Keegan Akin had a solid outing this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles. It was still a shortish outing, however he put the O’s in a position to win the game. And that’s all you can ask of your statrting pitcher. Akin’s line: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, (0 earned), 2 BB, 6 K.
The Birds took the lead early. Jose Iglesias‘ RBI-single gave them a 1-0 lead. And that lead stood up for awhile. Unfortunately for Akin however, it was surrendered on yet another botched play by the Oriole infield.
Toronto had one out and two runners in scoring position in the last of the fifth. However Biggio reached on a throwing error by Hanser Alberto at second base, allowing both runners to score. And giving Toronto a 2-1 lead.
This sort of thing has PLAGUED Oriole pitching this entire road trip. And the sad thing is that both Tampa and Toronto have taken full advantage of the Orioles’ mistakes. That’s certainly an incentive not to make mistakes like that, but sometimes they happen. But the Orioles have allowed those mistakes to kill them.
But the good news is that this time the Orioles fought back. And right away at that. Anthony Santander smacked an RBI-double in the top of the sixth, tying the game at two. This of course also letting Akin off the hook for the loss. And keeping the Orioles in the game.
And of course it was Santander who did it. As I’ve written previously, he’s quickly turning into a stud. And a fan favorite at that – if twitter mentions mean anything. He’s been the right guy at the right time in the lineup over various games this season, and today was no different.
However the game remained tied at two and went to extras. Just what the Orioles wanted after the way this road trip has gone. But Bryan Holladay‘s two-RBI double in the top of the eleventh gave the Birds a 4-2 lead. Toronto would net one in the last of the eleventhC but for once it wasn’t enough. And the O’s took the finale.
The infield play does need to be cleaned up. Now perhaps some of the miscues can be chalked up to playing this series on a minor league field. But those mistakes need to be fixed so that games aren’t in essence being given away.
The O’s also executed a trade before the deadline came and went today. They traded reliever Miguel Castro to the NY Mets in exchange for minor league pitcher, Kevin Smith. New York of course will be at Camden Yards playing the O’s for the next two days following today.
The O’s now return home to open the aforementioned short two-game set with the NY Mets. Neither team has announced a starter for tomorrow. Game time is set for just after 7:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 