Chris Bassitt departs early as Orioles fall to Red Sox in lopsided loss

BOSTON — It was bound to be a weird night at Fenway Park when Red Sox interim third base coach Chad Epperson ran onto the field of play to wave his runner home in the first inning.

The suspicion was correct. Epperson’s dalliance onto the diamond was just the start of a bizarre game in which the Orioles’ starting pitcher departed after three innings because of lower back tightness and a utilityman playing center field lost a ball in the twilight. There was a balk and an incorrect umpire ruling, the return of the left-handed boogeyman and an Adley Rutschman triple that ensured Baltimore still hasn’t been shut out this season.

It all combined into Boston’s 8-1 victory against the Orioles, which sets up a rubber match Thursday. The dismal performance Wednesday doesn’t derail the momentum built over the last two weeks — the Orioles (29-33) had won eight of their last 11 entering this game — but this did feature a return of some of the issues that plagued Baltimore the first month and a half of the season.

“Any time your starter goes three innings and gives up three runs, that’s probably a recipe for a loss, so chalk this up on me,” right-hander Chris Bassitt said. “I have no doubt the guys will bounce back tomorrow.”

To cover it all, we’ll start at the top, when Epperson ran onto the field. The Red Sox had scored once against Bassitt in the first inning, but they had a chance at a second run when Willson Contreras doubled down the left field line. To get a better view of the play, Epperson crossed the baseline and stood near third baseman Coby Mayo, waving Wilyer Abreu around third.

Abreu, ruled safe initially, was out at the plate upon review. That was just the start.

“You literally cannot see the ball if it gets in the corner unless you’re on the field, so I understand what he was doing. I understand why he did it,” Bassitt said. “Didn’t hurt anybody. Didn’t really affect the play. I guess good on him for dancing like that. But it’s part of the ballpark. Now, I’m sure MLB probably won’t like a coach being on the field, but, I mean, you either fix the third base line or kind of let it happen.”

Bassitt, like most of this rotation, had turned a corner of late. He produced six innings of one-run ball in his last outing. But in the third inning he was out of sorts. He took as much time as he could between pitches, stepping off the rubber for deep breaths. And then he allowed a two-run home run to Abreu that just stayed fair to right field.

Shortly after Abreu’s home run, manager Craig Albernaz, pitching coach Drew French and head trainer Scott Barringer huddled for an extended conversation on the dugout steps. And, after a walk to the next batter, Albernaz visited the mound. Upon his return to the dugout, the conversations began again, and right-hander Albert Suárez started warming up in the bullpen.

Bassitt loaded the bases with another walk and a single, although he got out of the jam. But that would be all for Bassitt, who threw 56 pitches. Suárez entered as the emergency bulk reliever.

Albernaz said Bassitt’s back tightness became apparent in the second inning and it was a clear issue in the third.

“He wasn’t moving the way he usually moves down the mound,” Albernaz said. “That inning was long, as well. That’s why I went out there and talked to him, and he obviously wanted to push through it, the competitor he is. We made the decision after that inning to go to Suárez.”

Bassitt declined to elaborate on the nature of his injury or if it would lead to him missing time.

“I understand you obviously want answers out of me. I’m just not willing to talk about it right now,” he said.

With Suárez on the mound, the game got out of hand. To place it solely at his feet would be unjust. After a leadoff double and walk in the fifth, Mickey Gasper lofted a fly ball to center field. Blaze Alexander, a utilityman who plays all over but primarily is an infielder, played center field against left-hander Payton Tolle on Wednesday.

Alexander had already misread one ball in the fourth, when he broke back to the wall 14 feet, according to Statcast, when he should’ve been running in. That misstep didn’t cost the Orioles. But, when Alexander lost Gasper’s ball in the twilight, it became a two-run triple that opened the floodgates. Boston scored five runs off Suárez in the fifth.

“As soon as it got up in the sky, it blended into the sky,” Alexander said.

“We know Blaze doesn’t have a ton of reps out there,” Albernaz said. “Leody [Taveras] has been outstanding for us, and he’s been pushing through and grinding through and playing every day. It was a good day to get [Taveras] a blow, and Blaze has been good out there. So, yeah, it’s just tough for that, and obviously with that inning, more pitches for Suárez. It was just tough, the cascading effect.”

Albernaz had two discussions with umpires on the field. The first came early when he asked about Epperson being on the field. The next came when the umpiring crew ruled a dead ball when Tolle balked in the sixth inning. Mayo took off for second and Tolle balked, but the southpaw still threw a pitch — lofting it to the backstop. Mayo kept chugging from first to third.

The third base umpire initially ruled Mayo could remain at third. After a huddle, the crew sent Mayo back to second, despite MLB rules stating that, when a pitcher balks and throws a wild pitch, the runner may advance at his own risk.

“With the balk, you continue the play,” Albernaz said. “The first base umpire said that he called time because [Tolle] stopped his motion, and I had a different viewpoint of that. He paused his motion and still threw home. There was some back-and-forth there that didn’t really make sense as far as everything going together, and that’s why I was out there for an extended period of time.”

Perhaps Albernaz would’ve argued it a bit longer, even, had the Orioles been in the game.

Tolle, who relied upon his three-fastball mix — four-seam, cutter and sinker — induced 17 whiffs and managed six scoreless innings.

Baltimore, meanwhile, stranded 10 baserunners and finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Rutschman’s triple to the deepest part of center field in the seventh at least got the Orioles on the board.

The Orioles have, of course, played better baseball of late. But they’re in this sub-.500 place because there have been too many performances resembling this one. Bassitt’s early departure didn’t help, but a lefty starter proved a challenge one day after the Orioles beat left-hander Connelly Early. And the defense, with a primary infielder in center, helped widen the score.

This article has been updated.