The Orioles and Red Sox came into this series tied for first place and hoping to gain ground on the other with a few victories. These two teams have been fighting back and forth for first place in the American League East all season with no other team holding the spot since the Toronto Blue Jays on April 4th.

Game One: Orioles: 3, Red Sox: 2

Chris Tillman was handed the ball to start this series for the Orioles, hoping to give them an early advantage in the series. Tillman did not disappoint as he went 7 innings allowing one run on five hits, striking out seven and walking only two.

The Orioles three runs came courtesy of a Manny Machado two run home run in the first inning and a Jonathan Schoop solo shot in the eighth inning. Schoop gave the Orioles a much needed insurance run due to Zach Britton allowing a run, which was charged to Mychal Givens, in the bottom of the eighth making it a 3-2 game.

Game Two: Red Sox: 6, Orioles: 4

In a game that was looking to be a pitchers duel, it was nothing of the sort. Kevin Gausman was handed the ball and struggled a good amount. Gausman only went 3 innings allowing six runs on seven hits while striking out only three and walking two. This is the second time Gausman has struggled against the Sox this season with the first appearance against them going six innings at least but still allowing five runs.

The only offense the Orioles could put together came thanks to an Adam Jones two run home run, Matt Wieters RBI double and a Jonathan Schoop RBI single, giving O’s fans some hope in the late innings as they crawled back to being down by only two runs.

The big blow against Gausman came when Hanley Ramirez hit a monster three run home run in the bottom of the third, extending the already 3-0 lead to a 6-0 one for the Red Sox.

As for the Red Sox starter, Steven Wright, he pitched very well once again against the Orioles. Wright went 7 1/3 innings allowing three runs on six hits while striking out four and walking only one. As many Orioles fans know, the team struggled mightily against Wright the last time they faced him so it is a good sign to see that they were able to get three runs against him this time around.

Game Three: Orioles: 5, Red Sox: 1

In the series finale, with the teams once again tied for first place, the Orioles would send Tyler Wilson to the mound to try and help the Orioles gain a game on the Sox in the division.

Wilson pitched very, very well going 8 innings allowing no runs on three hits while striking out six and walking only one. Brad Brach came in to finish up the game since he has not worked since last Saturday against the Blue Jays. This was a much needed start that the Orioles needed to help the bullpen rest one day and only having to use a reliever that has not seen the mound in a while.

Also helping Wilson pitched comfortably, the Orioles offense was right there for him. Adam Jones started the scoring in the top of the third with a two run home run and then followed it in the fourth with an RBI double, hopefully the sign that he is fully healthy now and fully back on track.

The Orioles continued the scoring with a Chris Davis RBI single and a Jonathan Schoop RBI double, extending the lead to 5-0.

This series win is very much a pleasant sign for this team. It ultimately means that they can go into an opponents home park and take the series and look good in all facets of the game. The starts by Chris Tillman and Tyler Wilson were very encouraging to me with Wilson ultimately pitching to save his spot in the rotation with Yovani Gallardo set to return very soon.

I just hope soon enough that Kevin Gausman is able to find his first win and start to get adequate run support to back up his pitching which has been solid at times this season.

The Orioles will now come back home for a three game set against the Toronto Blue Jays which is immediately followed by a make-up game in Texas against the Rangers. After that, they will return home to face the San Diego Padres for three games and then welcome the Tampa Bay Rays for four game with a doubleheader set for Saturday.

As for the series against the Blue Jays, Mike Wright is set to open the series against Aaron Sanchez. In the second game of the series, Yovani Gallardo is projected to return from the disabled list and make his first start since April 22nd. He will be facing off against R.A. Dickey while Marcus Stroman is announced to start the series finale for the Blue Jays with the Orioles starter yet to be announced.