This time around, the Baltimore Orioles weren’t asking tBruce Zimmermann to be a stopper tonight against the New York Mets. In fact, they were asking him to be a “continuer” in a certain sense, as they came in after winning on Sunday. And Zimmmermann did his job, keeping the gravy train running. Zimmerman’s line: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K.
Zimmermann gave up a first inning two-run homer to Alonso. And that was the nudge the O’s needed, as the rest of the evening was perfumed by orange & black. The Orioles promptly tied the game in the second on Pat Valaika’s two-RBI double. Cedric Mullins would stay hot, with an RBI-double later in the inning which gave the O’s the lead at 3-2.
And the Birds didn’t really look back. Valaika would bet another RBI-double in the third, running the score to 4-2. you really have to tip your cap to Valaika, who’s fresh off the bereavement list. He was hot when he left the team. And he stayed hot tonight now that he’s back. That, along with almost everything else that happened tonight, bodes very well for the Orioles.
The O’s would extend their lead in the fourth with an RBI-single by Trey Mancini. One inning later Maikel Franco would become only the sixth player in the history of Camden Yards to hit a homer into the second deck. The best part from the Orioles’ perspective? It was a homer of the three-run variety. It blew the game wide open, with the Orioles leading 8-2.
Ryan Mountcastle, last week’s AL Player of the Week, would stay hot also, with an RBI-single in the last of the sixth. Anthony Santander would also smack a solo homer in the last of the eighth, which ran the score to 10-2. Alonzo would smack a solo shot for New York in the ninth, rounding out a 10-3 Orioles’ win.
Oriole bats have heated up suddenly as we’ve gotten into June. The weather may play a role, or not. But either way they’re heating up, and that’s a good sign. As is a second consecutive blowout win, along with the fact that they’re adding on insurance runs as needed.
For what it’s worth, this was game number sixty for the Orioles. They stand at 22-38 after tonight’s win. Last year they were 25-35, in a sixty game season. So had they won three games during that 14-game losing streak, they’d be right on par with last season (as it stands now they aren’t far off). I’d say the big league team is slowly improving.
The series concludes tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Matt Harvey gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Tarikuan Walker. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 