A day after putting up 17 runs against New York, the Baltimore Orioles put up 11 against Houston. And lost. Grayson Rodriguez was able to last five innings, but was ineffective in his home state. Rodriguez’s line: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 8 K.
End of the day, it wasn’t a game for pitchers. Houston put one across on a double-play in the first, and an Altuve RBI-double in the second. Ryan O’Hearn would ground into a force out pushing across a run in the third, and Anthony Santander’s RBI-single would tie the game at two.
The O’s actually did hold a brief lead thanks to Ryan Mountcastle’s sac fly-RBI in the fifth. However in the bottom of the inning Meyers’ three-run homer put Houston back in the lead at 5-3. However a nine-run sixth rallied Houston big time. Houston may be down, but they’re still a potent offense and they can strike fast.
Having nine runs dumped on you and trailing 14-3 in the sixth is usually the end of the game. Not so in this case. The O’s chipped away. Gunnar Henderson’s solo homer in the seventh cut the lead to 14-4. Jorge Mateo smacked a two-run homer in the eighth, followed by another home run by Gunnar Henderson – this of the two-run variety.
Ryan Mountcastle’s two-RBI double and Anthony Santander’s two-run homer later in the inning brought the final to 14-11. It goes as a loss, but certainly a valiant comeback. And I think it shows that this team never gives up. And similar to Houston, they can strike quickly.
The only people in the building who thought the Orioles had a chance at 14-3 were…the Orioles. Anthony Santander confirmed that after the game (quote courtesy of Jake Rill, mlb.com):
There’s always a chance. We go out there and compete. If we would get out, it’s part of the game. But our mentality is always go out there, compete and try to get on base to be able to score some runs.
Luckily for the Birds, New York didn’t faire much better. They dropped their game 8-1 against Atlanta. The Orioles remain a half game behind them in the standings, and one up in the loss column.
The series continues this afternoon at Minute Maid Park. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Ronel Blanco. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.
Birdland Crush 