Tyler Wells took to the bump for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon, and had a start similar to what we saw last weekend against Anaheim. He gave up a few runs early, but held pat and kept his team in the game. In fact, he came to within two outs of a quality start. Wells’ line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K.
Wells gave up an RBI-single to Tellez in the second, followed by a two-run homer by Bart. But after that he buckled down and stopped the bleeding. He brought the Birds into the sixth inning, which helped the bullpen. Although…the bullpen got taxed later.
However the O’s did battle back. Austin Hays’ RBI-groundout in the seventh got them on the board. Cedric Mullins’ sac fly-RBI would also cut the Pittsburgh lead to one at 3-2.
The O’s would put two runners in scoring position in the top of the ninth. Pittsburgh played the infield back, which was strange to me. They were willing to sacrifice a run. I get it, especially having the last at-bat, but I found that odd.
And the O’s took advantage. Cedric Mullins hit into a fielder’s choice, rolling the ball over to first. Pittsburgh first baseman Tellez threw home, but Jordan Westburg slid in safely and tied the game. We would go to extra innings, and thanks to the ghost runner rule the Orioles would take a 4-3 lead with a sac fly-RBI by Adley Rutschman.
Brandon Hyde would bring in Mike Bauman to pitch the last of the tenth, who would promptly load the bases. He then walked Olivares, tying the game. Hyde would go to reliever Danny Coulombe, who steadied the ship. He immediately induced two quick outs, and then struck out Bart in dramatic fashion to close the inning.
However this wasn’t to be for the O’s. Cruz came up in the last of the eleventh and smacked a single to right field. The ghost runner scored, ending the game with a 5-4 Pittsburgh win. Tough way to lose, but you can also point at the Birds going 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Or only mustering four hits. It all adds up.
In a game that saw multiple web gem-like moments, Danny Coulombe really stuck out at me today. He inherited a bases loaded and nobody out situation, with one run already in. And he pitched out of it. That’s a tough spot to be in, and he pitched the team out of it. Well done.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at PNC Park. Dean Kremer get the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Pittsburgh’s Marco Gonzales. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 