*Photo from the Kingsport Times-News*
It's been almost a decade, now it's done again. Anthony Santander homered, Dean Kremer had a strong start, and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Boston Red Sox with a 2-0 shutout victory on Thursday night in Baltimore.
Winning their 5th straight game and 7th out of 10, the Orioles secured a 100 win season while also clinching the AL East title, the first year they've won the division since 2014, when they made the ALCS. They also clinched the top seed in the AL, guaranteeing home field advantage through the ALCS as a result. The last time the Orioles won 100 games was in 1980.
Orioles outfielder Austin Hays said of winning the division that "It’s everything we’ve worked so hard for and everything we’ve turned the team around for. It’s just what you dream of as a baseball player, to accomplish this with your team. But we're not done yet."
In the first inning, the Orioles took the lead very early in the game. It was Santander who got it going, blasting a solo home run to left field to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. It stayed that way all the way until the 8th inning. That was when Heston Kjerstad gave the Orioles an insurance run, hitting an RBI double to score Adam Frazier and make it a 2-0 game.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said "I thought we were a good team. I wasn't sure about a lot of things, and I was hoping that we would compete for six months, and knowing it's a long season. Nobody was giving us a chance to win. It was in every publication everywhere that we were going to regress, and I wanted our guys to know that. They took it personal."
Kremer took the mound for the Orioles, pitching 5 1/3 shutout innings while allowing two hits and a walk, striking out 8 hitters. DL Hall worked the next 1 2/3 innings before Yennier Cano and Cionel Perez worked the 8th inning. Tyler Wells pitched the 9th to get the save.
Chris Sale got the start for the Red Sox, delivering 5 innings while allowing one run on 3 hits and one walk. Josh Winckowski threw 1 2/3 shutout innings before Brennan Bernardino finished the 7th. Zack Kelly allowed a run in the 8th inning.
Up next, the series continues on Friday night. The Orioles look for 6 wins in a row as John Means takes the mound. The Red Sox look to bounce back with Nick Pivetta getting the start.
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