Alex Cobb gave them Baltimore Orioles exactly what they were looking for tonight against Washington in an exhibition game. He got his work in, and looked fairly solid in doing so. Cobb’s line: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K.
Cobb of course missed most of last season with an injury, and the organization’s goal is to have him ready for the regular season. The thought is that he’ll be pitching the second game of the year in Boston. But we’ll have to see. With this start tonight they did actually set him up to pitch that night.
Cobb surrendered a two–run homer in the fourth to Kendrick, giving Washington a 2-0 lead. However Chris Davis began the last of that fourth inning with a double. And I think that’s important to note. Davis of course has struggled the past few seasons, at times swinging straight through pitches right down the pike. He was having a great spring before play was halted. If he can continue getting on base and so forth, the Orioles will be in a much better position in games this season.
Following a swinging bunt that sent Davis to third, he scored on an RBI-groundout by Rio Ruiz. That cut Washington’s lead to 2-1. But more importantly it showed that the Orioles were capable of manufacturing a run.
Washington would add two more in the seventh, and Renato Nunez added about RBI-single in the eighth as the Birds fell 4-2 in this exhibition game. Incidentally, the Nunez RBI-single was a good sign also. He fought a tough pitch off and sent a flare into shallow right field. Opposing teams have made careers out of picking the Orioles to death over the years. It’s good to see they can do the same on occasion.
The takeaway from this game is that Cobb was crisp. He did surrender that two-run homer, however in reality he threw one bad pitch. I think the Orioles can live with that sort of outing out of Cobb. Or any starter for that matter.
The O’s will close out their summer camp exhibition schedule tomorrow night as they take on Washington again, this time at Nationals Park in our nation’s capital. Kohl Stewart gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Patrick Corbin. Game time is set for just after 6 PM.
Birdland Crush 