Zach Eflin made his most recent start tonight at Tropicana Field – except this time for the Baltimore Orioles. Eflin of course was traded at the deadline from Tampa to the Orioles, and tonight made his third start for the Birds. This one however against his old team in his old home park. Eflin’s line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K.
This is pretty much the sort of outing that Tampa fans have been used to seeing out of Zach Eflin. And thus far, he’s been worth everything that he cost the Orioles to get him. After a taxing series in Toronto, Eflin went seven innings tonight, which saved the bullpen. It all begins and ends with starting pitching.
But a close second is getting on the scoreboard early. And the Orioles did – about as early as one can get. Colton Cowser led the game off with a solo homer. The Birds led 1-0 before the crowd had even settled in. Many of them wearing Orange & Black, for the record.
The Orioles had a lot of base runners on base tonight, including in the fifth. They loaded the bases with nobody out, and Ryan O’Hearn’s two-RBI single extended the lead to 3-0. One inning later it was a solo homer by Cedric Mullins which rallied the Birds further, extending the lead to 4-0.
Yennier Cano came on to close things out in the ninth, and did surrender a solo homer to Carlson. However that aside, the Orioles’ bullpen closed out a 4-1 win in Tampa, marked by solid pitching and good defense. New York was rained out tonight (doubleheader tomorrow), so the Orioles stand alone in first place in the AL East – for tonight.
The series continues tomorrow at Tropicana Field. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Drew Rasmussen. Game time is set for 7:15 PM,
Birdland Crush 