BOSTON — Asked about getting his first career win at Fenway Park on Tuesday night in the Orioles' 6-4 victory, right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez's big smile showed a sense of relief.
"It's been difficult, but finally I got it," Jimenez said.
Some ballparks just aren't friendly to certain pitchers and Fenway has never been so to Jimenez. Heading into his start Tuesday, Jimenez had never won in Boston and owned an ugly 7.41 ERA in four previous regular-season starts at the Red Sox's home park.
That didn't include his first major league start in Boston, when Jimenez started Game 2 of the 2007 World Series for the Colorado Rockies and failed to get out of the fifth inning.
In that game, Jimenez was the losing pitcher in the Rockies' 2-1 loss. He was forced from the game after just 4 2/3 innings and 91 pitches.
In Jimenez's last start at Fenway on April 17, he held the Red Sox hitless for 3 2/3 innings before being abruptly ejected after hitting Pablo Sandoval with a pitch, an ejection that's still perplexing.
Jimenez wasn't great in Tuesday's five-inning, two-run outing, but it was enough to get that first "W."
"I've been looking for that win since 2007 [in] the World Series," Jimenez said. "It's one of those things, you go, 'Wow, I don't know why, but it doesn't seem like I'm going to win.' We were able to do it. It was a good team win, the guys really helped me out and I'm happy that I got that 'W.'"
-- Shortstop J.J. Hardy's bat getting hot has coincided with the Orioles' surge.
After recording two hits Tuesday, Hardy is hitting .357 (20-for-56) over his last 15 games, scoring 10 runs with three doubles and eight RBIs during that stretch.
Hardy has hit safely in 13 of those 15 games, raising his season batting average 61 points from .187 to .248.
-- Third baseman Manny Machado, who was 2-for-5 with an RBI on Tuesday, recorded his fifth straight multi-hit game. He's hitting .522 (12-for-23) with three doubles, a homer and six RBIs during that time.
-- Zach Britton allowed a run in the ninth – just the second time he has allowed a run in his past 16 outings. But he has now converted 16 straight save opportunities.
Britton has converted 20 of 21 save opportunities this season, including all 10 of his chances on the road.