BOSTON -- Rich Hill continues to author one of baseball's more remarkable late-season stories, pitching his first shutout since 2006 to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 7-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night at Fenway Park.
Hill fanned 10 hitters for the third time in as many outings this season while walking one.
The play of the game, which will be seen for years on highlight reels, was Mookie Betts’ robbery of a seemingly certain Chris Davis home run for the final out. Betts leaped onto the short wall in front of the Red Sox bullpen and nearly fell over it with the ball in his glove, but bounced back onto the field of play to show his prize, setting off a jubilant celebration at Fenway.
David Ortiz provided the bulk of the offense with three doubles and three RBIs, while Xander Bogaerts had three hits, two runs scored and an RBI for Boston, which clinched a winning record at home (41-38) in the opener of the final series at Fenway this season.
Here’s how it happened:
Richie Rich: Hill needed 116 pitches to complete his gem. He gave up a leadoff hit in the first, then retired the next 16 hitters before his own error got him in trouble in the sixth.
The Milton, Mass., native got out of a first-and-third jam in that frame by fanning Manny Machado on a changeup, then cruised through the final three frames, with help from his right fielder.
After Betts hauled in the final out in his best play (by a long shot) since moving to right field, Hill stood somewhat stunned on the mound. His teammates soon mobbed him as he became the first Red Sox pitcher to throw a shutout this season.
Streaks, milestones and such: This section of late has been dominated by Betts, Bogaerts and Ortiz, and that remained the case Friday.
Betts drew a walk in his second trip to the plate to extend his on-base streak to 28 games. It is his 10th walk in that stretch. The Red Sox are hoping for Betts’ walk totals to increase as he develops.
Bogaerts delivered the game’s first run on an RBI double in the third. He was robbed of a second RBI when Dustin Pedroia was thrown out trying to score from first on the play, but Bogaerts has reached 23 games in a row while batting .389 and driving in 19 runs.
As for Ortiz, his double to lead off the second was the 579th of his career, snapping a tie with Hall of Famer Wade Boggs and moving him into 20th place alone on the all-time list. His double in the sixth plated a pair -- in wild fashion (more on that in a moment) -- and moved him into a tie with Albert Pujols for 19th place. The two-bagger in the eighth moved him ahead of Pujols, who was playing later at home against Seattle.
About that two-run double: Ortiz’s smash to right came with Pedroia on second and Bogaerts on first. Pedroia took a little longer to get the read on the drive as it sailed over the glove of right fielder Dariel Alvarez, and Bogaerts was right on his tail as they rounded third.
Third-base coach Brian Butterfield was waving Pedroia but seemed to want to hold Bogaerts. Pedroia may have noticed the beginning of a stop sign, or heard something from Butterfield, for he hesitated for a millisecond, which allowed Bogaerts -- who did not stop -- to get even closer.
The relay from Alvarez was not a bad one, but both Pedroia and Bogaerts flopped into home plate safely, just steps apart.
Up next: For anyone who actually enjoys pitching changes, Saturday is the game for you. The Red Sox will give veteran reliever Craig Breslow his first career start in a game that figures to give the Boston bullpen plenty of use. Breslow is expected to give the Red Sox about 40 pitches before interim manager Torey Lovullo will be forced to make a move. Lefty Wei-Yin Chen starts for the Orioles. First pitch is 4:05 p.m. ET.
