The good & the bad: Red Sox split with O's

A weekend that began with plenty of promise for the struggling Red Sox ended with more frustration.

The Orioles earned a split of the four-game series with a 5-4 win Sunday over Boston, overcoming the loss of starter Wade LeBlanc in the first inning.

• Box score

There were both positives and negatives for manager Ron Roenicke to take away from Baltimore as the Red Sox headed into a much-needed off-day after becoming the Majors’ first 20-loss team.

“It’s tough when you expect to win and you don't. And you start off poorly, which we did,” Roenicke said. “We're trying to get some things going and we got a little better there; we won the three in a row, were real close yesterday, close again today. There's a lot of games in between there where we didn't play well; we didn't pitch well, we didn't hit, didn't play defense well. I think we're doing all those things better now.

“I’m OK with at least going out there and feeling like we can win all the time, or against any opponent. I think that's important.”

Here are three takeaways from the series finale at Camden Yards:

Stock rising
Kevin Pillar put on quite a defensive show this weekend, making two highlight-reel catches on Friday and Saturday, then showing off his arm Sunday by throwing out Renato Núñez at second base as he tried to stretch a single into a double.

The 31-year-old also chipped in with some offense Sunday, leading off the game with a home run, then singling and scoring in the sixth. He even stole third base during that rally, his first steal of the year.

“I think he's been fantastic for us; I love what he's doing,” Roenicke said. “Defensively, he's made some great plays. The dive the other day towards the foul line was as good as you're going to see. The ball up against the wall last night, the throw today; he's really playing well and he's swinging the bat really well.”

Pillar is one of several Red Sox players whose names figure to appear in myriad trade rumors during the next week leading up to the Aug. 31 Trade Deadline. He admitted that Friday night’s deal that sent Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to the Phillies was “a gut punch” to the guys in the clubhouse, but Boston’s 9-20 record means that more deals could be in the works.

“It's obviously a reality of where we put ourselves as a team, allowing the front office to make the moves they made,” Pillar said. “I think it's a reality for everyone [that] the worse you play, the realistic opportunity of trading some of your teammates and friends becomes a little bit more realistic. If you care about the guys next to you, the best thing to do is go out and try to turn this thing around.”

Pillar has never been dealt at the Trade Deadline, but he was traded from the Blue Jays to the Giants in April 2019, so he knows what might be in store for him during the next week.

“I think it's easier the second time around,” Pillar said. “I think getting traded last year opened my eyes to the reality of what might happen, what could happen. Last year when it happened, it was kind of unexpected and my whole world flipped upside down, but I realized once you get to where you're going, baseball is that safe haven for just going out there [and] competing.”

Pillar initially took last year’s trade as “a slap in the face,” given that he had played his entire career in Toronto. But after going to the Giants, he changed his tune.

“You soon realize being traded is not necessarily because a team doesn't want you; it might mean because another team wants you more and they might be going in a different direction,” Pillar said. “For me, it’s just not getting caught up in [the rumors]; it's just going out and doing my job every single day. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, I'm happy to be here and I'm going to continue to go out and play the way I play.”

Another bomb for Bradley
Jackie Bradley Jr. launched a two-out opposite-field home run against lefty Tanner Scott in the ninth inning Sunday, pulling the Red Sox within a run of the Orioles to give Boston a glimmer of hope.

It was the second straight game in which Bradley went deep, a sign that the wrist injury that kept him out of three games last week is no longer an issue. Bradley had been homerless in his first 70 plate appearances this season.

“I think every time I get him out there with the confidence that the wrist isn't bugging him like it was, ever since we brought him back from that, he has swung the bat well,” Roenicke said. “Hopefully that can continue. It makes it tough for the opposing teams when you get deep in that lineup and we're still producing.”

Since returning to the lineup on Wednesday, Bradley is 4-for-17 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs.

Starter struggles
Red Sox starter Zack Godley was unable to follow up Martín Pérez’s strong Saturday start, struggling with his command during a 2 2/3-inning start Sunday.

Godley didn’t allow a run in the first inning, but he issued a walk and hit a batter, needing 32 pitches to grind through the inning.

The right-hander held Baltimore off the board in the second despite a double and another walk, but the Orioles finally cashed in an inning later, setting up the rally thanks to three more walks issued by Godley, who finished his day with five free passes.

“I made some good pitches early on and got some foul balls and they forced me to throw some pitches that I wouldn’t normally throw,” Godley said. “They took some really good at-bats early on; I just couldn't get guys put away. I walked a couple, gave up a couple of hits; I had to battle my way through every inning.”

Jeffrey Springs, who was called up from the alternate training site on Saturday, couldn’t clean up the mess. Rio Ruiz drove in two runs with a single, then Andrew Velazquez dropped down a surprise bunt hit, bringing in another run to give the Orioles a 3-1 lead.

Godley is now 0-3 with a 7.29 ERA in six appearances (five starts) this season.

“I pride myself on being able to go deeper into ballgames and help extend games, not have to go to the bullpen that early,” Godley said. “I just haven't been able to do that here lately; it's frustrating.”