Orioles Sleep Walk Through Loss to Tigers, Game 5 Preview
Mar 13, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Dave Wallace (37) comes out to talk with Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Bud Norris (25) and catcher Caleb Joseph (63) against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Orioles on Friday afternoon played like a team that had little to no sleep the night before in their 10-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers. They looked as if they had played a game on the east coast the previous evening and had to fly in for an afternoon start time. You would have thought that they had travel problems that delayed them an extra three hours, and that they probably did not get to bed until 5:00 in the morning, and had to get up at 7:00 … or something like that.
The first and last innings went well for the Birds, with Chris Davis driving in two runs to lead off the scoring. But the Orioles would not get back to home plate again until two more scored in the 9th inning – featuring a triple by Steve Clevenger.
As if the scheduling weirdness and the travel trials were not enough, the weather tossed insult upon injury with two rain delays. Miguel Gonzalez simply did not have anything much working for him and could not command his pitches, and so he was pretty much lit up by an admittedly tough Detroit lineup. Miguel Cabrera had four hits, and with that he has reached the 2,000-hits plateau – only the 9th player in MLB history to do that before age 31. He is amazing.
This is not the start the Orioles wanted for 2014, to be 1-3 with Verlander just over the horizon on Sunday. But, it would look a lot different if one long foul ball by Adam Jones against the Red Sox was just a foot to the right. However, there are many things to straighten out, so why not begin today?
Pitching for the Orioles will be Bud Norris making his first start of the 2014 season. Perhaps he can put a stop to the early slide and the offensive assaults coming at Orioles pitchers. Norris had one of the better spring trainings among O’s starters.
Norris’ history against Detroit is not a long one, with none of the Tigers having more than six career at bats against him. Overall, there career numbers look good …
|
PA
AB
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
BA
Alex Gonzalez6
6
3
1
0
0
1
0
0
.500
Miguel Cabrera
6
6
1
1
0
0
0
0
2
.167
Ian Kinsler3
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
.000
Alex Avila6
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
.000
Rajai Davis2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
.000
Torii Hunter6
6
1
1
0
0
1
0
2
.167
Victor Martinez6
6
2
0
0
1
3
0
0
.333
The Orioles did not face Tigers starter Rick Porcello in 2013. Nick Markakis and Delmon Young have particularly good career stats against Porcello, and Chris Davis has three homers in only 12 at bats…
PA |
AB
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
BA
Delmon Young
23
22
8
2
0
1
4
1
3
.364
Nick Markakis
22
19
8
1
0
0
2
2
1
.421
Nelson Cruz20
20
4
0
0
0
2
0
6
.200
Adam Jones
18
18
3
0
0
0
0
0
6
.167
J.J. Hardy15
15
6
1
0
0
0
0
3
.400
Matt Wieters14
11
4
1
0
0
2
2
1
.364
Chris Davis
12
12
4
0
0
3
6
0
4
.333
David Lough5
5
2
1
0
0
1
0
1
.400