Obviously with the death of the great Brooks Robinson, hearts and minds surrounding the Baltimore Orioles were full. And in memorium to the greatest third baseman of all time today, Kyle Bradish pitched a gem. Bradish’s line: 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K.
The O’s got on the board early in this game. Gunnar Henderson smacked a solo homer in the first inning. And the good thing about your pitching staff not surrendering a run is that you only need one. Which is good, because that’s all the Orioles got tonight. They went home 1-0 winners.
Washington’s Meneses sent a deep fly ball to center in the fourth that was tracked down by Cedric Mullins. But that’s the closest the Orioles came to surrendering a run. They almost scored again in the last of the eighth, but Gunnar Henderson was thrown out attempting a straight steal of home. Yennier Cano struck out the side in the ninth, and the Birds closed out the win.
As this is being written, Tampa leads the Boston Red Sox; if that result holds, the O’s will remain with the magic number being two. This meaning that a win against Washington tomorrow combined with a Tampa loss, would clinch the division for the O’s.
Obviously the mood was dampened by the Brooks Robinson news. Not one person who ever met him had a cross thing to say about him. And yes, he’s the greatest third baseman of all time. It’s sad when anyone dies, and we certainly wish nothing but love and peace for all who knew and loved him. But the cool thing for fans will be hearing all the tributes and the things that will be said about Brooks Robinson over the next few days. And put that up against the backdrop of winning the AL East Pennant, and needless to say it’s shaping up to be a special week.
The series with Washington concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Grayson Rodriguez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Patrick Corbin. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 