BOSTON _ No flags will fly for the accomplishments of the 2019 Orioles, but what positives do exist, they continue to become evident even on the last weekend of the season.
Saturday's 9-4 win over the Boston Red Sox before an announced sellout matinee crowd was just the latest opportunity for that, with rookie starter John Means capping his All-Star season on a positive note, four Orioles hitting home runs and everyone in the lineup getting at least one hit.
The two wins to open the series give the Orioles (54-107) a chance for their first sweep of the year Sunday, the last day of the season, though Boston (83-78) will be trying to earn former Orioles farmhand Eduardo Rodriguez his 20th win.
It would have been a fate far more cruel than Means (12-11) deserved had he not grinded out another winning start the way he did, though it looked shaky early. The Orioles took an early 2-0 lead on a home run by DJ Stewart in the first inning. Means gave it right back with interest on back-to-back home runs by Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez in the bottom of the frame to create an early 3-2 deficit.
But he didn't allow another hit until the fifth inning, when he stranded two and left having allowed three runs on five hits with five strikeouts and a pair of walks. While he doesn't qualify for the ERA title because his 155 innings will be seven shy of the threshold, Means' 3.60 ERA is one of the best in the American League.
He left with a lead thanks to a second-inning home run by Richie Martin and a third-inning home run by Renato Nunez. The Orioles extended their advantage even further before turning it over to the bullpen with a four-run inning against former teammate Andrew Cashner. Trey Mancini's 35th home run of the season in the ninth produced the final margin.
Cashing in some IOUs
Pitching for the second straight game in relief against his former team, Cashner didn't close out his 2019 on a high note Saturday.
Chris Davis doubled and scored on a single by Austin Wynns. Wynns scored from first on a double by Martin. Martin scored when Jonathan Villar hit an RBI single, and Villar scored on a single by Mancini.
Cashner, who made six starts after the July 13 trade for a pair of Venezuelan teenage prospects before he was moved to the bullpen, has a 6.20 ERA with a 1.62 WHIP for Boston.
Close call
What grew to be a comfortable lead off Cashner got a little squirmy in the late innings, especially in Branden Kline's seventh. He took over with one out and loaded the bases in unique fashion over the course of the next three hitters.
The single by Bogaerts and walk by Martinez were understandable, but then Kline fielded a high one-hopper back to the mound and turned toward second to try to start a double play _ only to find neither Martin nor Villar covered the base.
Kline threw anyway, and Martin had to body-block it behind the bag. But the two infielders combined on an inning-ending double play the next batter to spare further blushes.
Left-hander Richard Bleier had an inning-ending double play of his own in the eighth before combining for a clean ninth with Dillon Tate.
