Baltimore Orioles: The Tough Task of Winning
The Baltimore Orioles finally won a game on the West Coast and broke a three-game skid by winning the series finale over the Oakland A’s on Thursday, 9-6.
But winning proves to be difficult, even when leading the game by a 7-0 score. The A’s fought back, getting the bases loaded and hence the winning run at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. It was former teammate and current nemesis Danny Valencia at bat … against Zach Britton. Though the O’s closer has not given up a run since something like about the time of the last frost in the spring, it looked like a dramatic set-up for a change. But Valencia grounded out to Jonathan Schoop, and Orioles fans could have some renewed hope again.
Killing the O’s offence for much of the time since the All-Star break has been a relative vacuum in the middle of the lineup. But on this day, the 4-5-6 spots occupied by Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo and Pedro Alvarez combined to go 6-for-12 with eight runs batted in. Four of them came on a Trumbo grand slam.
Not that I’m counting, but this was the seventh quality start in a row for the Orioles. Chris Tillman improved to 15-4 on the season and 9-2 in games after an Orioles loss. Remember all that “Tilly just isn’t an ace” sort of talk that went around in recent years?
Former Orioles farmhand Andrew Triggs was the starter for the A’s and looked quite good for three innings, getting 10 of the first 11 O’s hitters out. But then the ceiling caved in on him. I still think it was a foolish move for the Orioles to lose him from the organization. They could have rather DFA’d Chaz Roe at the time, and now he is gone as well.
Triggs had a great season last year at AA Bowie, and speaking of Bowie, that is where I spent my day yesterday. The Baysox hosted the Jay’s AA New Hampshire team in a game starting at 11:05, thus playing in the heat of the day. It was brutal to watch, let alone play.
Pitching prospect Matthew Grimes, moved up a month ago from Frederick where he posted a 1.45 ERA, started the game and muscled his way through five innings. He yielded three runs on six hits in five innings, two of the runs on a homer just feet inside the left-field foul pole. His best moment was pitching out of a first and third with none out situation in his final inning on the mound.
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Leaving the game with a 3-3 score, the Fisher Cats would go up 5-3. But Conor Bierfeldt hit a two-run shot – and I mean it was a massive blast – to tie the game. Mercifully, rather than head into extra innings, Garabez Rosa came through in the bottom of the ninth with a game-winning shot to the gap in right-center. This made a winner of Tanner Scott, the flame-throwing lefty prospect. I have seen him pitch multiple times this season, which has been a rough one for the young man; but this is the best he has looked, facing the minimum over two innings.
Now if the Orioles can win two out of three from the Giants and finish 5-5 on this particular road trip, we can be pleased and call it a sufficient success.