Big-league ballplayers are creatures of habit. They show up to the park in the mid-afternoon, loosen up in the late afternoon, play in the evening.
So when the umpires at Fenway Park tossed out the baseball at 11 a.m. Monday, the Orioles and Red Sox had to adapt. The Orioles struggled to do that. It was as if they were still sleeping off the prior night's defeat. With a patchwork lineup, the Orioles looked sloppy defensively in the annual Patriot Day early game, a Boston tradition. A popup fell among shortstop Cesar Izturis, left fielder Luke Scott and third baseman Ryan Freel. A flyball to right-center bounced off right fielder Nick Markakis' glove -- the first error of the year for the Gold Glove-caliber defender.
The oddities of the early game continued onto the lineup card, where manager Dave Trembley was left with one available player: backup catcher Chad Moeller. Outfielder Adam Jones was nursing a tight right hamstring, and Freel had to be helped off the field after being hit by a thrown ball on a pickoff attempt at second base. Shortstop Robert Andino replaced Freel.
Once-promising right-hander Radhames Liz was tattooed around Fenway for six runs in just one-third of an inning as his ERA rose to 67.50, and he was sent to the minors after the game.
RED SOX 12, ORIOLES 1: Left-hander Mark Hendrickson kept the Orioles in the game through five innings, but the bullpen -- namely Radhames Liz -- let things get out of hand. The Orioles lost their fifth straight game as the Red Sox completed a four-game sweep.
