Baltimore plays Boston, looks to build on Means' strong showing
Boston Red Sox (19-13, first in the AL East) vs. Baltimore Orioles (15-16, fifth in the AL East)
Baltimore; Friday, 7:05 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0, 4.18 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 31 strikeouts) Orioles: Matt Harvey (3-1, 4.07 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 22 strikeouts)
LINE: Orioles +145, Red Sox -166; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Baltimore heads into the matchup after a dominant performance by John Means. Means threw nine innings, surrendering zero runs on with 12 strikeouts against Seattle.
The Orioles are 6-7 against AL East opponents. Baltimore has a collective on-base percentage of .286, led by Cedric Mullins with a mark of .373.
The Red Sox are 7-4 against opponents from the AL East. The Boston offense has compiled a .268 batting average as a team this season, good for first in the MLB. Xander Bogaerts leads the team with an average of .356.
The Red Sox won the last meeting 14-9. Nick Pivetta recorded his second victory and J.D. Martinez went 4-for-6 with three home runs and four RBIs for Boston. Jorge Lopez registered his second loss for Baltimore.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mullins leads the Orioles with 39 hits and has 11 RBIs.
Bogaerts leads the Red Sox with 42 hits and is batting .356.
LAST 10 GAMES: Orioles: 6-4, .230 batting average, 3.74 ERA
Red Sox: 6-4, .242 batting average, 3.89 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs
INJURIES: Orioles: Mac Sceroler: (shoulder), Hunter Harvey: (oblique), Anthony Santander: (ankle), Chris Davis: (back).
Red Sox: Chris Sale: (elbow), Ryan Brasier: (left calf), Kike Hernandez: (right hamstring), Christian Arroyo: (hand).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.