First pitch: Thursday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: Baltimore +110, Boston -120, Total: 10.0

The heated series between the Orioles and Red Sox comes to an end when the teams meet in Boston on Thursday.

The Orioles and Red Sox do not like each other, and that has never been clearer than the past few games. There is a ton of bad blood between the two clubs, and that has led to a number of ejections in this series. It’s gotten to the point where a bench-clearing brawl is something that is expected in these games. As for the actual baseball being played, the Sox are going for the series victory in this one. They have won two straight after the O’s won the first game of this series, and Boston has now won four of its past six games. The starters in this Thursday matchup were supposed to be RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (1-1, 7.43 ERA, 16 K) for the Orioles and RHP Kyle Kendrick (First Appearance of 2017) for the Red Sox. Jimenez had to pitch on Wednesday, though, so he will not be out there. He was forced into action due to Gausman’s ejection. Instead, RHP Tyler Wilson (1-1, 5.40 ERA, 4 K) will be taking the ball. Kendrick, meanwhile, is making his first start since 2015. As for trends, one that stands out is the fact that Baltimore is 19-10 against the money line over the past two seasons versus teams that average 0.9 or fewer homers per game.

The Orioles are hoping to get a split in this series with the Red Sox, but they will need a solid performance from Tyler Wilson in this one. The Sox have a dangerous lineup and could do a ton of damage against a guy who wasn’t supposed to be out there for this game. That means that the Orioles offense is going to need to be even better than usual here. One guy who has done well against Kendrick in his career is OF Seth Smith (.222 BA, 2 HR, 4 RBI). Smith is no guarantee to be in the lineup on Thursday, but he is 11-for-22 with three doubles, a triple, and three RBI against Kendrick. He clearly has his number and it’d be wise for Showalter to give him a shot here. Baltimore will also need both OF Mark Trumbo (.200 BA, 2 HR, 12 RBI) and 3B Manny Machado (.214 BA, 6 HR, 16 RBI) to break out of their slumps. Both guys have not yet showed up for the Orioles this season, and it’s time for that to change.

The Red Sox are hoping to win a third straight game on Thursday and Kyle Kendrick will be the guy taking the ball for Boston. Kendrick has not started a game since 2015, but he did pitch pretty solidly during spring training. If he can give the Sox five or so innings of solid work then the team will be more than thrilled. A few guys on Boston will be chomping at the bit to start this contest on Thursday, as they have had success against Jimenez in their careers. Those players would be OF Mookie Betts (.283 BA, 2 HR, 13 RBI) and 2B Dustin Pedroia (.279 BA, 0 HR, 7 RBI). Betts is 9-for-23 against Jimenez in his career, and Pedroia is 12-for-36 with two doubles and four RBI against the righty. Both of them will need to come through on Thursday, and it’s likely that they’ll do just that.