The Baltimore Orioles ran into a buzz saw this afternoon in Dunedin against Toronto. Tom Eshelman struggled out of the gate. Or was it that Toronto’s bats were just hot? Probably a bit of both. Eshelman’s line: 2.0 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 1 BB, 3 K.
Eshelman’s trying to secure a spot in the back end of the Orioles’ rotation, meaning he picked a bad day to get roughed up like he did. However the fact that every other Oriole pitcher had similar results probably helps Eshelman’s case. After coming out of the game he didn’t seem to want to dwell on it:
Understand what I did and kind of move on from it. Not think about it too much. If you think about it a lot, then you screw yourself. Just take the negatives and turn them into a positive on my work days and get better for the next one
Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports
Eshelman surrendered a solo homer to Bichette on the first pitch in the last of the first. That shouldn’t have been a huge issue, as solo home runs don’t beat you. But the game seemingly snowballed from there.
Gurriel smacked an RBI-double later in the inning. Grichuk added a two-run homer, and Jansen a solo shot. And before the crowd had seemingly settled in, the Birds trailed 5-0.
One positive for the O’s was Stevie Wilkerson‘s solo homer in the top of the second inning. But if anything that seemed to inspire Toronto hitters even more. They put four more on the board in the last of the second, all but ending the competitive phase of the game.
Grichuk would homer again in the fourth (this of the two-run variety), and Espinal would add a two-run homer of his own in the fifth. One inning later Burns’ solo shot ran the tally to 14-1. Needless to say, it wasn’t a good day to be an Oriole pitcher – that is unless you stayed back in Sarasota. Mason Williams would add a solo homer in the eighth to get the O’s to within 14-2.
The Orioles announced before the game that Alex Cobb is being scratched from his scheduled start tomorrow due to a blister on his hand. Cobb of course had knee surgery last year, ending his season. The Orioles did say that he would probably play if it were a regular season game, however in this case they’re holding out.
The Orioles head to Fort Myers tomorrow night to take on the Minnesota Twins. Bruce Zimmerman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Jhoulys Chacin. Game time is set for just after 6 PM.
Birdland Crush 