O’s drop finale to the Red Sox
The Orioles use 8 pitchers in the loss, can rest before ALDS
Tanner Houck threw six innings of one-hit ball as the last-place Boston Red Sox earned a split in the four-game series against the American League East champion Baltimore Orioles with a 6-1 victory Sunday in the regular-season finale at Camden Yards.
The Orioles have home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs and will host a Division Series opener starting Oct. 7 against the winner of Texas’ series at Tampa Bay.
“I am really proud of how we played for six months,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “We didn’t play our best baseball game today, unfortunately, in the last game in front of the home fans. How well we played this year, home and away, is definitely something to be proud of.”
Houck (6-10) did not allow a hit until Anthony Santander singled up the middle with two outs in the sixth. Houck had six strikeouts and three walks on 87 pitches.
Boston finished 78-84, the same record as last year. The Red Sox were mourning former pitcher Tim Wakefield, who died at age 57.
“The game is secondary. Tough day for us,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We lost a brother, a teammate, a family member. Like I was telling the guys, this guy is one of the best teammates I ever had. This guy was there for us all the time. He was accountable. He was what a Boston Red Sox should look like.”
Hyde wanted to keep his team healthy and rested for the playoffs and used eight pitchers in the game.
“I was nervous the last two days,” Hyde said about possible injuries.
Kyle Bradish, who could start Game 1 of the Division Series, threw two scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
Late Saturday
Astros 1, Diamondbacks 0: Justin Verlander pitched five innings, José Abreu hit a run-scoring double and Houston beat Arizona as both teams clinched spots in the upcoming playoffs.
Verlander (13-8) helped the Astros to World Series wins in 2017 and 2022 but signed as a free agent with the New York Mets during the offseason. After a disappointing few months, the Mets traded the three-time Cy Young Award winner back to the Astros at the trade deadline. He ended up helping them win the AL West and a first-round bye. He provided another good outing Saturday, giving up two hits and three walks while striking out five.
Braves 5, Nationals 3: Marcell Ozuna hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fifth inning, Spencer Strider shook off a shaky first inning to get his 20th win, and major league-leading Atlanta beat Washington.
Strider, the MLB leader in strikeouts and victories, got off to a rough start with a 36-pitch, three-run first inning. He settled down to finish with seven strikeouts on 94 pitches in five innings.
Washington reliever Jordan Weems (5-1) gave up two hits and two runs in one-third of an inning to take the loss.
Orioles 5, Red Sox 2: Ryan Mountcastle hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning and scored on an infield hit to lead AL East champion Baltimore over last-place Boston for its 101st win.
Baltimore is finishing its winningest season since going 102-57 in 1979.
Winner Bruce Zimmermann (2-0), recalled from Triple-A Norfolk earlier in the day, pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Kyle Gibson, who allowed seven hits in five scoreless innings.
Athletics 7, Angels 3: Shea Langeliers hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in Oakland’s five-run eighth inning during a road victory.
Rookie Zack Gelof, a former Virginia Cavaliers star, slugged his 16th homer and added two late RBI singles for the 111-loss A’s, who endured their franchise’s worst season since 1916.