The Baltimore Orioles traveled to Atlanta’s spring facility this afternoon and sent starter Dean Kremer to the mound. With them, the Birds brought the league’s best spring record (12-2) – both Grapefruit and Cactus League. What that means is just about nothing. But it shows a level of competition that bodes well for the immediacy of today. Kremer’s line: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K.
Coby Mayo got the start this afternoon at DH for the O’s. Don’t be shocked if Mayo makes the roster outright coming out of camp; either way, he was the DH today. And he got the scoring started with a two-RBI double in the second inning. He would later score on an RBI-single by Kyle Stowers.
Atlanta would net two runs in the third and fourth (one in each inning), cutting the lead to 3-2. But that’s about as close as Atlanta would get against the team with the best spring record in the game. Ramon Urias would smack an RBI-single in the fifth, extending the lead to 5-2. Coby Mayo would come back up and inning later, and delivered his first homer of the spring – a two-run shot.
That home run opened the game up, and the O’s led 6-2. Atlanta would draw slightly closer with a Kilpatrick RBI-single in the seventh. But the Orioles would bat around in the ninth. The ironic thing is they put four runs on the board (batting around), tallying only one hit. That lone hit came on a two-RBI double by John Rhodes. David Banuelos would add a sac fly-RBI, and Daniel Johnson would walk with the bases loaded.
With a 10-3 win, the O’s enhanced MLB’s best spring record to 13-2. But mind you, it’s only that; a spring record. These games don’t count. What counts though is the level of competition, and that’s been outstanding thus far.
The Orioles return home to Sarasota tomorrow as Toronto pays a visit to Ed Smith Stadium. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Devereaux Harrison. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.
Note: Tomorrow is a split squad day for both the Orioles and Toronto. The Orioles’ “B squad” will travel to TD Ballpark in Dunedin to take on Toronto, with the Orioles throwing Al Suarez against Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi.
Birdland Crush 