The important thing was that Sale was dominant

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Chris Sale was headed out of the game anyway , so it didn’t matter if he received an ejection on his way to the dugout.
and the Boston Red Sox rode his performance to a 5-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday for a three-game sweep.

After issuing two walks to open the seventh in a 5-0 game, Sale (6-4) was lifted by manager Alex Cora. As he was making his way to the dugout, the left-hander yelled at home plate umpire Brian Knight and was promptly ejected .

”There are going to be points in the season, points in the game where stuff happens,” Sale said. ”No one’s perfect. Obviously I lost my cool a little bit. That’s going to happen, too.”

It was the second career ejection for Sale, the other coming in April 2015 when he was with the White Sox.

”I like competing. When I feel like I’m getting something taken away from me, I get emotional,” Sale said. ”At the end of the day, hey , we’re human, stuff is going to happen.”

Sale struck out nine, allowed one run and gave up two hits in ending a run of three straight losing starts.

Baltimore has lost seven straight and 14 of 16. The last time the Orioles scored more than five runs in a game was May 24, and it sure wasn’t going to happen against Sale.

”It’s a bad combination, we’re not swinging the bat well and facing as good a pitcher as him,” manager Buck Showalter conceded.

Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez homered for the Red Sox, who are 9-1 against the Orioles this season.

Betts, the major league leader in batting average, came off the disabled list Monday after missing 14 games with an abdominal strain. He played Monday, was rested Tuesday and returned to the top of the lineup in the series finale.

Betts hit a 3-2 pitch from Yefry Ramirez over the center-field wall in the third for his 18th home run .

”The quality of his at-bats are incredible for not playing, what , two weeks?” Cora said. ”I mean, the guy’s talented.”

A three-run fifth made it 4-0, and Martinez hit his team-leading 22nd homer in the seventh.

After placing Andrew Cashner (back) on the disabled list Tuesday, the Orioles recalled Ramirez from Triple-A Norfolk to make his major league debut. The 24-year-old left with the score 1-0 in the fifth, but Mike Wright allowed both inherited runners to score.

Ramirez had no complaints.

”I felt awesome, excited, happy to be here,” he said. ”It’s been an opportunity that I’ve been waiting for 12 years. Now, it’s finally here.”

Ramirez (0-1) gave up three runs and four hits over 4 1/3 innings, striking out six.

Baltimore got its lone run in the seventh, when Jace Peterson hit a sacrifice fly soon after Sale departed.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: Cora said LHP Drew Pomeranz’s neck is sore and that the club would not plan for his return until after a weekend series in Seattle. Pomeranz originally went on the DL on June 5 with biceps tendinitis. … 2B Dustin Pedroia (left knee) has been doing some weight lifting but is staying away from baseball activities for now , Cora said.

Orioles: Orioles reliever Richard Bleier, one of the better performers on a ragged team, clutched his shoulder after throwing a pitch in the eighth inning and was immediately removed from the game. Asked for a prognosis, Bleier said, ”I have no idea. I don’t feel great right now.” Bleier is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA over 31 appearances. … IF Tim Beckham (core muscle surgery) will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Bowie on Friday, Showalter said.

UP NEXT

Red Sox: LHP David Price (7-4, 4.00 ERA) seeks his sixth straight win when Boston faces Mariners ace Felix Hernandez in the opener of a four-game series at Seattle.

Orioles: After taking Thursday off, Baltimore opens a three-game series against the visiting Miami Marlins in a matchup of last-place clubs.

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In the current landscape of the NFL, the running back position is in a transitional state. The established elite players at the position are almost all aging or injured, and the young talent still needs to produce on a consistent, annual basis to establish themselves as elite. Some who were considered in the upper-tier of the league at the position just several years ago aren't even in the conversation anymore. It's truly a make-or-break time in the careers of many NFL running backs , and many questions will be answered as the 2016 season gets underway.Of course, as usual, the top two or three players at the position are pretty much set in stone, but there lies a lot of room for variance on the rest of this ranking. Most of the running backs in the league could have had an argument made for them to be included. In the end, however, these are the best 15 in the game as it stands right now. It's safe to say that all of these teams are feeling at least somewhat confident in their running back situation this season. The question is, how much will that change by the end of week 17?Ranked below are the top 15 running backs heading into the 2016 NFL season.

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