Baltimore Orioles’ Defense Shows Off in Win
By Nate Wardle
Jun 10, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado (13) pies center fielder Adam Jones (10) during his post game interview at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore Orioles defeated Boston Red Sox 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Orioles picked up a series victory on Wednesday night, taking the second of three games from the Boston Red Sox by a 5-2 score. On the heels of Tuesday’s win, the O’s will go for the sweep on Thursday.
Early in the season, the Orioles were struggling in every facet. However, as summer approaches in a few weeks, only the offense is still struggling at this point.
The pitching, from both the starters and the bullpen, has come around. There are some concerns, but a lot of those are injury-related. Miguel Gonzalez is now headed toward the disabled list with a groin strain.
The bullpen has seen a lot of action recently, but a lot of that is the competition. The Orioles know that when they play their divisional rivals, those foes are going to take a lot of pitches. The O’s also have shown they are at their best offensively when they take some pitches themselves.
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But, the focal point of this game was the defense. Oh how pretty it was!
It all started in the second inning. Xander Bogaerts singled to deep center field off the wall. Adam Jones fielded it with his bare hand and gunned a throw that took one hop right to J.J. Hardy, who had the glove low for the tag on Bogaerts.
The second base umpire originally ruled Bogaerts safe, which didn’t look to be the case in real-time. And when Buck Showalter asked for a replay, it didn’t take long to get the call overturned. You have to wonder if the umpire was a bit surprised that the throw was in time.
Next up was Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval did a great job of dumping a good pitch past third base and toward the wall in foul territory in left field. Travis Snider, in left field, fielded the ball, spun around and fired to Ryan Flaherty, who put down the tag for the second out.
Another great play by the team that leads the league in outfield assists.
Mookie Betts came up and hit a ball toward the gap. But the Orioles’ Gold Glove center fielder ran that one down and made a running, leaping catch in the gap. Three balls that normally would be hits, instead were outs.
The Orioles would go on to score in the bottom of the second inning, and never look back.
But Jonesy wasn’t done. Adam made a diving, flat-out catch in the gap to again rob Betts in the top of the fifth inning.
The Baltimore Orioles have always prided themselves on defense. With Adam Jones, J.J. Hardy and Matt Wieters back, I think it is safe to say the O’s probably have the best defense up the middle in baseball.