The Baltimore Orioles got an interesting start out of Kyle Bradish tonight. He was strong early, had a couple of hiccups, but ultimately pitched to a quality start against Toronto at Rogers Centre this evening. Bradish’s line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K.
It looked like Ryan Mountcastle was going to be the big story tonight. And for sure he’s one of them. He continued his assault on Toronto pitching, starting the game off with an RBI-double in the first inning. Gunnar Henderson would later ground into a force out, scoring a second run.
One inning later Adley Rutschman’s RBI-single put the Birds on top by a 3-0 score. But that’s where Bradish started to slip a bit. Jansen’s two-run homer cut the lead to 3-2 on the second. One inning later Belt’s solo shot tied the game at three, after three innings.
The Orioles however pressed on. They’d get the lead back in the top of the sixth with a solo homer by Gunnar Henderson. Bradish got himself in some trouble in the bottom of that inning, but pitched out of it. And that was as big as any of the other moments of the game.
It was of course Ryan Mountcastle who have the O’s a little bit of cushion. His RBI-double in the seventh extended the lead to 5-3. Gunnar Henderson would break things wide open at 7-3 with a two-RBI single. Things looked pretty solid from the Orioles’ standpoint at that time. But the best was yet to come.
Anthony Santander came up in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded. Again, the game was definitely trending in the Orioles’ favor. But Santander dealt the death blow to home standing Toronto on the night, smacking a grand slam into the right field grandstand. To be fair, it wasn’t just a homer/grand slam. I wasn’t aware that a human could send a ball that far.
That effectively ended the game. This although Ryan McKenna’s two-RBI single on the ninth would make the final score 13-3. Between the Santander grand slam, Mountcastle’s almost predictable heroics, and Kyle Bradish’s gritty effort, the O’s got participation out the waazoo in this game. it also clinched them winning the season series against Toronto. It’s August 1st…chew on that.
The series continues tomorrow evening at Rogers Centre. Grayson Rodriguez gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 