The Baltimore Orioles still have a long way to go in the regular season, but they dropped a big game today. In losing to Tampa, they dropped the season series; which is one of the playoff tie-breakers. All that means is that they have to finish with a better record than Tampa. Jordan Lyles got the start today, with mixed results. Lyles’ line: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 9 K.
Lyles gave up a three-run homer to Arozarena in the last of the third. Peralta also smacked an RBI-single in the fifth, giving Tampa a 4-1 lead. Other than that, Oriole pitching was pretty strong in this game. Keegan Akin pitched two innings of two-hit ball in relief. But when both sides have decent pitching, it boils down to who can finagle a couple of runs across. In this case that was Tampa.
Jorge Mateo scored on a wild pitch in the ninth inning, and Tampa took home a 4-1 win. Of course, Mateo got on base with a first pitch double in the top of the ninth. He was the Orioles’ first base runner; he broke up a perfect game.
Tampa starter Drew Rasmussen pitched a gem. He kept the Birds off base until the ninth inning. Many will wonder if this dooms the rest of the season offensively. What does this say about Oriole bats?
What it says is that they had a bad game. Sometimes you have to tip your cap, as former manager Buck Showalter used to say. You keep grinding and move onto tomorrow.
The O’s now head to the great white north to open a three-game set with Toronto at Rogers Centre. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 