BOSTON _ The Orioles arrived at Fenway Park on Monday having taken two of three games from the Detroit Tigers on the road this past weekend, but any momentum they brought into their pivotal division series with the Boston Red Sox quickly died with the slew of hits left-hander Wade Miley allowed.
Miley, the non-waiver trade deadline acquisition who was supposed to bolster the Orioles' starting rotation, lasted just 1 1/3 innings _ his shortest outing of the season _ and allowed 10 of the 12 batters he faced to reach base in an ugly 12-2 loss to the Red Sox in front of an announced sellout crowd of 37,551.
Given the magnitude of this three-game series _ the Orioles entered trailing the division-leading Red Sox by two games _ the result offered one of the team's worst losses of the season. The 10-run margin of defeat marked the Orioles' most lopsided loss since they lost 14-4 on Aug. 26 at Yankee Stadium.
The Orioles (78-65) not only fell three games back of the Red Sox, but also moved out of a tie with the Toronto Blue Jays for the first AL wild-card spot.
As for Miley, he's struggled remarkably, posting an 8.41 ERA in eight starts with the Orioles. He has also failed to get out of the second inning in two of his last five outings. Miley was shelled for six runs on six hits over 1 2/3 innings against Houston on Aug. 19, after his offense spotted him with four homers in the first inning.
On Monday, Miley _ who pitched for the Red Sox in 2014 but never faced them _ allowed hits to the first five hitters, loading the bases on three straight singles to open the game before Orioles killer Mookie Betts laced a two-run double into left field. One batter later, Hanley Ramirez's RBI single plated another run, and Betts sped home from third when the Orioles slowly got the ball into the infield.
Trailing 5-1, Miley was pulled from the game after loading the bases with one out in the second.
The Orioles had just two hits off Boston left-hander David Price, both of them solo homers.
Chris Davis hit his 37th home run of the season with two outs in the second inning, and Manny Machado tied his career high with his 35th homer of the season with one out in the fourth.
That was the Orioles' entire offense.
The Red Sox's 16-hit attack included three homers off Orioles relievers, all solo shots. Ramirez homered in the fourth and Chris Young in the fifth, both blasts coming off right-hander Vance Worley. And David Ortiz hit his 33rd homer of the season off right-hander Oliver Drake in the sixth.
