The Baltimore Orioles opened up Part II of the Grayson Rodriguez era this evening against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camden Yards. For the most part he was solid. He pitched better than his numbers indicate, as the final two runs that were changed to him crossed home plate after he had left the game. Rodriguez’s line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K.
The Birds put runners at the corners in the first inning, and Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI-double gave them a 1-0 lead. They would extend that to 2-0 in the last of the second on Adam Frazier’s RBI-groundout, followed by an RBI-triple by Gunnar Henderson. This all appeared to be a continuation of the past few games.
And incidentally, fans once again got a look at Henderson’s blazing speed. He easily could have stopped at second base, and nobody would have thought any worse of him. However he kept motoring, and slid into third safely. As I said yesterday, speed is an x-factor in games that can’t be quantified. And it won’t show up in the box score. But it wins you games in the long run.
LA would get a run back n the fourth on Martinez’s RBI-groundout. However one thing that is tangible in a box score is power, and Adley Rutschman showed us some of that with a solo homer in the last of the fourth. However LA would inch closer with an RBI-single by Smith in the sixth.
And later in that inning, Taylor would come up with the bases loaded. Against Brian Baker, Smith would fire a grand slam into the Orioles’ bullpen, giving LA a 6-4 lead. Which turned into a 6-4 victory., snapping the Orioles’ eight-game win streak.
Mind you folks, the LA Dodgers are a good team and they’re having a good year. One good team had to lose in this game, and it ended up being the Orioles. Baker hung a pitch and it came back to bite him. It happens. You pick yourself up and come back and fight tomorrow.
The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Tyler Wells gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Los Angeles’ Michael Grove. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 