walk, the third of the game allowed by Stroman.
Evan Longoria followed with a line out to right fielder Carrera, who threw to first to double up Kiermaier.
Ramirez put the Rays up 3-0 with his sixth homer of the season with one out in the fifth. It followed a double by Dickerson and a walk to Souza.