It’s hard to decide if Tyler Wells, Adam Frazier, Ryan Mountcastle, or Austin Hays played a bigger role for the Baltimore Orioles tonight. I’ll start with Wells, who pitched like a workhorse this evening against Detroit at Camden Yards. Wells’ line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
Wells added his name to the list of Oriole starters who haven’t allowed a run in three games now and counting. That’s also three consecutive deep outings in games for Oriole starters. This past week the starting pitching, needless to say, has been crisp. As have Oriole relievers.
The issue of course is that the O’s were unable to score as well. Mind you, they won 1-0 in Washington on Tuesday, and then 4-0 on Wednesday. So runs haven’t exactly flowed freely of late. But the O’s have managed to get by, and tonight was no exception.
As Tyler Wells was getting handshakes in the dugout for a job well done, Austin Hays strode to the plate in the last of the seventh. And Hays smacked a ball into the Oriole bullpen for a solo homer, giving the O’s a 1-0 lead. And again, runs have come at a premium. Felix Bautista unfortunately allowed a base runner and a stolen base in the ninth, putting a runner in scoring position. And Baez’s RBI-single tied the game at one.
Bautista in fact did blow a rare save. However keep in mind that as big as he is, people will often try to steal in him. And the stolen bases played a huge role in the score being tied. Such is life.
With one out in the last of the ninth, Ryan Mountcastle singled to get on base. With Anthony Santander at the plate, Brandon Hyde called for a hit-and-run; which in a way was refreshing to see. And it was conducted in refectory fashion, with Mountcastle ending up at third on Santander’s base hit.
That brought Adam Frazier to the plate, who in essence ran into a swinging bunt. However the Orioles has the contact play on, and Mountcastle scampered home from third. He slid into home plate just before the tag, winning it in walkoff fashion for the Orioles, 2-1.
Things fell into place for the Birds in the end. Everything lined up perfectly between the hit-and-run, the swinging bunt, and Mountcastle’s hustle. You find ways to win games, especially against teams you should be beating. And the Orioles did that tonight.
The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Joey Wentz. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 