Spencer Watkins got the start last night for the Baltimore Orioles against Chicago. He pitched to a quality start, but the fact is that Oriole bats couldn’t get untracked in time to deliver a win. Chicago took the lead against Watkins, and never surrendered it – tagging Watkins with the loss. Watkins’ line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K.
Chicago took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-RBI single by Sheets. (This has been said ad hoc, but Sheets is a Baltimore area native, and is the son of former Oriole Larry Sheets.) But those were the only two runs Spencer Watkins gave up. Hence the fact that he pitched to a quality start.
The Orioles got on the board in the last of the fourth on an RBI-groundout by Ryan Mountcastle. The O’s also stranded a runner at third in the sixth, which is a no-no in one-run game. It usually comes back to haunt you.
And sure enough, it did. Sheets struck again in the seventh. His RBI-single gave Chicago a 3-1 lead. Chicago would bet an additional run on a wild pitch in the eighth, and a fifth run on an RBI-single. The Birds would offer a slight rally in the last of the ninth on Austin Hays’ two-run homer, but they wound up falling short.
The series concludes this evening at Camden Yards. Jordan Lyles gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Lance Lynn. Game time is set for just after 7 PN.
Birdland Crush 