J.J. Hardy Delivers Clutch Hits in Baltimore Orioles Win

Jul 22, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Baltimore Orioles short stop J.J. Hardy (2) hits a one-run double during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

On an evening after Adam Jones drove in all four Orioles runs on a pair of two-run home runs, J.J. Hardy delivered a pair of two-out RBI doubles to support Miguel Gonzalez’ strong start in a 4-2 win over the Angels.

After both starters took the game into the fifth inning before a runner finally made it to third base, Hardy broke the scoring drought in the sixth inning. With two outs, Chris Davis dribbled an infield single off Mike Morin to shortstop. Hardy hit a long gapper into right-center field, scoring Davis in a close play at the plate.

Jonathon Schoop followed with a home run to center field to give the Orioles a 3-0 lead.

Hardy came through again in the top of the eighth inning. With Nelson Cruz at second base and two outs, Hardy sent a ball into the right-field corner to advance the lead to 4-0. Mike Trout chased Gonzalez in the bottom of the inning with a two-out, two-run homer to narrow the score to 4-2.

For the third time on this road trip, Zach Britton was called upon to save a game in the ninth inning with the score of 4-2. He sat the Angels down 1-2-3, and the Orioles were able to maintain their four-game lead over the Jays and Yankees.

The win broke an Angels record of having won their last 10 consecutive series at home.

It may have seemed a bit strange to Orioles fans before the All-Star break that the O’s management decided to have both Bud Norris and Gonzalez make minor league starts last week while the midseason exhibition was going on. It took some careful planning and calculating to set up the rotation to accomplish this, but having seen the very strong performance of both Orioles pitchers over the first two games of this series, it has the look of an extremely wise decision.

So, speculation is high that Gonzales might be on the trade block, and even here at The Baltimore Wire we posted a story yesterday on Ian Kennedy as a possible return in a deal. I would still do the deal if it is there, though I continue to believe that the Orioles are sufficient to win this division as is—without selling off pieces of the future out of the minor leagues.

Would you believe a sweep in Los Angeles?

Would you believe a sweep in Los Angeles? Chris Tillman will be striving to continue the pitching excellence that has contained one of the most explosive offenses in baseball. He is 7-5 with a 4.03 ERA and has had a quality start in seven of his last eight outings—lowing his ERA over that time from a season high of 5.20 on June 5^th.