Grayson Rodriguez became the second Baltimore Orioles’ starter to start off his second half in an outstanding manner. With one small blip in the radar, Rodriguez mowed down Texas hitters throughout his outing. And the fact that it was in Texas, his home state, had to be meaningful. Rodriguez’s line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K.
Luckily for Rodriguez, Oriole bats put in an equally strong effort. The O’s put runners at first and second with nobody out in the second, and Cedric Mullins laid down a bunt. And a good bunt at that. As Mullins hustled down the line, Texas starter Scherzer popped off the mound to field the ball on the third base side (of the mound). His throw to first however was errant, and a run scored with Mullins ending up at second base. (It was scored as a single and a run scored on an error.)
That brought Ramon Urias to the plate, and his two-RBI single extended the lead to 3-0. Urias would take second on the throw, and he would later score on an RBI-single by Anthony Santander. And save for a two-RBI single by Knizner in the last of the second (cutting the lead to 4-2), the O’s were off to the races.
Cedric Mullins extended the lead to a three-run margin at 5-2 with a solo homer in the third. Three innings later Jordan Westburg’s two-run shot blew the game wide open. Texas made every effort to go quietly in most of the rest of the game, save for Langford’s two-RBI double in the eighth. Of course, Ryan O’Hearn did come back in the ninth with a solo homer, and with the 7-4 win the Birds have taken the first two games of this series and this road trip.
This looks like a different team as compared to the version of the Orioles that limped to the finish line in the first half. That backs up the notion that there were some tired bats and arms across the roster as the first half closed, There’s still a long ways to go this year, but the O’s atoned for themselves well in the first two games of the second half. And with New York losing today, they now hold a two-game lead in the AL East (three up in the loss column).
The series with Texas concludes tomorrow at Globe Life Field. Dean Kremer gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Texas’ Andrew Heaney. Game time is set for just after 2:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 