BALTIMORE — One of the strictest unwritten rules in baseball is not to talk to the starting pitcher before the game. It’s a clubhouse capital offense.
Starters traditionally keep to themselves in the hours leading up to their first pitch. Some clamp on headphones and listen to music, alone in their thoughts. Others watch video of opposing hitters, looking for an edge.
Whatever the routine, there’s little conversation involved, and woe to the unknowing person who interrupts the sacred silence.
Then there’s Steven Wright, who’s unconventional beyond throwing a knuckleball.
As the Red Sox prepared for Monday afternoon’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wright stopped at various points to chat with teammates, coaches, and even a reporter or two.
He looked like a man headed for a Memorial Day cookout, not a showdown with a division rival on the road.
Focus takes different forms. Wright was brilliant again for the Sox, throwing a complete game in a 7-2 victory before 43,926 at Camden Yards.
His 122 pitches were a career high and second most in a major league game this season. Jeff Samardzija threw 123 for the Giants against the Rockies on May 8.
“To go nine innings against that lineup in this ballpark — an outstanding job,’’ said manager John Farrell, whose team now has a two-game lead on the Orioles.
Wright allowed four hits, walked five, and threw two wild pitches. But the Orioles did little beyond scoring two runs on three hits in the fifth inning as Wright stuck out seven and got 13 outs on the ground.
On a hazy day, Wright’s knuckleball was an unpredictable as a Boston driver. From the start, catcher Ryan Hanigan appeared to be trying to smother it. That’s when Orioles manager Buck Showalter knew his team was in trouble.
“It’s different,’’ said Showalter, who has worked with a few knuckleballers in his career. “You actually like to see your catcher not catching it clean early. Kind of tells you he’s got a lot of movement.’’
The top five hitters in Baltimore’s order — Adam Jones, Hyun Soo Kim, Manny Machado, Chris Davis, and Mark Trumbo — were 0 for 17 with six strikeouts.
“It was a challenge,’’ Trumbo said. “He had great stuff today. It never ended up where it started. I don’t know. It’s just a weird feeling, swinging and not even making contact most of the time.’’
It was the third complete game of the season for Wright, tying him with Johnny Cueto, Chris Sale, and Clayton Kershaw for the major league lead.
Wright started laughing when he heard that.
“It’s ridiculous,’’ he said.
Or is it? Wright is 5-4 with a 2.45 earned run average and 1.09 WHIP and has pitched at least six innings in nine of his 10 starts. That’s a track that could land him a spot on the American League All-Star team.
One of Wright’s mentors, Tim Wakefield, was an All-Star in 2009. R.A. Dickey got there in 2012 with his knuckleball. Like they did, Wright has found a way to control an unpredictable pitch and is making hitters look silly.
All this from a pitcher who had his season cut short by a concussion last August then had to make the team out of spring training.
The payoff is Wright leads the first-place Red Sox with 69? innings over 10 starts, one more inning that David Price has made in 11 starts.
“We’ve had three straight day games, everybody is kind of dragging right now, and he does something special,’’ Price said. “He’s been awesome, somebody you want to root for. Being the model of consistency, that’s huge.
“When somebody steps up like he does, you just need to ride it. It energizes the entire team.’’
Wright’s complete game came at the right time, too. The Red Sox had used their relief pitchers for 10 innings against Toronto over the weekend. A day off on Monday means Farrell will have a full complement of choices Tuesday when Eduardo Rodriguez comes off the disabled list to make his first start of the season.
“That means a lot to me,’’ Wright said. “As a starter, you want to be able to pick up your teammates.’’
Wright had plenty of backing himself. After the Orioles tied the game in the fifth inning, Jackie Bradley Jr. led off the sixth with a home run. David Ortiz followed with a solo shot in the eighth, then rookie Marco Hernandez addeda three-run homer later in the inning.
Once Wright had the lead, he retired 11 straight. One was a strikeout of Jones to end the seventh that seemed almost unfair.
Wright threw Jones six knuckleballs that registered from 73 to 75 miles per hour. With the count full, Wright fired an 85-mile-per-hour fastball right over the plate. Jones took it for a called third strike.
Wright was so determined to throw the pitch that he shook off Hanigan to get to it.
“I had the intuition it would work,’’ he said. “I didn’t think he’d be able to drive it. You have to have confidence to throw that pitch.’’
As he left the ballpark, Wright was carrying a bottle of wine from the Wayne Gretzky Estates that a friend gave him. Although not a connoisseur, Wright is trying to branch out a bit.
“I haven’t tried it yet,’’ he said. “I’ll see if I like it.’’
Sounds like a good topic of conversation before his next start.
Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.
