Those of us — pretty much all of us — who hoped the Red Sox would rebound from three straight losses against the Rangers with a bravura performance against the Orioles got the exact opposite of what we wanted... for most of the game, at least as the team lost a surprise squeaker, 8-5, in a game that only felt close at the very end.
Brockton boy Sean Newcomb made the start and gave up four runs before he remembered how to throw a strike, Rafael Devers continued to flail about, and some gritty middle innings were wasted when Justin Slaten made hash of things and the whole operation got out of control.