The Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles wrap up their three-game weekend series in Baltimore on Sunday night in the . The game will be played in Williamsport, PA and will be MLB's 5th annual Little League Classic. The long-time AL East rivals are battling both for position in the AL East standings but also for a shot at one of the three AL Wildcard spots. On the mound on Sunday night will be righty Nick Pivetta (9-9, 4.28) of the Red Sox taking on Dean Kremer (5-4, 3.48) of the Orioles. Game time is set for 7:00pm EST.
The Red Sox' disappointing season still has hope with a quarter of the season left to go. Boston is still mathematically alive in the AL Wildcard race and still have games remaining with many of the other contenders. The return of Kike Hernandez to the Boston lineup and the improvement of Boston's pitching suddenly has the Fenway Faithful thinking the playoffs are not out of reach. In the first two games of this crucial series with Baltimore, it has been a tail of two vastly different styles. In game one, Boston had 19 hits and scored 10 runs but allowed 18 hits and 15 runs as the Orioles took the opener 15-10. In game two, Boston got another excellent start from Michael Wacha and a timely two-run home run from Hernandez to take a 4-3 win. The two teams now travel to Williamsport, PA for the series rubber match.
Boston, you've outdone yourself. pic.twitter.com/WEFvSL3h44
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 14, 2022
Was it too little, too late for the Red Sox or can they still make some noise? The solid returns from starters Michael Wacha and Rich Hill suddenly have the Red Sox thinking that they have time to do this. In addition, the team's bullpen has been bolstered by the return of Garrett Whitlock to his closer's role after starting for the first half of the season and the renewed velocity from former closer and all-star Matt Barnes. If Whitlock and Barnes can fortify the backend of the Sox bullpen, a late run is not out of the question. On the mound hoping to keep the Sox hopes alive on Sunday will be Nick Pivetta. Pivatta evened his record to 9-9 with a strong one-hit start against the Pirates this week. In his last five games, he is 1-2 with an ERA of 3.45. He has given up 29 hits in 28.2 innings pitched in that span with 26 strikeouts and 11 walks.