The Baltimore Orioles sent Southern California native Dean Kremer to the mound in the series opener in San Francisco last night. Of course, his skipper, Brandon Hyde, is also from the region. It’s always good to come back to your hometown (or home region) and perform well. Especially when you’re a team in the pennant race. Kremer’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K.
That’s a quality start for Kremer, if you’re keeping track at home – and I know you are! It didn’t start well, however. The first pitch he threw was hit out of the ballpark and into San Francisco Bay by Wade. And before they knew it, the Orioles trailed.
However solo homers rarely beat you. Especially when they come on the first pitch of the first inning, and you have the entire game to make up the run. And the Orioles did that right away.
Austin Hays led off the second with a double – a double that almost left the ballpark, incidentally. But he would later score on Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-single. Later in the inning Jorge Mateo plated a second run with a swinging bunt at home plate. Newly signed Aaron Hicks scored from third, giving the O’s a 2-1 lead.
And make no mistake that part of that run scoring was the placement of the ball – which was mainly luck. However Mateo’s speed also played a major role. He was quick out of the box, and his blazing speed got him to first. San Francisco never had a chance at preventing the run from scoring.
However they did quickly tie the game. Yastrzemski’s RBI-double in the last of the third tied things up at two. But let’s back up for a moment – all things being the same, that could have been a go-ahead run. Davis hit what should have been an RBI-single to right field with a runner on second. However Anthony Santander came up throwing…
…and he gunned the base runner out at home plate. Plays as such are huge in close games. And luckily for the O’s, this one went their way.
Speaking of “gunning,” it was Gunnar Henderson who put the Birds back in the lead. His solo home run in the seventh gave them a 3-2 lead. The bullpen did it’s job, and the O’s took game one of three in the Bay Area.
As I said, manager Brandon Hyde and starter Dean Kremer were playing in their old stomping grounds. It has to be a cool moment to come back to your home region as an athlete or coach. Hyde addressed this point before the game when asked if it meant anything to him:
Yeah it does (mean something to manage here). We drove by Candlestick going to the hotel two nights ago and I have special memories of going to those games. Watching Joe Montana with the Niners and watching Will Clark with the Giants in my younger days with my dad and friends.
Quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports
The series continues this evening at Oracle Park. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by San Francisco’s Alex Cobb (former Oriole). Game time is set for just after 10 PM.
Birdland Crush 