Kyle Gibson struggled this evening for the Baltimore Orioles. However in the beginning at least, it appeared like tonight’s game against Cincinnati was going to be a shootout. (And in the end it was.) That’s certainly the direction in which things appeared to be going. Gibson’s line: 4.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
Gibson spotted Cincinnati a 3-0 lead in the first. Not ideal, but Oriole bats immediately proved that it wasn’t an issue. Ryan O’Hearn promptly smacked an RBI-single in the last of the first. The O’s would then load the bases, only to have them cleared by Gunnar Henderson’s triple – and suddenly the Orioles led 4-3.
But Cincinnati could bounce back also. Friedl’s RBI-single tied it up in the second. He would later score on India’s RBI-groundout, and once again the Orioles trailed. Fraley’s RBI-single extended the lead to 6-4.
However as suddenly as the scoring surge happened in this game, it was also shut off. Suddenly the game turned into a pitcher’s duel. Both starting pitchers settled in. Gibson obviously only lasted 4.2 innings, but I know that I was a little surprised to see him last into the fifth.
The good news is that by sticking it out a bit, Gibson probably saved a bullpen reliever. Now the fact is that the O’s probably weren’t overly concerned about that, as they have today off before Minnesota comes in on Friday. So the ‘pen should be fairly rested. But every little bit helps.
Cincinnati would extend their lead to 7-4 with an RBI-groundout in the eighth. That appeared to be an insurance run at the time. However the Birds still had a trick up their sleeve. Jordan Westburg smacked an RBI-double in the last of the eighth. And he would later score – on Adam Frazier’s two-run homer, which tied the game at seven.
We went to extra innings tied at seven, but things came unraveled for the Orioles fairly quickly. Benson’s run-scoring triple in the top of the tenth gave Cincinnati an 8-7 lead. They would pad that with a two-run homer by Friedl, and an 11th run would score on a wild pitch, sending the O’s down to defeat, 11-7.
This was a hard-fought series between two very good teams. And luckily for the Orioles, this doesn’t hurt their positioning too much given that it was against a National League team. As I said above, today is an off day before Minnesota comes in Friday for the weekend.
Birdland Crush 