Who could have seen this coming? The day after a 12-run offensive explosion, on a night where the pitching staff stood firm for six innings, the bats went cold and the Red Sox dropped the second game of the series. Nobody could have predicted this, except for those of us who have spent the past month watching these games.

Kutter Crawford was excellent once again. Two home runs to Cedric Mullins marred an otherwise great performance. The Orioles are fourth in baseball in terms of runs per game; holding them to three runs over 6.1 innings is about as good an outing as you can ask for against a dynamic offense like Baltimore. The first home run was a pesky pole shot, oh well. The second came after issuing a walk and leaving a cutter a little too far over the plate. That’s one he’d like to have back, but he was great otherwise. It’s also worth noting that this was Crawford’s 30th start of the year which is an accomplishment in and of itself.

After Crawford was lifted, Brennan Bernardino entered the game to face the Orioles’ lefties, and that’s where things went haywire. Gunnar Henderson singled on a ground ball that found a hole and Cedric Mullins grounded out for the second out. Anthony Santander was then intentionally walked to get to Ryan O’Hearn who singled on a slow roller.

At that point, Alex Cora decided it was a good idea to put a rookie in to make his debut. I’m normally an ardent Cora supporter, but I think there had to be a better option in this scenario than Luis Guerrero. Adley Rutschman has an excellent eye at the plate and excels at fighting off tough pitches. With no place to put him, it doesn’t seem to me like the best spot to put in a rookie, from Boston, who likely feels like he was just injected by an Epipen. When you’re on the big league roster, you have to be ready to contribute at any moment, but Guerrero was put in a very difficult spot. He made some pitches but ultimately found himself in a full count. Rutschman singled through the left side of the infield, scoring two runs, and opening up a four-run lead.

Author’s note: Congratulations to Guerrero. You’re officially a big leaguer, that’s really cool. He also pitched a clean eighth inning and the stuff looked dynamite. That’s even cooler.

The Red Sox rallied in the eighth, scoring two runs, but it was too little too late and the Orioles evened the series. With the Twins and Tigers both winning games tonight, tomorrow becomes a virtual must-win.

Three Studs

Kutter Crawford (6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 6 K, 1 BB)

Connor Wong (2-4, R)

Luis Guerrero (Major League Debut, 1.1 Innings, 0 ER)

Three Duds

Brennan Bernardino (0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER)

Tyler O’Neill (1-4, 3 K)

Ceddane Rafaela (1-4, K)

Play of the Game

I’m not ready to declare it yet, but sources say the Over The Monster writer’s union is leaning towards awarding Wilyer Abreu the American League Rookie of the Year Award.