The Baltimore Orioles finally got a starter to go deeper than four innings. Asher Wojchiekowski pitcher five tonight against the NY Mets at Camden Yards. It may only be one more, but it’s something. It’s a start. Wojciechowski’s line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
Renato Nunez put the Orioles ahead early with a three-run homer in the last of the first inning. However New York chopped away. A sac fly-RBI and an RBI-single in the second got them to within 3-2. Luckily for the O’s in that moment, Anthony Santander followed suit in the last of the second with an RBI-single, and Jose Iglesias pushed another run across on a fielder’s choice. The O’s appeared to be in the driver’s seat…
…until they weren’t. Cano smacked a solo homer in the third. That was innocent enough; it came with two outs and solo home runs generally aren’t going to beat you. But Gimenez’s two-run homer in the sixth suddenly tied the game at five.
This was a big moment in the game for the O’s. Mind you that they just came home from a series in Toronto in which they surrendered several leads, and lost games at the eleventh hour in walk off fashion. Psychologically that can grate on a team. But the Orioles battled back.
Pat Valaika immediately got the Birds the lead back with an RBI-double in the last of the sixth. And that was a big moment all and of itself. Because the O’s didn’t string things out and waste any time. They jumped on the horn immediately and took the lead back.
Anthony Santander would add a two-run homer later in the inning, as the Orioles started to pull away. And for good measure, they added on an insurance run in the seventh. This on Renato Nunez’s solo homer – his second homer of the game.
And that Nunez home run was important also in terms of exorcising the demons of that Toronto series. The Orioles took several one-run leads, only to settle for that one run. And it would more often than not end up not being enough. This time around they were having none of that, and they padded the lead – which turned into a 9-5 win over the New York Mets.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. John Means gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Michael Wacha. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.
Birdland Crush 