Baltimore Orioles fall to Washington

Asher Wojciechowski probably pitched a better game than the numbers indicate for the Baltimore Orioles last night. In total, he probably put the O’s in a spot to win the game. And that’s all you can ask of a starter. Wojciechowski’s line: 5.1 IP, 6 ah, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K.

Wojciechowski gave up a solo homer to Adams in the second inning, however the O’s immediately tied the game back up. Hanser Alberto smacked a solo homer in the last of the second, which tied things up at one. However the Orioles never got any closer than that. Washington took the lead back in the third on an RBI-double by Rendon.

Wojciechowski gave up a solo homer to Soto in the sixth. Later in the inning the Orioles also balked in a fourth run, giving Washington a 4-2 lead. And as the game wore on, Washington added on. They never really stopped scoring, taking game one of this truncates two-game set by the score of 8-1.

The real issue in this game wasn’t the starter (Wojchiekowski). It was the bullpen and the offense. Far too often the Orioles’ bullpen has allowed teams to add on run after run in the later innings. We saw it over the weekend against Tampa, and we saw it last night.

Now that might in fact be irrelevant if you can’t score runs, which the Orioles were unable to do last night (save for the Alberto homer early in the game). However your pitching as to put you in a spot to be able to do that. If the opponent is consistently adding on runs at will, there isn’t much the offense is going to be able to do.

Having said that, this is all part of the rebuilding process. You have to go through stretches like this, and hope that you come out better for it on the other end. Teams such as Houston and the Chicago Cubs certainly did. And if you look at the Orioles’ front office and coaching staff, you see several pieces from both of those organizations.

The series with Washington concludes tonight at Camden Yards. Aaron Brooks gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Erick Fedde. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.