The Baltimore Orioles became the first visiting team to win at Kauffman Stadium tonight since Kansas City’s first home series. But despite a huge second inning for Oriole bats, the game was a dog fight at the end, forcing starter Corbin Burnes to sweat things out a bit. Burnes’ line: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K.
The O’s put seven runs on the board in the second inning. They got things started with an RBI-double by Ramon Urias, and RBI-singles by James McCann, Adley Rutschman, and Ryan Mountcastle. In effect, the O’s piecemealed a big inning together. Fact is you’ll take runs anyway you can get them. Just like you’ll take wins anyway you can get one.
Before the second inning ended, Anthony Santander added an RBI-double, and Jordan Westburg a two-RBI single. The Orioles batted around in that second inning, knocking Kansas City starter Ragans out of the game early. Which bodes well for tomorrow.
However even though the bats came alive and Burnes was coasting, the Orioles mate have thought to tomorrow slightly early. And Kansas City can be deadly when you look past them in the moment. And it started happening in the last of the sixth when Burnes started to tire.
Perez smacked a three-run homer following a double and a walk. That caused Burnes’ exit, however he still left with the lead. The O’s would further extend their lead to 8-3 in the seventh when Austin Hays scored on a Pass Ball at home plate. Then the last of the seventh happened.
One way Kansas City wins games is by wearing you down. They grind and they wear out your pitching, similar to the Tampa Rays. With runners already on base, Yohan Ramirez entered the game, hit a batter, and then allowed a run on a Pass Ball. That cut the lead to 8-4.
Kansas City would then get an RBI-single by Garcia, and a two-RBI single by Perez. This following grueling at-bats that took a lot of energy out of the Birds. One inning later however Anthony Santander would tack on an insurance run with an RBI-double. And luckily, the pitching situation calmed down in the eighth and ninth, giving the O’s a 9-7 victory.
It’s worth mentioning that Anthony Santander had the two biggest plays of the game. The first one was the insurance run late. However he also made a diving catch on a fly ball in the ninth inning that turned a base hit on a bloop into an out. This game shouldn’t have been as close as it is. But Santander wanted it more than Kansas City in a sense. While that goes as a standard fly ball out, make no mistake it was one of the biggest play in the game.
Sometimes you have games like this. It didn’t need to be that tough to win this game (following a seven-run inning). But it was, although the important part is that the Orioles won it. Do you want a hard win that you had to grit out more so than a game you ultimately lost? The answer is an emphatic YES, 100% of the time.
The series concludes tomorrow at Kauffman Stadium. Cole Irvin gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Seth Lugo. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.
Birdland Crush 