It took longer than the Baltimore Orioles would have liked, but the Birds got the job done in the Bronx last night. The Orioles, and starter Tyler Wells, sat through an hour-and-a-half rain delay before starting last night’s game at Yankee Stadium. Wells’ line: 5.0 IP, 5 H 5 R, 2 BB, 8 K.
New York took an early lead on a two-run homer by Torres in the third. But Ryan Mountcastle’s solo shot an inning later acted as a harbinger for what was to come. Even still, before that could happen New York extended their lead to 5-1 on a two-run shot by Kiner-Falefa and Torres’ second homer of the game (a solo shot) the last of the fifth.
New York was feeling pretty comfortable. Heck, the Orioles would have been also had it been them – a four-run lead going into the later innings. Especially at Yankee Stadium. But the “later innings” are just that…later innings. They count as much as the earlier innings. And you have to play them out.
The O’s put two runners on before recording an out in the seventh. Adam Frazier came to the plate and put New York on notice that it wasn’t going to be their day with an immediate three-run homer. And that injected a shot in the arm into the hearts and minds of the Orioles.
The O’s would once again put two runners on (later in the seventh) for Gunnar Henderson’s at-bat. And Henderson pulled a tight grounder down the right field line, scoring two – and giving the Orioles a 6-5 lead. You can’t keep this team down for long.
Before the inning ended, the O’s would add a sac fly-RBI from Ryan Mountcastle, an RBI-single by Anthony Santander, and a run-scoring single by Austin Hays. (That final run was unearned due to an error on the Santander hit.) New York would get one back with an RBI-single in the last of the seventh, but the damage was done. By the Orioles.
You aren’t going to win every game. That goes without saying. Tuesday’s game was one of those for the Birds. But the beauty of baseball is that it’s played everyday. You come right back to the ballpark the next day and play again. And despite being down early, the Birds overcame incredible odds to win this game. That shouldn’t be lost on fans.
The series in New York concludes tonight at Yankee Stadium. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Clarke Schmidt. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 