Matt Harvey had been stellar for the Baltimore Orioles in the second half thus far. Coming into tonight’s game, he had thrown 12 consecutive scoreless innings. And that trend continued. Harvey’s line: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Harvey was in cruise control for the most part. He seemed to be able to record outs at will, and put the ball wherever he wanted it to be. And that’s consistent with how he pitched in his other two starts in the second half. This contrasted with his 7+ runs ERA in the first half. It’s like he’s a different pitcher.
Pedro Severino’s solo homer in the third inning got the Orioles on the board. Ryan Mountcastle would add a solo shot in the fourth, to run it to 2-0. One inning later in the fifth, Severino would come up again. And his second solo shot of the game gave the O’s a 3-0 lead.
They would also add what appeared to be an insurance run m the sixth, on Ramon Urias’ RBI-single. However the issue is that’s all the O’s got that inning. And the inability to pile a couple more runs on after that could have affected the outcome of the game.
And that might be because Tanner Scott uncorked a wild pitch in the eighth which scored a run. Detroit would proceed to load the bases, and Cabrera’s sac fly-RBI cut the Birds’ lead to 4-2.
The lead was cut further in the last of the eighth to 4-3 when Scott uncorked another wild pitch. However he got out of the inning. And it’s to the Orioles’ credit that they were able to get away with the win.
What Matt Harvey’s done thus far in the second half is nothing short of miraculous. He looked so bad in the first half, but thus far it’s really come together In the spender. Harvey’s a guy who worked tirelessly at his craft. And his performance thus far in this game and the entire second half has been nothing short of a miracle.
The series continues tomorrow at Comerica Park. John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Matt Manning. Game time is set for just after 6 PM.
Birdland Crush 