The Baltimore Orioles yesterday commemorated 30 years of playing at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. This in front of a raucous crowd of 41K plus. Austin Voth took to the mound, and provided yet another good outing. Voth’s line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, THE BALLPARK THAT FOREVER CHANGED BASEBALL, opening in April of 1992. President George H.W. Bush was on hand to throw out the first pitch. For one reason or another, the O’s picked this weekend to commemorate the ballpark’s 30th anniversary. (The season obviously started late.) Needless to say, former players AND the fans showed up. So did the current Orioles.
The Orioles took the lead early when Terrin Vavra smacked an RBI-single in the last of the first inning. Jorge Mateo added one of his own an inning later, and the newly-acquired Brett Phillips tacked on an RBI-double. The O’s led 3-0 after two.
Pittsburgh would net two runs of their own in the top of the fourth on a two-run homer by Cruz, which quieted the crowd for a short period. But Ryan McKenna’s two-RBI double in the fifth got the party started again. Both teams would tack on an additional run, the O’s on a sac fly-RBI by Cedric Mullins in the last of the seventh.
On such a momentous occasion, the Orioles took care of business. They’ve won the series with Pittsburgh going into the finale this afternoon. And ALL appears right with the world.
The series concludes this afternoon at Camden Yards. Spencer Watkins gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Pittsburgh’s Bryce Wilson. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 