The Baltimore Orioles started…Matt Bowman? Yes folks, you read that correctly. Bowman in essence acted as an “opener,” a role of which I’m not a fan. However Brandon Hyde is obviously getting his team ready for the postseason, and strategically using guys. Bowman’s line: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.
Brandon Hyde went with a lineup that didn’t involve Gunnar Henderson. Or Colton Cowser. Among others. This game, along with that of tomorrow is meaningless. The Orioles defeated Tampa 6-4 on the penultimate Spring Training game. That’s exactly what tonight’s game was.
However that isn’t to say that the guys who did play mailed it in. They didn’t. The team went out there and competed. And they did so with pride.
The assault against Minnesota started early. Ryan O’Hearn sent a ball down the left field line that kept carrying in the first inning, and it snuck over the wall. The Orioles led 2-0 early.
One inning later the real star of this game began to show his face. That being Emmanuel Rivera, who doubled the lead with a two-run homer of his own, extending it to 4-0. Rivera would come up again in the third, and smacked a two-RBI double. Two innings later, it was a two-run home run in the fifth, extending the lead to 8-0.
Adley Rutschman would tack on an RBI-groundout in the seventh. Minnesota would also get on the board with a two-run home run by Jeffers. But again, I think it’s worth noting that the Orioles didn’t just roll over in this game. It was truly meaningless, as is tomorrow’s. It would have been easy to mail it in. They didn’t.
And almost everyone in the lineup used it as a tuneup. None more so however than Emmanuel Rivera. This might have been his best game as a pro. Definitely his best as an Oriole. It shows that just about every player is valuable to the Birds. And they’ve all played a role.
The series, and the season, conclude tomorrow at Target Field. Albert Suarez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Bailey Ober. Game time is set for just after 3 PM.
Birdland Crush 