You can’t blame the weather if you’re the Baltimore Orioles. In the NFL they say conditions are the great equalizer – and it’s true. Both teams have to play in the conditions. But Kansas City was able to muster something against starter Cole Irvin. Oriole bats could not. Irvin’s line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K.
Kansas City did most of their dirty work in the second inning. Loftin started things off with an RBI-single. Garcia would follow later in the inning with a two-RBI double, and the Birds trailed, 3-0.
Colton Cowser made his first big impact of the season however with an RBI-single in the last of the third. However Garcia would add an RBI-triple an inning later. This gave Kansas City a 4-1 lead. And that would be the final.
New Oriole Tony Kemp appeared to have at least a double in the last of the eighth with a tight liner down the right field line. But it was ruled a foul ball, and replays were inconclusive. The Orioles challenged, but the call was upheld.
I say replays were inconclusive because of the result of the challenge. It looked to me like the ball hit the line at worst. AT WORST. At best it landed on the fair side of the line. Would that have made a difference? Tough to say.
Odds are it wouldn’t have made that much a difference. The Orioles couldn’t get much going in the rain. It was a slog of a struggle in a sense. But the beauty of baseball is you come back tomorrow and try again.
The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Cole Ragan’s. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.
Birdland Crush 