Final Out Evades Baltimore Orioles in Loss to Brewers
May 27, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Baltimore Orioles pinch hitter Steve Pearce (28) hits a 3-run home run in the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
One evening after the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Milwaukee Brewers by refusing to give up the 27th out in the game, the Brewers returned the same trick against the O’s, beating the Birds 7-6 in 10 innings.
After fighting their way back from a 5-0 deficit to take a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, Zach Britton came on and gave up a leadoff single to Lyle Overbay. Bunted to second and then advancing to third on a groundout to Jonathon Schoop, the Orioles were one out away from another outstanding victory. But a swinging bunt by Jonathan Lucroy in front of Manny Machado scored the tying run and set up extra innings.
With T.J. McFarland pitching in the bottom of the 10th inning, Mark Reynolds was walked with two outs and the pitcher’s spot in the order coming up. Wednesday’s starter, Yovani Gallardo, drilled a gapper into left-center field to score the walk-off victory.
The Baltimore Orioles did well to even have the opportunity to possibly win the game. Having fallen behind 5-0 on three homers allowed by starter Wei-Yin Chen, the Birds came all the way back to take the lead. Among the runs scored was the 17th home run of the season by Nelson Cruz, but the big blow was a “Pearce arrow” – a screaming line drive, three-run homer by Steve Pearce in the seventh inning to give the Orioles their only lead at 6-5.
Even with Britton blowing his first save and McFarland losing the game in the 10th, the Orioles bullpen was once again very good after a poor effort from the starter. Chen only managed five innings on his way to the five runs on three homers – including a three-run shot by Carlos Gomez in the bottom of the first inning.
As Buck Showalter commented in the post-game interview, there was a lot to like about the effort in this game. But it did not help that both Chris Davis and Adam Jones were 0-for-4 with three strikeouts each.
In the third and final game of the series, the Orioles will be faced with attempting to prevent Yovani Gallardo from beating them two days in a row with both hitting and pitching. He is currently 2-3 with a 3.51 ERA. After starting the season with a 1.91 ERA over his first six starts, Yovani has had greater trouble in his past four outings – giving up 15 runs in 21.1 innings.
Few of the Orioles have ever faced Gallardo. Nick Hundley is 3-for-7 with two doubles and Delmon Young is 0-for-10.
The Baltimore Orioles need a good, long outing from Bud Norris who is 3-4 with a 3.83 ERA over this season of mixed-bag results. For his career he is 3-4 against the Brewers in 11 starts with a … wait for it … a 3.83 ERA.
Some of the Brewers have good numbers against Norris. Ryan Braun is 9-for-28 with two doubles and two homers, Lyle Overbay is 3-for-11 with two homers, and Rickie Weeks is 5-for-16 with a homer.