Zach Eflin pitched a gem for the Baltimore Orioles this evening in the first game of four against Boston. Mind you folks, this was a division game. Against a team that in theory is chasing the O’s. Needless to say, the Orioles came up big tonight. Eflin’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K.
Eflin struck out eight, which is great. That also means he was getting a decent amount of the plate, and the one bad pitch he made ended up being a solo homer to Abreu in the fourth. That gave Boston a 1-0 lead. But that was the lone highlight for Boston over the course of the entire game.
The Orioles tied the game immediately. Following an Anthony Santander walk, Gunnar Henderson smacked a two-run homer, and the Orioles led 2-1. It was to almost the same part of the park as last night’s shot, and almost just as deep.
One inning later in the fifth, Cedric Mullins’ solo homer extended the lead to 3-1. Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI-single in the sixth ran it to 4-1, and Colton Cowser capped it off with an RBI-double in the seventh, sending the Birds home 5-1 winners. The O’s now move back into a first place tie with New York, who was idle tonight.
This felt like the first game in some time that was just “clean.” If anything, it was borderline boring. The most drama in the game was the infield single Yennier Cano gave up in the ninth. But it was for naught, as Cano shut things down after that.
The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the O’s, and Boston is yet to announce a starter. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 