BOSTON — Craig Breslow had a lot of new thoughts before his first start.
It didn’t seem to bother him on the mound.
First-time starter Breslow and six relievers combined on a five-hitter, and the Boston Red Sox beat Baltimore 8-0 Saturday, further denting the Orioles’ slim playoff hopes.
“I was pretty nervous,” he said. “It was kind of stupid things you never really think of like: Where am I supposed to play catch before going to the bullpen? What do I do during the anthem?”
A day after Boston journeyman Rich Hill blanked Baltimore on a two-hitter, the Red Sox emptied their bullpen.
“You have a ‘pen day, you know it’s going to be a little bit of a challenge,” Boston’s interim manager Torey Lovullo said. “You’re one or two moments away from really digging deep into that bullpen. They all stepped up and did a very good job.”
The Orioles fell 41/2 games behind Houston for the AL’s second wild-card spot. Third baseman Manny Machado made a pair of two-run errors, both coming on grounders by Xander Bogaerts.
“It’s September baseball, where you can pitch that many pitchers,” Baltimore Manager Buck Showalter said. “It doesn’t happen in August or whatever, and that’s a whole different thing.”
Making his first career start after 522 relief appearances over 10 years, Breslow allowed two hits in four innings. Heath Hembree (2-0) worked one inning for the win.
“I asked some of the other starters: ‘What time should I get here?'” Breslow said. “‘What type of a routine should I go through?’ Fortunately, they were willing to share some of their secrets.”
Josh Rutledge drove in two runs, and Brock Holt scored twice.
NOTES: Red Sox 3B Pablo Sandoval (pneumonia) missed his sixth straight game, but interim manager Torey Lovullo said he appeared to be doing better. … David Ortiz was rested.
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