Baltimore Orioles: It’s a Predestination Sort of Thing
Yes, I just used a big word in that title – one that is not usually used around baseball. But the only way the Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon was if it was predestined from some place beyond this world. This 5-3 come-from-behind victory could be one we will look back upon later in the season as a “signature win.”
Let’s be honest. This was a game that the Orioles probably should not have won. May it sink deeply into the inner psyche of the Blue Jays!!!
For the second time in three weeks, Darren O’Day allowed the bases to be loaded with none out, yet pitched out of it with no damage! “I’m not doing this intentionally,” he claimed after the game. At the end of May, he did the same trick against the Rays in the ninth inning, before the O’s captured it in walk-off fashion, 2-1
This time, it was in the bottom of the eighth inning with the score tied 2-2. Consecutive singles by Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion were followed by a walk to Ezequiel Carrera. Time to go to work for O’Day. He struck out Russell Martin, Dioner Navarro, and Kevin Pillar … but it wasn’t that easy. A Navarro monster foul was reviewed to see if it hit the fair pole for a grand slam or not! Maybe it did just a little? But the call was not overturned. See what I mean by predestination?
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And there’s more. Chris Davis hit a ball into the shift, but hit it so hard it made it over the head of the second baseman in right field. With two outs and a runner at first, Toronto pitcher Aaron Loup hit Ryan Flaherty to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. The predestination was obvious! That the potential winning run could be put in place by a Toronto hit by pitch – that’s just too great!
Caleb Joseph finally got a critical two-out hit for the Orioles to score the run, with two more insurance runs scored on a crushed Manny Machado double. The insurance would be needed; but again – predestination that they got it.
The Jays would get a couple of ground ball singles – one to the outfield and one in the infield – then scoring a run on a Bautista liner. But Encarnacion ended the game with a double play groundout. With Zach Britton, we are seeing some of the same thing we used to with Jim Johnson when he was at his best – ground ball after ground ball, some of which simply go between infielders or are driven into the turf for a 45-foot single.
Not lost in this game were three hits by Machado and some fine baserunning to score the first two runs. Manny is now batting .298 with 14 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Could he be a 30-30 guy? It is not out of reach, and if not this year, maybe in another season before long. Maybe he is predestined to be such?