With a sweep potentially in play, the Baltimore Orioles tasked Tommy Milone with getting them to pay dirt this afternoon. Tampa’s a team that’s tormented the Orioles over the years. So a sweep of their division rivals this weekend would go a long way towards erasing those memories. And Milone didn’t disappoint. Milone’s line: 5.0 IP, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K.
When I say Tampa’s tormented the O’s, I mean more so how they’ve beaten them as opposed to just beaten them. New York’s beaten the Orioles’ brains in at times. But you’d almost rather than than have a bunch of mad scientists literally finding stats for everything and using it to their advantage almost every time. They’d nickel and dime the O’s, and then kill them by paper cuts. And just when the Birds thought something was going right, someone would climb the wall and make some miraculous play in saving a homer. Not today.
The O’s took the lead on Renato Nunez‘s solo homer in the third inning. Tampa tied the game in the sixth on Lowe’s solo shot which chased Milone. But the Birds were seemingly on the cusp for most of the afternoon. Finally in the last of the seventh they broke through.
Hanser Alberto smacked an RBI-double which gave the O’s the lead for good at 2-1. Nunez’s RBI-single would extend the lead to 3-1, and Jose Iglesias‘ RBI-double ran it to 4-1. The competitive part of the game seemed to be over.
But the O’s did put up an all-important insurance run before all was said and done. Pat Valaika, last night’s hero, smacked a solo homer in the last of the eighth, putting a capper on the Orioles’ 5-1 win. And their first sweet of Tampa since 2016.
Keep in mind, the games mean more due to the shortened season. And these games mean even more than others because they’re division games. Needless to say, the pride of the Orange & Black is alive and well, and it was on display all weekend.
The Orioles found out yesterday that they’re going to be off tomorrow. However as we know the schedule’s been retooled. We know that the Birds will be scheduled to play Miami at Camden Yards on Tuesday – in some form. And there’s also a hurricane that’s supposed to be here on that day. So stay tuned!
Birdland Crush 