Charlie Morton got the start in a Memorial Day mid-afternoon matinee for the Baltimore Orioles today against St. Louis at Camden Yards. Morton of course had been pitching out of the bullpen of late, and when he was in the rotation he wasn’t good. That trend ended today. Morton’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K.
That’s a quality start, sports fans. If you’re keeping track at home. The more important stat of course is who won on the scoreboard. And things went pretty good in that department also.
The Orioles took advantage of St. Louis mistakes today. Which is big in of itself, as that hasn’t always happened this season. Jackson Holliday led the game off with a single, and he went to third on a fielder’s choice and an error. Gunnar Henderson grounded into a force out, pushing that run across – and the O’s led 1-0.
Dylan Carlson got aboard in the third with a single, and promptly stole third base. That brought catcher Maverick Handley to the plate, who got Carlson to third on a sacrifice bunt that St. Louis didn’t see coming. Handley has of course struggled at the plate, but he got that bunt down flawlessly. Jackson Holliday’s RBI-single extended the Orioles’ lead to 2-0.
Dylan’s Carlson has had a few outstanding games since Ramon Laureano went on the IL. In fact, it’s seemingly stabilized the Oriole lineup – if a select grouping of games means anything. Carlson came up again in the fourth with two runners on in front of him, and he smacked his second homer in as many days…
…this of the three-run variety. And the O’s led 5-0 against one of the hottest teams in baseball. They were hot however with good reason, and they got on the board in the fifth with a two-run homer by Pages.
However Morton was too good. He tailed off a little at the end, but was able to make it out of the sixth inning, qualifying for a quality start. And the Oriole bullpen was as strong as it was the second half of that series in Boston over the weekend – which let’s face it, wasn’t an easy series logistically with all the delays and the rain outs.
This is the Birds’ first three-game winning streak of the season. The hope obviously is that it’s not too little too late. But one way or the other, it’s good to see them string together a few wins.
Adley Rutschman remained out of the lineup today after being hit in the helmet yesterday in Boston. It’s unclear as to whether this will be an IL situation. However head injuries are tough. So you never know.
The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by St. Louis’ Andre Pallante. Game time is set for just after 6:35.
Birdland Crush 