Trevor Rogers and the Baltimore Orioles overall should go down as hard-luck losers this afternoon. Rogers gave up one run in what appeared to be a pitcher’s duel – at first. The major damage came later. Rogers’ line: 6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 K.
It’s a shame that an outing like that doesn’t yield a win. Or at the very least a no decision. But that’s how the ball bounces sometimes in baseball. Rogers I’m sure would have at the very least liked to beat his former team. Needless to say, he still dominated them.
Rogers surrendered a base hit with two outs in the seventh, and was lifted. The next hitter was hit by a Gregory Soto pitch, and Hill’s RBI-single broke a 0-0 tie and gave Miami a 1-0 lead. One inning later Sanchez’s RBI-single ran it to 2-0.
The bottom of the order didn’t come up again until the top of the ninth with two outs. Needless to say, Miami was still in a save situation with only a two-run lead. Stowers, a former Oriole, got aboard with a two-out single and promptly stole second base. That brought Hill to the plate again, and he grounded a ball sharply to Gunnar Henderson, who was only able to knock the ball down…
…he came set to throw to first, but froze. Stowers was running with two outs, and he didn’t stop. Henderson fired home, but was unable to nail Stowers at the plate.
Somewhere there was a miscommunication. Stowers just kept on motoring around, even though he was never known as a runner when he was with the Orioles. Edwards would smack a two-run homer before the end of the inning, and Miami took game two of the series, 6-0.
This was a close game until the bottom of the order came up. It’s been a problem for the Orioles all year – the bottom of orders across the board. That and two-out rallies. But end of the day, you won’t win them all.
The series and the first half concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Brandon Young gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Miami’s Eury Perez. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 