Orioles snap 13-game road skid with 7-4 win at Boston
BOSTON (AP) In a season with little to celebrate so far, the Baltimore Orioles had their choice of reasons to rejoice Friday night.
The Orioles beat the Red Sox 7-4, ending Baltimore's 13-game road losing streak and finally picking up a win for beleaguered starter Alex Cobb.
''You're not going to hear anything negative out of me today. I'm pretty excited to get that first win with this club,'' said Cobb, who held the Red Sox to three runs on 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings. ''When you see a goose egg next to your name in the win column, it just kind of turns your stomach. It's just ugly.''
Jonathan Schoop homered, Manny Machado went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Adam Jones had two hits and drove in two for the Orioles, who won on the road for the first time since April 8 and avoided breaking the franchise record for road woes.
''I can't remember the last time we won a game on a road,'' said Machado, who doubled in his first two at-bats and delivered a two-run single for the Orioles as they scored four in the fourth and took a 5-1 lead.
Mookie Betts doubled twice and hit his 14th homer for Boston, which lost to Baltimore for the first time in the five meetings so far this season.
Cobb (1-5) got his first win as a member of the Orioles, holding Boston to three runs and 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings. Cobb, who signed with Baltimore as a free agent after spending his first 11 seasons with Tampa Bay, had his longest outing of the season and won for the first time since Sept. 22, when the Rays beat the Orioles.
''He's a big league professional pitcher and gives us a good chance to win more times than not,'' manager Buck Showalter said.
Brad Brach pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.
Betts had an RBI double in the fifth, but Cobb was able to minimize the damage and hold Boston to two runs in the inning by getting Hanley Ramirez to ground into a double play with two runners on base.
''The double-play ball was huge. They've got so many weapons,'' Showalter said. ''They have a couple of guys in a little different world than the rest of us right now so you just try not to have anybody on base when they hit.''
Drew Pomeranz (1-2) lasted only four innings for Boston, getting pulled after the Orioles scored four in the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. Pomeranz allowed seven hits and walked three as Baltimore scored five off of him. He struck out a season-low two.
''It's just pretty frustrating,'' Pomeranz said. ''You put so much time and effort into it and you want to throw a good game for your team, especially the way our offense is. Just trying to keep us in the game, and I didn't do that tonight.''
Pomeranz escaped the first trailing 1-0 after loading the bases with one out. He survived the second and third, but couldn't get himself out of a mess in the fourth after Davis led off with a double and Danny Valencia followed with a single. Pomeranz got the next two batters, but walked Trey Mancini to load the bases for Jones, who delivered a two-run single to left. Machado followed with a line drive single to score two more.
After Schoop's solo shot off of Steven Wright in the seventh put Baltimore up 6-3, the Red Sox got an unearned run and were threatening with the bases loaded before Betts' pop-out to first ended the rally.
SLUGGER VS SLUGGER
One day after Machado took the AL lead with his 14th homer, Betts tied him with his solo shot in the third and his three-hit night raised his AL-leading batting average to .371.
''He's a dangerous combination right now,'' Cobb said of Betts. ''He's just locked in. He's where every ballplayer strives to get to.''
TRAINER'S ROOM:
Orioles: RHP Darren O'Day (hyperextended right elbow) threw in bullpen Friday, but Showalter said there's still a little discomfort. ''The good news is that it's structurally fine,'' Showalter said. ... OF Colby Rasmus (hip) could start a rehab assignment next week, Showalter said.
Red Sox: DH J.D. Martinez returned to the lineup after leaving Thursday's game in the seventh because of a stomach ailment.
UP NEXT:
Orioles: RHP Dylan Bundy (2-5, 4.53 ERA) dropped his ERA by nearly a full run in his last start, throwing seven scoreless innings Sunday while holding Tampa Bay to two hits.
Red Sox: Rick Porcello (5-1, 3.28) has allowed earned five runs in each of his last two starts, taking his first loss of the season Monday against Oakland.
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