It was obvious from the beginning that Baltimore Orioles’ starter Kyle Bradish didn’t have his best stuff. Now to be clear, not only was he not awful, but he didn’t allow a run. Makes it tough to lose. But he had some issues locating his pitches at times, which can happen. Bradish’s line: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 5 K.
After two offensive outbursts in the first two games of the series, the O’s out big runs on the board. Ten on Saturday and seven last night. However New York starter Quintana limited them this afternoon. Base runners were hard to come by. However Quintana’s outfield eventually let him down.
Jorge Mateo hit a one-out triple in the last of the sixth in a scoreless game. The ball went all the way to the wall after the outfield made a valiant attempt at catching it. And it lodged under the wall.
And that’s where the outfield let Quintana down. Fielders are taught to throw their arms in the air in that circumstance, saying they can’t fish the ball out cleanly. The moment they fish the ball out (which they did), that can’t happen. That out a runner at third in the form of Mateo, who later gave the O’s a 1-0 lead on Adley Rutschman’s RBI-groundout.
One inning later the Birds out runners at the corners with one out, and Ryan O’Hearn’s fielder’s choice-RBI gave them a 2-0 lead. However the O’s lucked out a bit there, as the New York infield lazily bumbled the play. It easily could have been an inning-ending double-play. And it probably should have been.
It was a lazy series in general for New York, which is uncharacteristic from a Buck Showalter-led team. We saw sloppy play in the field, pitch clock violations, and other things that you wouldn’t expect Buck to tolerate. And I’m not suggesting that he is, as I’m sure he’s still teaching fundamentals. But they looked like a team that had given up.
And the O’s looked like a team bound for the postseason. And that’s because they are. Mark my words.
Birdland Crush 