In the top of the first, Boston’s only highlight came when David Ortiz, down 0-and-2 in the count, took a couple of close pitches for balls and wound up drawing a walk. But Adrian Gonzalez followed with a looping liner up the middle the Orioles turned into an easy fielder’s choice to retire Ortiz at second base.

Baltimore starter Alfredo Simon hasn’t pitched well this season, but there’s no denying his stuff, as he peppered Red Sox hitters with mid-90s fastballs, his stock in trade.

Meanwhile, Jon Lester has taken the mound for the Red Sox in the bottom of the first. The words “awesome” and “amazing” are thrown around too lightly, but they’re perfectly appropriate to describe Lester’s previous performance against the Orioles. In 17 career starts against them, Lester’s 14-0 with a 2.33 ERA.

Of course, he hasn’t pitched that well against anyone lately. Which might be said of almost every Red Sox pitcher…