Matusz Topples Sox as O's Win Again

I could start to get used to this. The Birds won their fourth straight on Tuesday night, beating the Boston Red Sox 5-2 at Camden Yards.

Starter Brian Matusz made one mistake: a pitch that Jed Lowrie sent over the wall for a two-run shot in the fifth inning, putting the Sox on the board and ending the O's streak of scoreless innings at 30. That was all the Sox would score, as Matusz was awarded the win after six strong innings, and the bullpen took care of the rest...Koji Uehara notched his fifth save in as many tries...Orioles pitching has allowed just three runs through the past four games.

The Birds gave Matusz an early lead to work with, scoring three times off Josh Beckett. Nick Markakis laced his 40th double of the season in the first inning, and came around to score on Luke Scott's broke-bat single. The O's took advantage of a throwing error in the third to score twice more. The team was clinging to a one-run lead until the bottom of the eighth, when Scott and Felix Pie launched back-to-back solo jacks to put the team up 5-2 and give Uehara some breathing room. Scott set a new career high with 26 home runs so far this season...

The Birds finished August 17-11 (17-10 under Buck Showalter), and picked up three separate four-game win streaks over the month. The O's had just two four-game win streaks over the previous four months...behold, the power of Buck.

As I stated in yesterday's post, it doesn't get any easier for the O's in September. The trouble begins on Wednesday night, when Jon Lester takes the mound for Boston. The Orioles have never beaten Lester (12-0 against Baltimore), and will turn to Jake Arrieta to snap that streak...Go O's!