Baltimore Orioles Bomb the Bronx Bombers
By Nate Wardle
Apr 8, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; The Baltimore Orioles celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles won 14- 5. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Game 8: Baltimore Orioles 14 (3-5) New York Yankees 5 (4-4) F
W: Wei-Yin Chen (1-1)
L: Ivan Nova (1-1)
MVP: The Orioles Offense: 20/42 14 R, 3 BB, 4 2B, 3 HR, 3 SF, 5-11 with RISP
The GOOD: The Orioles offense. What a game. O’s fans aren’t expecting this every game, but this is more of the offense that we are expecting. Every starter got a hit, in fact only Matt Wieters only got one hit, but that was a 2-run HR. That HR game Wieters a hit in every game this year. The much maligned 7-9 hitters were a combined 8/15 with four runs scored. Delmon Young had a big day, going 3-6 with 3 RBIs, a HR, and 2 R. The 14 runs was a welcome surprise. And Ivan Nova is not a bad pitcher either. Remember, yesterday I expressed concern over the Nova vs. Chen matchup. Well the O’s touched him for 7 runs, and Vidal Nuno for 7 more. Adam Jones also worked a four pitch walk, further showing his patience and growth as a hitter. Also good was Josh Stinson, who went 2.1 innings with three strikeouts and allowing one walk and one hit.
The BAD: A few things. Another person gets picked off, this time Steve Lombardozzi off second base. Buck has to be upset with the lack of attention on the basepaths. Wei-Yin Chen got the win, but he only went 5 innings, and left up four runs. Another uneven start from a struggling rotation, but Chen got the win out of it. The other bad news is that David Lough went on the DL, likely still suffering from the neck injury he dealt with in spring training. J.J. Hardy also missed the game, but he is expected to be back soon and told reporters he felt much better Tuesday.
What’s NEXT: Game 3 vs. the Yankees will be the Orioles 9th game of the season. Finally the O’s are playing a night game, with the 7:05 p.m. start. Another interesting matchup, as Miguel Gonzalez, typically the Yankee killer, faces Masahiro Tanaka. Let’s see how the Orioles offense fares against the highly touted Yankees right-hander.