For the second consecutive game, the Baltimore Orioles got an outstanding outing out of a starting pitcher. This time Corbin Burnes. The question however was whether or not the Birds would get any run support to help Burnes out. However needless to say, Burnes gave them quality distance. Burnes’ line: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K.
One interesting thing, Detroit started the same guy as they did last night – as the “opener.” That being Brieske. I guess when you only throw the guy for one inning, that’s an okay thing to do. Still too non-traditional for my tastes.
The O’s started the game with two walks, ending the potential for a perfect game. Ryan O’Hearn ended the no-hit bid in the second inning with a single. Gunnar Henderson would also double in the third with two outs, putting a runner in scoring position. And this time the Birds converted that situation into a run, with an RBI-single by Cedric Mullins.
It was only one run, but after last night it was a big run. And given where the Orioles are in the standings, it was big to get a lead, no matter how small. And given how Burnes was pitching, that one run was bigger than it otherwise should have been.
That lone run would stand up for a few innings. However following a HBP, Livan Soto smacked a double which gave the O’s two runners in scoring position with one out. James McCann would score one of those runners with a sac fly-RBI.
But they weren’t done yet in the inning. Keep in mind that slumps, individual and team-wide, are broken in a piecemeal manner. Perhaps Gunnar Henderson’s triple in the ninth inning last night (ending the combined no-hitter) began that process. It continued into this evening, to the point to where the Birds put a couple of runs on the board. Fast forward to the seventh inning with one in, a runner on second, and Gunnar Henderson again coming to the plate…
…and Henderson isn’t the odds-on favorite to win MVO for nothing. He smacked a two-run home run, extending the lead to 4-0. That allowed the team to relax a bit. Ironically it may have also saved a reliever. By virtue of the fact that the Birds had a bit of a margin for error, maybe Burnes was able to relax. And maybe he was able to pitch seven full innings as a result.
The only problem was that the Birds allowed Detroit to close the margin at the bitter end. Meadows led off the ninth with a solo homer off of Seranthony Dominguez, who would then retire the next two hitters – but on very loud outs. However he would then strike out Perez for what should have been the third out…
…if not for the fact that it was a wild pitch by Dominguez that went all the way to the wall. That put a runner in scoring position, who would later score on a run-scoring single by Torkelson. However Dominguez would record the final out, and while it got too close for comfort at the end, the O’s went home with the win.
You have to hope that going forward perhaps things can stabilize slightly. There’s a good chance the Orioles get reliever Jacob Webb back off the IL in advance of tomorrow’s series finale. Perhaps that also begins a litany of returns to the active roster, which could well include Grayson Rodriguez and Jordan Westburg eventually. And ready for a playoff run.
The series in Detroit concludes tomorrow at Comerica Park. Cade Povich gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Keider Montero.
Birdland Crush 