John Means came through for the Baltimore Orioles tonight in various ways. First off, he pitched not the eighth inning. With a tired bullpen at the worst possible moment in time, that was EXACTLY what the Orioles needed. That’s an intangible thing when it comes to stats, but needless to say Means showed up for the O’s tonight. Means’ line: 7.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K.
Anthony Santander smacked an RBI-double in the first inning to give the O’s a 1-0 lead. But this game was all about John Means being a bulldog. And was he ever. He almost single-handedly stabilized a pitching staff that was looking more and more beleaguered.
Needless to say, Means was mowing down Cleveland hitters. It was a stark contrast to what we saw last night. Cleveland and their snap-happy bats were unable to find much daylight in the field. Meanwhile Anthony Santander extended their lead to 2-0 in the sixth with an RBI-single.
And it’s a good thing he did. Means was quietly throwing a no-hitter. I say quietly because the overarching storyline of this game was the stakes it carried – for the O’s. However the no-no came to an end in the seventh when Giminez smacked a solo homer. Not only was it the first (and only) hit Means surrendered, but it cut the lead in half.
But the good news was Means didn’t let it phase him. He knew it was only one run, and given what the Orioles are looking towards after the season, a no-hitter at this stage was all but irrelevant. He was lifted after one out in the eighth, which was finished off by Yennier Cano. Cionel Perez pitched a perfect ninth, and the Orioles took the win, 2-1.
Thus they maintain their 1.5 game lead over Tampa in the AL East. Tampa of course, who won in walk-off fashion earlier in the day. So this was a big win for the Birds, anchored by John Means doing a massive “solid” for the rest of the pitching staff. And narrowing the Magic Number to 5.
The series concludes tomorrow at Progressive Field. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 