The question tonight was whether the pitching or the bats were less effective tonight for the Baltimore Orioles. The Birds called Brandon Young up from the minors to make the start, and he couldn’t quite make it over the hunt. Young’s line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K.
Young, and most Oriole relievers, were pitching-to-contact. The problem was Texas seemed to know that. And they happily obliged in terms of putting the ball in play. The Orioles were swinging-for-contact also. But Texas starter deGrom mowed ‘em down.
Texas got on the board in the second with an RBI-single by Jung. One inning later after a single, Jung came up to bat again and smacked a two-run home run. That was only a three-run deficit, but it got worse.
On the flip side, the Orioles didn’t get a guy on base until the seventh. They didn’t get a hit until the eighth when Colton Cowser broke up the no-hitter. It was the third time in five games the the Birds had gone through at least the sixth inning before getting a base hit.
Texas would like on three more in the fourth. Heim’s solo homer in the sixth would extend the Texas lead to 7-0. And the Birds would go onto drop two-of-three in the series.
The O’s are also struggling with allowing guys to take extra bases. Many of their throws from the outfield are to the wrong base. Granted it’s for the purpose of throwing a runner out of course. But lapses in judgement like that are giving guys extra bases. And it’s hurting.
Birdland Crush 