Núñez, pitching carry Orioles
DH’s 30th homer backs Wojciechowski’s effort
BOSTON — Impossible as it might be, no one would think twice if the Orioles simply asked for their season to end on this note, a near-perfect 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday night.
There are still two games left, the threat level of which might be low considering the hosts looked as if they were playing in flip-flops with the offseason so close.
But with so much that deservedly will be forgotten as this team tries to get back to respectability, a night where it all went according to plan and all the positives of the season were on display is worth remembering.
Asher Wojciechowski, the pick of the heap when it comes to the Orioles’ midseason pitching acquisitions, finished strong with six innings of four-hit, scoreless ball.
Austin Hays singled twice off flamethrower Nathan Eovaldi and added a walk and a stolen base in the win. Renato Núñez hit his 30th home run of the season after sitting on 29 for nearly three weeks. Trey Mancini and DJ Stewart each walked a career-high three times.
Throw in scoreless innings for Tanner Scott (two strikeouts) and Mychal Givens (three strikeouts), plus a one-run ninth from Richard Bleier, and the Orioles improved to 53-107, with Friday’s outcome seldom in doubt.
Worth the wait
Hays doubled and Mancini walked to get the Orioles in business in the third inning, and Núñez was down 0-2 when Eovaldi hung a curveball and Núñez drilled it off the light tower atop the Green Monster in left field for No. 30.
Núñez’s home runs have typically come in bunches, so when he ended up at 25 on July 26, it felt fair to assume that 30 would only be a brief stop en route to many more this season. But his pace slowed, and Núñez hit No. 29 on Sept. 8 — making for a tense few weeks before he could finally hit the milestone.
He was also responsible for the Orioles’ tack-on run when Hays scored on a ninth-inning single by Núñez.
Watch that Woj
Wojciechowski brought his ERA down to 4.92 with six shutout innings, ending his season on a high note after both he and manager Brandon Hyde acknowledged fatigue earlier this month.
Friday was his fifth quality start of the season, and his six strikeouts were his most since July 26.
Relay drill
Wojciechowski’s shutout was preserved in the fourth inning when, with Sam Travis on first after a two-out hit-by-pitch, Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a deep line drive off the top of the short wall in right field that only narrowly missed landing in the Orioles’ bullpen.
So, Travis got on his horse, but Stewart’s relay throw to Mancini was on-target, as was Mancini’s throw home to Chance Sisco, whose tag was in time for the final out of the inning.
Boston didn’t have another base runner until the ninth inning, when Rafael Devers doubled to lead off against Bleier.