AL East Division rivals will clash on Thursday night, when the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox begin a four-game series from Fenway Park. On Wednesday, the Orioles managed just four hits during a 4-1 loss versus Philadelphia. Adam Jones launched his seventh home run for Baltimore, who is 16 games below .500 overall.
Hard-throwing righty Kevin Gausman (3-2 3.18 ERA) will head to the hill for the Orioles in this contest. In his last ten starts against the Red Sox, Gausman is 3-6 with a 4.35 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 60 innings.
The Boston Red Sox have won 29 of their first 43 games and are a half-game behind New York for the AL East Division lead. Last night, J.D. Martinez blasted his 12th home run of the season to power Boston to a 6-4 victory versus Oakland. SP Chris Sale (4-1) struck out nine batters and allowed two runs over five frames to earn the win.
The Red Sox will counter with veteran southpaw David Price (3-4 4.89 ERA) in the series opener. In his last eight starts against the Orioles, Price is 5-2 with a 2.78 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 55 innings.
