Corbin Burnes gave the Baltimore Orioles a decent outing tonight (in the form of a quality start) at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, but it proved to be not enough. It certainly helped the Orioles win, but not in enough time for him to be the winner. Burnes’ line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
Two of the first three hitters got on base for the Orioles, in the form of Colton Cowser and Gunnar Henderson. Adley Rutschman followed with an RBI-double, giving the O’s a 1-0 lead. Ryan Mountcastle would immediately smack a two-RBI single, and the Birds led 3-0 after one.
One inning later Jackson Holliday’s solo home run extended the lead to 4-0. However come the fifth, Tampa battled back. They put a runner on, who stole second base. Caballero would single as well, and an infield single at that. It was in essence a swinging bunt, and it was “eaten” by Ramon Urias on the infield grass at third.
Following Caballero stealing second base, Jackson’s two-RBI double would cut the lead to 4-2. De Luca would add an RBI-double of his own later in the inning, cutting the Oriole lead to 4-3. Caballero would come up again in the seventh, and his solo homer would tie the game at four.
Typical of Tampa. They always get fat on what their opponent leaves out there, no matter how slight it might be. That Caballero play was ruled a hit; but it easily could have been an out had Urias made the play. Something that minute sparked a rally.
However Urias was able to redeem himself – and then some. Jackson Holliday drew a walk lead off the eighth inning, bringing Urias to the plate. And again…redemption. Urias smacked a two-run home run, putting the Orioles ahead 6-4. Before the inning ended Ryan Mountcastle would add an RBI-single, extending the lead to 7-4.
Tampa would threaten before it was all over, but the O’s never truly broke. Diaz dropped what appeared to be a harmless bloop single in, and one thing led to another. Before you knew it the bases were loaded with two outs, and Siri drew a pinch-hit walk to cut the lead to 7-5. However the bullpen was able to close it out from there, including Seranthont Dominguez in the ninth. It was only his second save of the season, the other one coming with Philadelphia…against the Orioles.
With the win, the Birds now sit alone in first place in the AL East by a game. This by virtue of New York dropping the second game of their doubleheader this afternoon with the Los Angeles Angels. The O’s are also the first team to 70 wins, if you’re keeping track at home.
Tampa doesn’t give up. The Orioles are fortunate that they were able to close this out. And make no mistake that it was a big win. It’s in the division, and it allows the Birds to sit alone in first – at least at the conclusion of play for one day. As much as I say that this stage of the season is keeping pace, the O’s took advantage of their main competition losing earlier today. They won. And they now sit alone in first.
The series concludes tomorrow at Tropicana Field. Albert Suarez gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Jeffrey Springs. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 