Baltimore Orioles’ bats came alive this afternoon in Kansas City. This behind starter Tonouki Sugano, who was making his second major league start. This at 35. Sugano’s line: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K.
One of the many keys to winning games is to get the lead. Goes without saying, right? You haven’t start somewhere…and with two on in the top of the second, the Birds did just that. Gary Sanchez’s two-RBI single gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead.
Sugano cruised through four, but ran into some slight trouble in the fifth. With nobody out he put two runners on base. For a split second the Orioles’ 2-0 lead appeared slimmer than previously thought. This is what Kansas City does, right? Paper cut you to death?
But Sugano thrived under pressure. He induced three straight pop outs to end the inning. It wasn’t the biggest crisis on planet earth, but that could have cost the O’s the lead. Or worse yet, turned into a big inning. Sugano zoned in and shut that down.
And that seemed to inspire Oriole bats a bit. Heston Kjerstad and Ramon Urias added RBI-singles in the sixth, doubling the Orioles’ lead. Later in the inning Jackson Holliday’s two-RBI single extended it to 6-0.
Sugano came back out for the sixth, and promptly surrendered a solo homer to Witt Jr. Following a single and an out recorded. Brandon Hyde took the ball. Sugano left the game with a big lead, and in line for his first major league win.
And Tyler O’Neill would give the Birds two insurance runs in the seventh with a two-RBI triple. But it begins and ends with starting pitching. Sugano earned his first major league win this afternoon. Which is a big deal. And with Oriole bats coming to life, the Birds as a team snapped a modest three-game losing streak.
The series concludes tomorrow at Kauffman Stadium. Cade Povich gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Kris Bubic. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.
Birdland Crush 