BALTIMORE — Adam Jones hit a pair of two-run homers and the Baltimore Orioles received another steady performance from right-hander Chris Tillman in a 7-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night.
The AL East champion Orioles moved within two games of the Angels in the race for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, pending Los Angeles’ late game against Texas.
Tillman (13-5) gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings. He has allowed three runs or fewer in 20 consecutive starts, tied with Steve Barber for the second-longest such run in Orioles history behind Dave McNally (25).
Baltimore’s likely starter in Game 1 of the playoffs, Tillman is 6-0 in 13 starts since July 12.
Jones connected against Rubby De La Rosa (4-8) in the third inning and Heath Hembree in the fifth. It was his sixth career two-homer game, the second this season.
Christian Walker also went deep for Baltimore, hitting a solo shot in the fourth for his first major league homer.
Boston got another home run from David Ortiz, his third in two games and No. 35 of the season. Ortiz now has 466 for his career, passing Dave Winfield for sole possession of 33rd place on the all-time list.
De La Rosa gave up four runs in four innings and is winless in his last seven starts.
After Mookie Betts walked to open the game, Ortiz hit a 75 mph curveball into the seats in left-centre. He was previously 2 for 24 against Tillman with no home runs.
Jones tied it in the third with Baltimore’s major league-leading 200th home run of the season. The Orioles have hit at least 200 in three straight years for the first time in franchise history.
Inserted as a late replacement for an injured Steve Pearce, Walker led off the fourth with a drive into the centre-field bleachers. The Orioles’ fourth-round pick in 2012 was playing in his third big league game.
Later in the inning, Jonathan Schoop delivered a successful suicide squeeze to make it 4-2.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: INF Brock Holt (concussion) resumed baseball activities on Friday and "came out of them fine," manager John Farrell said. Holt will be examined Tuesday by Dr. Larry Ronan, the team’s medical director.
Orioles: Pearce was scratched with a sore right wrist, a move the team labeled "a precaution." Also, RF Nick Markakis (shoulder) missed a third straight game since being hit by a pitch from Toronto’s Aaron Loup.
UP NEXT
The Orioles wrap up their regular-season home slate when they send Miguel Gonzalez (9-8, 3.28 ERA) to the mound on Sunday against RHP Joe Kelly (2-2, 4.21 ERA) , who makes his ninth start for Boston since being traded from St. Louis on July 31.
