In his second Baltimore Orioles’ start, Zach Eflin turned in another quality start. Thus far, he’s been an outstanding acquisition. Needless to say, he picked the Orioles up in a moment when they needed a win (from a starting pitching perspective). Eflin’s line: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K.
The danger of course is that Eflin was pitching-to-contact. That’s why his strikeout total was so low. And when you pitch-to-contact and induce the opponent to put the ball in play, sometimes bad things can happen.
And in fact, the one bad pitch Eflin made was a fastball that caught too much of the plate in the third, culminating in a two-run homer by Martinez. And with how this series has gone, that felt like the end of the game. That is, until Oriole bats picked themselves up an inning later.
The Birds put runners at first and second in the top of the fourth with one out. That brought the newly acquired Eloy Jimenez to the plate, and his infield RBI-single put the O’s on the board and cut the Cleveland lead to 2-1. Colton Cowser would tack on an RBI-single of his own later in the inning, and the game was tied at two.
One inning later in the fifth, Gunnar Henderson’s RBI-single gave the Orioles the lead at 3-2. Eflin pitched into the seventh, and he was lifted after a one out single – this in favor of Cionel Perez. And he started inauspiciously, albeit not on his account. Fry rightfully should have popped out for the second out, however Ryan Mountcastle misplayed a ball in foul territory, and it dropped harmlessly to the ground.
That could have been disaster for the O’s, however Perez buckled down and struck Fry out. Cleveland pinch hit Noel with two outs, and Perez induced a pop out. And Perez emphatically smacked his glove and walked off the field.
Gunnar Henderson led off the eighth with what should have been a single. However he boldly attempted to stretch it into a double, and with a professionally-laid slide was able to do so. I put it in that manner because the relay side beat Henderson to the bag. However he slid in to the far side of the bag, evading the throw. And giving the Orioles a runner in scoring position.
Following a single by Anthony Santander that left runners at the corners, Brandon Hyde sent Adley Rutschman up as a pinch hitter. And Rutschman sent a high liner to right, that tied up the right fielder Noel. It seemingly nailed his feet to the ground, and the ball fell in behind him, scoring two and leaving Rutschman at third.
Make no mistake, those were huge insurance runs, given how tough things have gone for the Birds of late. So was Ryan O’Hearn’s subsequent RBI-double. Jackson Holliday also dumped in an RBI-single to center, which gave the Birds a 7-2 lead. And even those last two runs were big, as Ramirez smacked a two-run homer in the eighth. But the Oriole bullpen held strong aside from that, and the O’s snapped their three-game losing streak with a 7-4 win. And they keep pace with New York in the AL East.
Obviously Adley Rutschman’s triple was the moment people will remember from this game. Not to mention the leadoff single to a double by Gunnar Henderson. But to me the biggest part of the game was Cionel Perez in the seventh.
As great as Zach Eflin pitched, you held your breath with him coming out and turning things over to the bullpen. And Perez should have recorded a quick out, but Ryan Mountcastle misplayed a foul pop. But Perez buckled down and shut Cleveland away, bridging the gap to the back end of the ‘pen. He was masterful, even if only for two outs.
The series concludes tomorrow at Progressive Field. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Gavin Williams. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 