Spencer Watkins struggled tonight for the Baltimore Orioles. Not awful struggles, but he didn’t pitch as well against the Miami Marlins as he had in previous outings. And that’s okay; it was bound to happen. Watkins’ line: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
Watkins put two runners on in the second inning. And before he knew it the O’s trailed 3-0 on Leon’s three-run homer. And that illustrates the issue that Watkins had tonight – and it happens to every pitcher at various points. You don’t want to get too much of the plate, lest you risk the ball getting hit a long way. And that’s what happened to Watkins tonight.
Marte’s RBI-single in the fourth would extend the lead to 4-0. However the O’s tried to come back. Austin Hays would smack a solo homer in the bottom of that fourth inning, closing the lead to 4-1. The teams then traded solo homers in the fifth and sixth – Diaz for Miami and Cedric Mullins for the O’s.
Miami would also get a solo shot from Anderson in the top of the seventh. But the O’s again would try to but into the lead. In the bottom of the inning Ramon Urias’ RBI-single cut the lead to 6-3.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the game from the Orioles’ standpoint was the big league debut of rookie Connor Greene. He had bounced around other teams’ farm systems but had never made it. A big group of family and friends were at the game, including his father – who had to be bery proud.
And Greene faired well. He pitched two innings, giving up two hits and a run. One of those singles was an RBI-single in the eighth by Aguilar. And end of the day, it was just a crazy ballgame.
The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Jorge Lopez gets the start, and he’ll be opposed by Miami’s Jordan Holloway. Game time is still set for just aftrr 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 