It’s almost easy to break a five-game losing streak when you get the sort of starting effort that the Baltimore Orioles got last night out of Tomoyuki Sugano. He served as the Orioles’ stopper in a late night start in Anaheim. Sugano’s line: 7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Granted it’s been easy to miss given the team’s lackluster start overall. But Sugano has very quietly morphed into exactly what he was advertised to be. 7.1 IP and zero walks is impressive. And it carried the O’s last night.
The Orioles led from the beginning. At least from three batters into the game. Gunnar Henderson smacked a solo home run with two outs in the first inning, and the O’s led 1-0. Henderson has also quietly been heating up, again despite the fact that the team is struggling.
The O’s got RBI-singles an inning later from Jackson Holliday and Emmanuel Rivera, taking a 3-0 lead. The lone run Sugano surrendered however was in the seventh on an RBI-triple by Moncada. Other than that, Sugano was all but flawless.
The game wasn’t without its drama however. When you’ve lost five straight, that losing streak doesn’t just go quietly. Sugano recorded the first out in the last of the eighth before Brandon Hyde lifted him for Yennier Cano. Which wasn’t a bad thing – however Cano surrendered a base hit and walked the second hitter to put the tying run on first base.
Cano then took the next hitter (Neto) to 3-2, engaging in a 13-pitch at-bat which turned into a war of wills. Finally, on pitch 13, Neto swung and missed, recording the second out. Cano was replaced by Keegan Akin, who recorded the final out to end the threat.
Following Sugano’s start, you don’t expect that sort of drama. But again, these sorts of losing streaks don’t go easily. So it was just as well that Gunnar Henderson struck again in the ninth with an RBI-triple, giving the O’s a 4-1 lead. Insurance runs matter.
Felix Bautista closed the game out, sending Anaheim down 1-2-3 in the last of the ninth. Make no mistake, that’s a big win for the Orioles. Anytime you snap a five-game losing streak it’s a big deal. They just have to hope to start a streak of the other kind starting tonight.
The series continues late this evening at Angel Stadium. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Jack Kochanowicz. Game time is set for just after 9:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 