Grayson Rodriguez’s first inning pretty much did the Baltimore Orioles in this afternoon. Not that you can come back from a four-run first easily. You can come back from it but it’s challenging, as the tone has been set. Rodriguez’s line: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 7 K.
Little things can often turn into big things, as the title indicates. With one out and a runner on, Judge Drew a walk in the first inning, You figure the Orioles still have the double-play in tact, however Grayson Rodriguez uncorked a wild pitch to move both runners into scoring position. Following a strikeout, Torres’ RBI-single gave New York a 1-0 lead.
That occurred with two outs – after the strikeout. The Orioles have struggled all year with two strikes and two outs. It’s an interesting point. Quite frankly they’ve struggled over a long number of years in those settings – dating back to previous regimes.
The worst part of that is just prior to the RBI-single, Torres popped a ball into foul territory behind third base. It ended up being just out of reach of the Oriole infield, but it would have ended the inning without any runs scored. That loomed even larger when Wells cranked a three-run homer, giving New York a 4-0 lead.
Again, that’s tough from which to rebound. Especially when your bats are quiet. Which Oriole bats are right now. They would get on the board in the last of the fourth following a leadoff triple by Ryan O’Hearn. He would later score on an RBI-groundout by Ryan Mountcastle.
Here’s the difference in this series between New York and Oriole pitching: the corners. Again, small things turn into big things. New York was commanding the corners all day – and dating back to last night. Did they get a few “benefits of the doubt” in the strike zone? Absolutely. Did the Orioles? Not at all. But the Orioles didn’t own the black of the plate. Granted the umpire’s strike zone can at times dictate a lot of that, but the perception of the home plate umpire was that the Orioles weren’t hitting the corner. New York was.
So the Orioles had to improvise. Unfortunately that entailed going into the upper middle part of the strike zone, which hurt Rodriguez immensely. Soto and Judge hit back-to-back solo homers on elevated pitches, extending the lead to 6-1. End of the day, eventually you have to start “giving in” to a point. Meaning throwing a fastball in the middle of the plate.
New signee Vinny Nittoli pitched the eighth and ninth innings today, and was strong. He gave up a double to Soto in the ninth, but that was it. He looked very crisp in the strike zone with his cutter, which seemed to confuse New York hitters.
With the loss, the Orioles and New York are now tied in the AL East standings. In a sense, the O’s are still ahead by percentage points, as they’re one up in the loss column, however. They’re going through a rough stretch right now, but the break will help. Especially with pitching. And maybe injuries, as Heston Kjerstad went to the concussion IL before the game after last night’s beaning. Even if they lose tomorrow and New York takes first place at the ASB, there’s a long road ahead. Strap in.
The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Dean Kremer gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Carlos Rodon. Game time is set for a special start time due to Roku TV, that being just after 11:30 AM.
Birdland Crush 