The Orioles scored six runs in the eighth inning and beat the Blue Jays 6-5 last night in Toronto.
O's starter Brian Burres didn't have his best stuff, and left the game in the fifth inning with his team down 3-0. Burres pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs off five hits, while walking three and striking out just one. The Blue Jays added another run in the sixth inning, taking a 4-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Toronto starter Shaun Marcum silenced the O's bats. Marcum left in the eighth after giving up a lead-off double to Brian Roberts, and that's when the O's came to life. Nick Markakis immediately followed with an RBI single, followed by a 2-run shot from Melvin Mora. Kevin Millar's solo shot tied the game, and after Luke Scott reached on an error, Adam Jones belted a 2-run home run to give the Birds a 6-4 lead.
O's reliever Chad Bradford had a shaky outing in the bottom of the inning, but managed to escape with the O's lead intact. Closer George Sherrill struck out two in the ninth and recorded his 21st save.
Nick Markakis may not have homered, but he certainly seems to be finding his groove at the plate. Markakis went 4-for-4 on the night, with two doubles, a walk, a run and an RBI. Millar now leads the O's with 11 home runs, and Mora now leads the club with 33 RBIs.
"The guys just believe they're going to get it done. I keep saying it, and I know it probably seems like a broken record, but there's a tremendous sense of purpose when we play. When we're behind, we're not going to give it away. We're going to keep fighting," said O's skipper Dave Trembley (courtesy of MLB.com).
I certainly don't mind hearing it over and over; the O's have amazed me throughout the season. How many times have I said that? It seemed as if all was lost last night...down four runs in the eighth and the offense sputtering, and then suddenly the Birds hit three home runs in the inning to take the lead. What a difference from last season...the O's have the most 1-run wins in baseball (14) and are second in the league in come-from-behind victories when trailing by two runs (13, second to Philadelphia's 14).
The best part (besides the win, of course) was that ex-Oriole Armando Benitez was charged with a blown save and the loss. It's always sweeter when the O's can beat a former teammate.
The O's (30-30) are back at .500 and are now in fourth in the AL East. Jeremy Guthrie (2-6) looks for his third win of the season this afternoon; he faces A.J. Burnett (5-5).
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
O's Take Series Win in Minnesota
Garrett Olson picked up his fifth win of the season as the O's took two of three from the Twins with a 3-2 victory. It was the first time the Birds had won a series against the Twins since 2005, when they took two of three at Camden Yards.
There wasn't much offense to speak of, but the O's again used the long ball to put runs on the board. Nick Markakis smacked a two-run shot in the third to give the O's a 2-1 lead, and after the Twins tied the game, Adam Jones belted a solo home run of his own leading off in the seventh to give the Birds a 3-2 lead.
Olson gave up two runs through six and a third innings, and the bullpen held the Twins scoreless through the final frames. George Sherrill picked up his 20th save of the season, striking out two in a scoreless ninth.
The O's are off to a good start on the road, but are still in last place and a game under .500. The Yankees beat the Blue Jays to stay in fourth, and the Red Sox crushed the Rays to remain in first place. The Sox and Rays had a bench-clearing brawl, and there should be a few players suspended in the next week...good news for the Orioles.
The Birds now face Toronto for three games before heading to Boston. Brian Burres (4-5) takes on Shaun Marcum (5-3) tomorrow night at Rogers Centre.
(photos courtesy of MLB.com)
There wasn't much offense to speak of, but the O's again used the long ball to put runs on the board. Nick Markakis smacked a two-run shot in the third to give the O's a 2-1 lead, and after the Twins tied the game, Adam Jones belted a solo home run of his own leading off in the seventh to give the Birds a 3-2 lead.Olson gave up two runs through six and a third innings, and the bullpen held the Twins scoreless through the final frames. George Sherrill picked up his 20th save of the season, striking out two in a scoreless ninth.
The O's are off to a good start on the road, but are still in last place and a game under .500. The Yankees beat the Blue Jays to stay in fourth, and the Red Sox crushed the Rays to remain in first place. The Sox and Rays had a bench-clearing brawl, and there should be a few players suspended in the next week...good news for the Orioles.
The Birds now face Toronto for three games before heading to Boston. Brian Burres (4-5) takes on Shaun Marcum (5-3) tomorrow night at Rogers Centre.
(photos courtesy of MLB.com)
Cabrera, O's Let Lead Slip Away
The Bird's bats came to life early but couldn't keep up as the Minnesota Twins battled back to beat the O's last night 7-5.
The O's took an early 3-0 lead, thanks to back-to-back shots from Mora and Millar in the first inning. The O's had five hits in the inning but couldn't do any more damage...Nick Markakis was picked-off/caught stealing after he singled, and would have scored on Mora's homer. Another base running blunder late in the game gave the Twins an extra out and helped them seal the win.
Daniel Cabrera struggled early as well, as the Twins scored two in the second to make it 3-2. The game would have been out of reach had it not been for an incredible play by Mora in the fourth inning with the bases loaded...Mora's diving catch was the final out of the inning and saved three runs. Cabrera almost escaped the fifth inning unscathed, but with runners at second and third, a sacrifice fly to center scored both runners...Adam Jones slipped after making the catch and the throw home was WAY late, and the score was 5-4 O's. I've never seen two runners score on a sac fly before...ever... (though it HAS happened before, the last time it happened was in 2001). (courtesy of MLB.com)
Cabrera started the sixth and was immediately in trouble: he gave up a lead-off single and then an RBI triple, which tied the game at five and chased Cabrera to the dugout. His final line: five innings, eight hits, six runs, three strikeouts and no walks (again, an encouraging sign). Cabrera lost for just the second time this season but it came at a bad time...with the win the O's would be back at .500; instead they're two games under and back in last place.
"Today, we fought to a lead and I was supposed to keep the game to three or four runs," Cabrera said. "I'm just feeling bad." (courtesy of MLB.com)
The Birds have a chance to win the series this afternoon...Garrett Olson (4-1) takes on Scott Baker (2-0). The O's then head to Toronto for a three game series.
The O's took an early 3-0 lead, thanks to back-to-back shots from Mora and Millar in the first inning. The O's had five hits in the inning but couldn't do any more damage...Nick Markakis was picked-off/caught stealing after he singled, and would have scored on Mora's homer. Another base running blunder late in the game gave the Twins an extra out and helped them seal the win.
Daniel Cabrera struggled early as well, as the Twins scored two in the second to make it 3-2. The game would have been out of reach had it not been for an incredible play by Mora in the fourth inning with the bases loaded...Mora's diving catch was the final out of the inning and saved three runs. Cabrera almost escaped the fifth inning unscathed, but with runners at second and third, a sacrifice fly to center scored both runners...Adam Jones slipped after making the catch and the throw home was WAY late, and the score was 5-4 O's. I've never seen two runners score on a sac fly before...ever... (though it HAS happened before, the last time it happened was in 2001). (courtesy of MLB.com)
Cabrera started the sixth and was immediately in trouble: he gave up a lead-off single and then an RBI triple, which tied the game at five and chased Cabrera to the dugout. His final line: five innings, eight hits, six runs, three strikeouts and no walks (again, an encouraging sign). Cabrera lost for just the second time this season but it came at a bad time...with the win the O's would be back at .500; instead they're two games under and back in last place.
"Today, we fought to a lead and I was supposed to keep the game to three or four runs," Cabrera said. "I'm just feeling bad." (courtesy of MLB.com)
The Birds have a chance to win the series this afternoon...Garrett Olson (4-1) takes on Scott Baker (2-0). The O's then head to Toronto for a three game series.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
O's Start the Road Trip with a Win
The O's beat the Minnesota Twins for the first time since 2006 with a 5-3 victory at the Metrodome.
Spot-starter Radhames Liz, just recalled from Triple-A, recorded his first major league victory. Liz went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs off four hits, while striking out four and walking just one. Both runs came in the fifth...Liz had allowed just one hit until allowing three consecutive doubles to end his 2008 debut. He still got the win, as the O's bats came to life under the dome.
Baltimore had 13 hits on the night, and Kevin Millar started the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning. The O's never looked back after that. Melvin Mora had a solo shot of his own in the sixth, and Ramon Hernandez broke through with two doubles in the game. Brian Roberts added a double and an RBI triple of his own.
The O's have now won two straight, and escaped from the AL East cellar with the Yankees' loss. The Birds are now just a game under .500, and can break even tomorrow tonight as Daniel Cabrera looks for his sixth win of the season.
(photos courtesy of MLB.com)
Spot-starter Radhames Liz, just recalled from Triple-A, recorded his first major league victory. Liz went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs off four hits, while striking out four and walking just one. Both runs came in the fifth...Liz had allowed just one hit until allowing three consecutive doubles to end his 2008 debut. He still got the win, as the O's bats came to life under the dome.Baltimore had 13 hits on the night, and Kevin Millar started the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning. The O's never looked back after that. Melvin Mora had a solo shot of his own in the sixth, and Ramon Hernandez broke through with two doubles in the game. Brian Roberts added a double and an RBI triple of his own.
The O's have now won two straight, and escaped from the AL East cellar with the Yankees' loss. The Birds are now just a game under .500, and can break even tomorrow tonight as Daniel Cabrera looks for his sixth win of the season.
(photos courtesy of MLB.com)
O's Avoid the Sweep
The O's avoided their first home sweep of the season last night as they defeated the visiting Red Sox 6-3.
"I was just in the right spot in the right time," said Jones, who is 3-for-5 with nine RBIs with the bases loaded. "I like hitting with men on base. I like RBIs. [After] coming up through the Minors, I just have to be more patient and be selective and get a good pitch. He threw one right down the middle and I took it. It wasn't me that was under pressure. It was him." (courtesy of MLB.com)
Jeremy Guthrie (2-6) pitched another great game but once again had to settle for a no-decision. Guthrie went 6 1/3 innings, giving up two runs off eight hits, walking one and striking out five. He also gave up Manny's 502nd career home run in the sixth.
The O's scored first, taking a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Aubrey Huff had an RBI double, followed by an RBI single from Kevin Millar.
The Red Sox were able to score single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, taking a 3-2 lead. Boston elected to go to the bullpen in the eighth, and brought in relief pitcher Hideki Okajima to preserve the lead...big mistake! What a game to be at...the back-and-forth chants from both teams' fans was incredible, and the home team ended up on top.
The O's broke through with a four-run inning, highlighted by Adam Jones' two-out, three-run double.
"I was just in the right spot in the right time," said Jones, who is 3-for-5 with nine RBIs with the bases loaded. "I like hitting with men on base. I like RBIs. [After] coming up through the Minors, I just have to be more patient and be selective and get a good pitch. He threw one right down the middle and I took it. It wasn't me that was under pressure. It was him." (courtesy of MLB.com)The Birds took a 6-3 lead, and George Sherrill pitched a scoreless ninth to give the O's the win, snapping their four game losing streak. The Birds are now 3-3 against Boston this season.
I never posted the results from Sunday afternoon's game: the O's lost 9-4. Brian Burres was knocked out early, allowing seven runs through four innings. Steve Trachsel, now resigned to the bullpen, pitched the final five frames, allowing just two runs. Trachsel will not start a game for the foreseeable future, and the O's called up starter Radhames Liz from Triple-A Norfolk to start today against Minnesota.
The O's went 3-4 on this home series, and now play their next nine on the road against Minnesota, Toronto and Boston. The team is still in last place, with a 27-29 record.
(photos courtesy of MLB.com)
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Manny Hits 500th HR as O's Lose Again
Manny Ramirez smacked his way into the record books and the O's lost their third straight in front of over 48 thousand at Camden Yards.Reliever Chad Bradford gave up the historic home run, and it was the first homer the O's bullpen had allowed in just over 50 innings, dating back to May 7.
Garrett Olson pitched five innings, allowing just two runs (back-to-back solo shots from Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz in the third inning). He struck out five while walking two, and took the no-decision.
The O's took a 2-0 lead before the two solo shots tied the game. Brian Roberts gave the O's a brief 3-2 lead with a solo shot of his own in the fifth.
After that, it was all Boston. The Sox tied the game in the sixth, and took the lead for good in the seventh. Manny's shot was just icing on the cake, as the Sox had taken a 4-3 lead before he stepped to the plate. The Sox scored another in the eighth for insurance...as if they needed it.
The O's once again stranded runners and just couldn't deliver that "timely hit" that Dave Trembley has been stressing all season. Ramon Hernandez struck out swinging with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth, and Nick Markakis hit into a game-ending double play in the bottom of the ninth with two on and one out.
I planned on going to the game this afternoon, but instead my girlfriend and I will lounge around the house and probably order a pizza. I'm tired of Sunday games; the O's have won only one this season. Instead, we'll be there on Monday night...hopefully, we'll be splitting this series. Go O's!!!
(photos courtesy of MLB.com)
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