Grayson Rodriguez came off the IL for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon to make the start against Seattle. Rodriguez was solid – especially given that he didn’t even make a rehab start. He didn’t surrender a hit (the lone base hit he allowed, for the record) until the sixth inning. This after the game started with a three-hour weather delay. Rodriguez’s line: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K.
It’s tough to criticize Rodriguez’s outing tonight. It also didn’t end in an Orioles’ victory. The Birds got to Seattle early, but that was the gist of it – they never kept the pressure on. Austin Hays’ sac fly-RBI in the second and Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-single an inning later put the O’s ahead 2-0.
However things changed after Rodriguez left the game. With one on in the seventh, Moore sent a tight liner down the third base line for a double. That put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Hanigan would score a run on a sacrifice fly, and France’s RBI-double would tie the game at two.
Here’s the thing though; that double by Moore? Replays seemed to show that it was actually a foul ball. It did bounce on the base line, but it crossed into foul territory before going over the bag. It wasn’t a play that could be challenged, so the Orioles had no choice but to play on.
Seattle’s Rodriguez hit what should have been a routine groundout in the top of the eighth. However Ryan O’Hearn was unable to field the relay throw, allowing Rodriguez to reach base. My personal opinion is that it should have been a fielding error on O’Hearn, but it was ruled a base hit. One way or the other, it should have been an out at first base.
Raleigh and Moore would follow immediately with two different RBI-doubles. This gave style a 4-2 lead. Which turned into a 4-3 win, this after Gunnar Henderson’s solo homer in the ninth.
On the liner down the line that should have been foul, the Orioles had no control over that. Bad calls happen. They shouldn’t, but they do. But that small detail plagued the Birds.
However the small detail they could control was the base runner in the eighth. As a stand-alone play, mistakes happen. You can excuse a guy like Ryan O’Hearn in that moment. But again, a small detail bit them in the derrière. You have to limit that. And it glares a lot brighter when you have a detail that can’t be helped, that being the line drive.
The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s George Kirby. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 