Baltimore Orioles’ starter Bruce Zimmermann was an exception to the rule last night – at first. They say that solo home runs won’t hurt you. But Zimmermann gave up four; it adds up. Luckily however, both Zimmermann and Oriole bats were able to overcome those homers, at least temporarily. Zimmermann’s line: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Rizzo smacked a solo shot in the first, Trevino in the third, and Torres in the fourth. But the O’s battled back as well. Rougned Odor’s fifth inning RBI-groundout got the Birds on the board. Needless to say, the O’s came to play ball in the Bronx this week.
Austin Hays would cut that New York lead to one at 3-2 with a solo homer in the seventh. Odor came up again later in the inning with two runners on base. And he would give the Orioles the lead with a three-run homer. Suddenly despite the three solo homers, Bruce Zimmermann found himself with a 5-3 lead.
Zimmermann would give up his fourth solo homer in the last of the seventh, this one to Torres. And that was the end of Zimmermann’s night. Not a bad outing in the least, especially given the longevity. And the fact that he left ether game with the lead.
Later in the seventh Trevino’s RBI-single would tie the game back up at five. We would later go to extra innings with that score, and the Birds struck first. Austin Hays’ RBI-groundout gave the Orioles a 6-5 lead. However in the bottom of the inning Kiner-Falefa’s RBI-single would tie it back up. Trevino would add an RBI-single later in the inning, giving New York a 7-6 walk off win.
The Orioles played good baseball last night. Albeit in a losing effort, but this is part of the rebuilding process. They’re getting good outings of late from starters, including Bruce Zimmermann tonight. Manager Brandon Hyde on Zimmermann’s outing:
I thought he pitched well tonight. A few mistakes that he paid for. … Went into the seventh inning for us, we left with the lead. We just didn’t hold it. But I thought our guys were grinding it out again, got some big hits, made some big plays defensively. Did a nice job. We just came up a little short tonight.
Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports
The series concludes this evening at Yankee Stadium. Tyler Wells gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s JP Sears. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 