Dean Kremer gave the Baltimore Orioles exactly what they needed this afternoon against the ChiSox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. With today’s win, the O’s have ticked slightly upwards – slightly. They’ve taken the first two games of this series, and they’ve won six out of their last ten. Kremer’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K.
Jackson Holliday led the game off for the Birds with a solo home run, the first leadoff homer of his career. But Kremer wasn’t about to let Chicago back into the game. He mowed hitters down, solidifying the Orioles’ position in the game.
With one out in the fourth Ryan O’Hearn smacked a double and got himself into scoring position. Then came a bizarre sequence that did yield the Orioles a run. Coby Mayo, who of course has struggled at the big league level, came up to replace Ryan Mountcastle on the roster (after the latter went on the IL), smacked an RBI-single – which on the surface was good to see.
However Mayo tried to extend it into a double, which was a mistake. He was caught in a rundown, and collided with Chicago second baseman Vargas. The two tumbled down, causing a bit of what I’ll politely call a “misunderstanding.” The benches cleared, but that was the end of it. And the result of course was the O’s led 2-0.
Chicago would get that run back in the fifth on an RBI-single by Benintendi. But in the home half of the inning the Birds got a big blast – and from an unlikely source. That being Jorge Mateo, who smacked a two-run homer. That turned out to be the big play, because Tauchman’s RBI-single in the seventh gave Chicago a second run.
With the Orioles leading 4-2, I was surprised to see Felix Bautista come through the bullpen door in the ninth. Especially after throwing 29 pitches yesterday. Most closers are only on point for up to 20. But Tony Mansolino obviously wanted to get Felix his work today, so the bullpen door opened and he walked out.
My point would be that if you go to someone else, you keep Bautista fresh for tomorrow’s game. With a day off Monday, in theory he would then be good to go Tuesday in Seattle if need be. And the fact is that he didn’t have a clean inning. He put two runners on base before retiring the side.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. Charlie Morton gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Adrian Houser. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 