Baltimore Orioles’ starter Dean Kremer perhaps wasn’t quite as crisp as he’s been in the past today in game one of a doubleheader against Tampa. However you’re not always going to have your best stuff at your disposal. He put the O’s in a position to win the game. Kremer’s line: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K.
The lone run Kremer gave up was an RBI-triple in the second by Phillips. That gave Tampa a 1-9 lead. However Kremer didn’t take the loss today. Ryan Mountcastle‘s RBI-single in the last of the sixth tied the game at one, and got Kremer off the hook.
However the Orioles’ bugaboo against Tampa has long been the unexpected. It seems that you can do anything and prepare for most contingencies, but they find the one manner for which you didn’t prepare. And that’s how they beat you. It has to be maddening.
Tampa has runners at the corners in the seventh. They played Tsutsugo in his at-bat with the infield in. The idea being to cut the go-ahead run down at home plate. If the ball was hit in the infield, the play was at home plate.
However Tsutsugo hit the ball very softly to Iglesias at short. It was hit so softly, he had no play at home plate. So Iglesias smartly took the play at first. But that allowed the run to score.
Tampa would tack on another insurance run later in the inning. But that’s how they’ve beaten the O’s for years. They found the one way against which the Orioles couldn’t defend. Again, it has to be annoying from the Orioles’ perspective.
The series continues this evening with game two of the doubleheader – a game in which Tampa will be the designated home team. Baltimore native Bruce Zimmerman makes his night league debut and gets the start for the Birds, and Tampa is yet to announce a starter. Game time is set for about 40 minutes from now.
Birdland Crush 