Corbin Burnes of the Baltimore Orioles came to play ball this afternoon at Camden Yards. In the series finale against Philadelphia, he faced off against Zach Wheeler in perhaps the best pitching matchup of the day in baseball. And in a battle of aces and a battle of wins, the home standing Orange and Black prevailed. Burnes’ line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K.
Philadelphia threatened in both of the first two innings. But they could put nothing across. On the flip side, Gunnar Henderson worked a long at-bat in the last of the first to lead off the ballgame. And it paid off, as he provided a lead off home run for the Birds, giving them a 1-0 lead.
Colton Cowser smacked a two-run shot in the second, and the Orioles were off to the races. And inning later, Adley Rutschman’s solo homer was the Orioles’ third of the game, and the third off of Wheeler. Keep in mind, Wheeler’s a candidate to start for the NL All-Star team.
Philadelphia briefly threatened in the fifth. Castellanos’ RBI-groundout and Bohm’s RBI-single cut the Orioles’ lead to 4-2. However the mark of a truly great and championship-caliber team is one that answers when the opponent punches back. And the Orioles did just that.
Anthony Santander’s fifth inning RBI-single extended the lead back to three at 5-2. Jordan Westburg came to the plate with two on, and smacked a three-run home run, blowing the game wide open. Philadelphia would muster an RBI-double by Bohm in the seventh, this with the Navy’s Blue Angels thrilling the fans by buzzing the ballpark. Philadelphia did challenge slightly in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs…
…this on a walk and two errors. Jacob Webb should have been out of it, but such is life. Brandon Hyde went to Yennier Cano to record the final out, and the O’s took the finale 8-3, and the series two games to one. For what it’s worth, Cano is credited with a save due to the fact that he entered the game with the tying run on-deck.
Mind you, this series is thought of as one that we could see again this October – MAYBE. And the O’s took two-of-three from Philadelphia. That’s huge. And it’s something to which we could point back as a “moment” as this season goes on.
Also noteworthy, Corbin Burnes’ outstanding outing. Philadelphia had an equally outstanding lineup as the Orioles, and he kept them at bay for the most part.This sets up perhaps the biggest series of the season to date, with the Orioles heading to New York on Tuesday.
Yes, I said on Tuesday. Tomorrow is the Birds’ lone day off this month. Hopefully the players and coaches spend it doing something other than baseball.
Birdland Crush 