Cade Povich got the start this afternoon at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in the series finale with Toronto. It was meant to be the third game, but of course the series was shortened to two games due to rain. Povich’s line: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K.
Luckily for the O’s, they got at it quick. With runners at the corners and two outs, Toronto starter Berrios uncorked a wild pitch. Gunnar Henderson scored from third, and the O’s led 1-0.
Toronto battled back immediately with a solo homer in the second tying the score at one. But…the Orioles can hit homers also. And Ryan Mountcastle did just that in the second – a solo shot. The O’s led 2-1 – for a short period. Guerrero’s RBI-single in the third tied the game at two.
However Adley Rutschman would give the Orioles the lead back in the bottom of the inning. With a runner at third he would hit a grounder to the second baseman Gimenez, who inexplicably decided to throw home. The angle wasn’t exactly the best, and Gunnar Henderson had a good lead off the bag. Henderson would slide in safely, and the O’s led, 3-2.
Toronto’s an aggressive team. Their aggression worked against them in that instance. One inning later it was the Orioles’ aggression – but theirs worked. Tyler O’Neill smacked a solo homer, extending the lead to 4-2.
Toronto would pick up a run in the sixth, but the O’s extended the lead in the bottom of the inning. With two runners on Jackson Holliday sent a deep liner to right that was misplayed by the Toronto outfield. Two runners scored, and the O’s led 6-3. At the time, that felt like a death blow.
As I said above, Toronto’s aggressive. They’re also patient. Which is tough to outlast. They chipped away against Gregory Sotto in the eighth. After an RBI-double, an RBI-groundout, and an RBI-single, they had tied the O’s..
Toronto would get an infield RBI-single in the tenth to take a 7-6 lead. They would close the Orioles out, stranding the tying run at third in the tenth to split the shortened series. Frustrating loss, but the ball bounces the other way at times.
The worst part is the final run came in on a slowly hit infield single. Opponents are getting on base and driving runs in using at times the most humble ways possible. Manager Brandon Hyde was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes.
Birdland Crush 