Dean Kremer got the start in the second game of three for the Baltimore Orioles in Cincinnati this evening. He started out in good shape, but Cincinnati hitters seemed to figure him out the second time through the order. Kremer’s line: 4.1 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 3 K.
Kremer seemed to be pitching-to-contact. And at least from the second time through the order and onward, Cincinnati was swinging away. They made contact, and made good contact at that.
The O’s however did have an early lead. Anthony Santander continued his hot steak, playing a run in the first with an RBI-single. Later in the inning Trey Mancini scored on a balk, giving the Birds a 2-0 lead.
However it wouldn’t last. Papierski’s RBI-single in the last of the second cut the Orioles’ lead to 2-1. Two innings later in the fourth, Frayley’s RBI-single tied the game at two.
Almost immediately following the tying of the game, Cincinnati had the lead. And they never looked back. India’s two-run homer gave Cincinnati a 4-2 lead. Solo homers by Votto and Fraley later in the game ran the lead to 7-2, and Drury would cap things off in the eighth with an RBI-single, which sent the O’s to an 8-3 loss.
Is this a case of a “bad team” beating a “good team? I’d say it’s more of a bad team beating a team that’s quickly on the rise. But either way, just because you’re “good” doesn’t mean you win every game. The season ebbs and flows, and you have to take the good with the bad. The O’s will have a shot at winning the series tomorrow, and if they do they’ll be satisfied with that.
The series concludes tomorrow at the Great American Ballpark. Austin Voth gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Cincinnati’s Nick Lodolo. GMe time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 