Little League OF Play And A Short Start Cripple Orioles At Fenway

The Orioles reverted to poor road form in all aspects of play in a lopsided loss tot he struggling Red Sox

Jun 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) on the mound with the bases loaded against the Boston Red Sox in the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

There was an obvious way the Orioles could undermine themselves in a quirky ballpark like Fenway.

A team that is fairly horrific patrolling the outfield anywhere, for years, basically by design with the way baseball overlord Mike Elias constructs rosters, faced greater challenges with the weird dimensions in Boston.  We begged the Orioles not to deploy one particularly inept outfield arrangement in this ballpark – Taylor Ward in left, Blaze Alexander in center and Tyler O’Neill in right – in our series preview, because it would be courting disaster.

It was every bit of a disaster in an 8-1 loss to the slumping Red Sox that reconjured images of their brutal first 50 games of the season, including a weird outing from aging starter Chris Bassitt. The Red Sox attacked Ward in left by trying to run on him early and often and they blew the game open in the fifth when DH/catcher Willson Contreras challenged Alexander, an infielder by trade, and made it to second base on a single. Then Alexander couldn’t locate a fly out that fell for a double and struggled to corral a shot off The Green Monster that played into a triple for catcher Mickey Gasper and the blowout was on in a five-run inning

Rookie skipper Craig Albernaz seemed to want to downplay the outfield folliest in his post-game commentrs to the media, chalking it up to Alexnader losing a ball, and sort of insinuating it could have happened at any posotion. "I hope he did (lose sight of the ball)," Albernaz quipped. "He ran in the complete opposite direction."

This was Little League stuff again, but this is a Little League outfield. Leody Taveras has had his share of misadventures himself, but he is the old thing remotely approximating an MLB centerfielder on this roster, and anytime he isn’t out there the defense craters. O’Neill simply cannot move in right and Ward has bad reads and pursuit angles and never looks very comfortable.

It’s wild how much is asked of Alexander and Taveras for a roster that can allegedly contend for something, but Alexander in center in Fenway should have been a no-go from the start. Shame on Elias (Albernaz is a mere functionary in this bush league baseball machine).

"We know Blaze doesn’t have a ton of reps out there," said Albernaz, who threw him out there anyway because Taveras needed a day off, because that's what his bosses wanted.

Another Strange Mound Visit

Bassitt looked off early in this game, and, always deliberate by nature, he seemed even more reticent that ever to get into his delivery.  Boston manufactured a run in the first and Ward was able to throw out lumbering Contreras at home to prevent further damage.

Things unraveled in the third. Bassitt ended up throwing 36 pitches, the Orioles trainers and staff were conferring about him being off, but no one ever truly intervened. Wilyer Abreu poked a two-run homer near Pesky Pole in right, Contreras walked on four pitchers and Albernaz finally went to the mound, with it looking like Bassitt might leave with an injury. Instead, the rookie skip ended up back in the dugout, something we’ve seen more than is the norm already this year, and Bassitt proceeded to load the bases but get out of it on a force out at third.

He did not return for the fourth, with the defense letting Albert Suarez down.

"Kind of late in the second," Albernaz said as to when Bassitt (lower back tightness) looked off to him. "And noticeable in the third. He wasn’t moving how he usually moves on the mound … Obviously, he wanted to push through it being the competitor that he is."

As for the Orioles bats, dominant lefty Payton Tolle had them silenced all night. He pitched around a walk and single in the first and then mostly just cruised and when he left after six innings with an eight-run lead,

"It was tough for our guys to get on top of the heater and make that adjustment," Albernaz said.

Bird Seed

The series ends with a 1:35 start on Thursday with Trevor Rogers, the weak link the Orioles improved rotation, getting the start. Boston has just 10 wins at home this season … Youngster Jackson Holliday got the rare start vs a lefty and delivered a single in his first at bat … Pete Alonso continues to the Orioles best defender, but unfortunately that is coming with limited range at first base … Gunnar Henderson has now reached base safely in 24 straight games at Fenway … Don’t look now, but since May 1 Rutschman is batting below .200 and getting on base less than 30% of the time and he has just 10 extra base hits in his last 28 games. The best time to sell high on him was probably yesterday. Elias better get on that ASAP. Samuel Basallo is locked up at catcher and Alonso at first and this guy doesn’t hit consistently enough to be a DH.

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