The Baltimore Orioles once again got a solid outing out of a starter in Kansas City, as Dylan Bundy put them in a position to win. Bundy had his struggles in the outing, however he did his job. He left the game with the lead, in fact. Bundy’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 earned), 3 BB, 7 K.
Kansas City would take a 1-0 lead on Starling’s solo homer in the second. However two innings later the O’s tied it on a solo shot by Anthony Santander. Kansas City would hear from him later in the game as well.
However in the bottom of that second inning Kansas City would get the lead back on a sac fly-RBI by Phillips – on a pop fly that was dropped by Wilkerson in center. That would lead to two other runs in the inning, giving Kansas City a 4-1 lead. However in the fifth Chance Sisco‘s solo homer would cut that lead to 4-2.
But remember when I said that Kansas City would see Anthony Santander again? That moment came later in the fifth when he smacked a three-run homer. That put the Birds in the lead at 5-4. At first the umpires weren’t sure that the ball was a homer, as it hit a sponsor board (over the wall) and bounced back into play. The umpires huddled up, called it a homer, and that was upheld on review.
While Dylan Bundy put the Birds in a position to win, they still had to bring it home. And unfortunately that wasn’t going to happen tonight. Dozier’s solo homer in the seventh tied the game at five. Kansas City used three consecutive bunts in the last of the eighth to load the bases with nobody out. A sac fly by a Merrifield and an RBI-ground out by Dozier later, and the Birds had fallen 7-5.
I mentioned the three bunts above to load the bases. The last two of those were fielded by catcher Chance Sisco, who made errant throws and allowed the base runner to advance. Now it’s worth mentioning that if one of those throws was good it might have been a different game.
However more poignantly, both of those final two bunts had a shot at rolling foul. However Sisco picked them up and tried to throw the runners out. That’s a very small, albeit it important detail.
You can’t fault Sisco too much for trying to get the runners out on the bases. Even one out would have changed the dynamic of the inning. However sometimes as an athlete in a game you have to stop yourself from playing playing to your desires in a sense. If he at least attempts to let those balls roll foul, the game is vastly different. His intentions without a doubt we’re good. But details such as fair and foul can be the difference between winning and losing at times.
The series in Kansas City concludes tomorrow afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. Aaron Brooks gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Danny Duffy. Game time is set for 2:15 PM.
Birdland Crush 