Orioles Carried by Schoop as Tillman Labors
By Nate Wardle
Apr 18, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Baltimore Orioles right fielder David Lough (9) celebrates with center fielder Adam Jones (10) and right fielder Nick Markakis (21) after defeating the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Orioles continued their winning ways with a 8-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday night.
Game 15: Baltimore Orioles (8-7) 8 Boston Red Sox (7-10) 4 F
W: Chris Tillman (2-1)
L: John Lackey (2-2)
S: Darren O’Day (1)
MVP: Jonathan Schoop 4/5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R,
The GOOD: Once again, a lot of good for the Baltimore Orioles. It all started with the youngster, Jonathan Schoop. He had a great night at the plate, had two doubles and a tremendous game. The Orioles banged out 15 hits once again. In fact, only Chris Davis did not have a hit. Nick Markakis had two doubles, including one that was challenged to start the game which set the tone for the team.
Also, it is important to mention that Steve Lombardozzi went 2/5 and saw his batting average creep up over .300. He has been quite impressive so far for Oriole fans, as the Fulton, MD native has done everything asked of him.
Adam Jones showed his ability to pick his spot and steal bases
Also good was the relief pitching of Brian Matusz and Darren O’Day, who only left up one run in their combined four innings of work.
The BAD: Chris Davis did not have a hit, and also struck out three times. Not a good night for the Hulk.
Also struggling was another played named Chris, Chris Tillman. Tillman gutted his way through five innings, throwing 122 pitches. That is almost 25 pitches an inning. I said on this blog not long ago that the only thing preventing Chris Tillman from being an ace is his efficiency. Well, in this game he left seven hits and walked four. Not good from an ace, but he got the win, and managed to keep the Red Sox to three runs. Tillman faces 26 batters and only had 10 first pitch strikes. In addition, of his outs, 1 was a ground out, 9 were fly outs and 5 were groundouts. Not the crispest outing for Tillman, but he gutted the Orioles to a win.
What’s NEXT: The Baltimore Orioles have won three in a row and are in second place by themselves, while the Red Sox are in last. The Orioles will send Bud Norris (0-1, 3.75), coming off a spectacular outing, to the mound against Felix Doubront (1-2, 6.75). Doubront has lost his last two starts after beating the Orioles to start the year. The game is set to begin at 1:35 PM on Saturday afternoon.