The Baltimore Orioles began life in a post-Trey Mancini world in grand fashion last night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX. Spencer Watkins got the start, and was dominant for the Birds. Watkins’ line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Watkins had the lead before even taking the field. Cedric Mullins’ solo homer in the first inning gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead. An inning later we saw Mullins come to bat again, and he smacked an RBI-single, extending the lead to 2-0.
Later in the inning Anthony Santander smacked a bloop RBI-single that fell in. Ryan Mountcastle hit an RBI-single of his own, and the O’s were paper cutting Texas to death. They also got two runs in the fourth on RBI-doubles by Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle respectively.
Texas would smack solo homers in the seventh and eighth. These off the bats of Seager and Solak. Jorge Mateo would add an RBI-double in the seventh as well, capping off the Orioles’ 7-2 win. Obviously it wasn’t an easy game for the O’s given the Mancini trade, as was addressed by Brandon Hyde following the ballgame:
Very tough day. I had no idea how we were going to respond, and I was really happy with our at-bats, especially early. Cedric set the tone with an opposite-field homer there in the first inning. Spenser Watkins was fantastic. … Happy with how we responded after a tough day.
Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports
The series continues tonight at Globe Life Field. Jordan Lyles gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Texas’ Spencer Howard. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.
Birdland Crush 