Trevor Rogers was tasked with keeping Colorado at bay this evening for the Baltimore Orioles. Luckily for him and the Birds, Colorado wasn’t nearly as pesky as they were last night. Not even close. Rogers mowed them down with relative ease. Rogers’ line: 7.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
The Orioles began tonight’s game in a similar way they did last night, with a run in the first inning. Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-single gave them a 1-0 lead. One inning later it was 3-0 after a two-run home run by Tyler O’Neill. It was O’Neill’s second straight game with a homer, which is obviously a good sign. O’Neill’s struggled to stay off the IL this year, as of course has seemingly everyone else.
Colorado almost had an extra base hit in the third against Rogers when Arcia sent a deep shot to center. However it ended up being a long fly ball out. Cedric Mullins took a dead sprint towards the wall, laid out, and caught it on a dive. And dazzled the crowd in the process. Needless to say, that’s a gold glove play.
Mullins of course is a prime trade candidate. So that might have come at a good moment. It was also a swan song in a sense (assuming he moves) for the Camden faithful. As was his three-run homer in the fourth to give the O’s a 6-0 lead.
Incidentally, that was Mullins’ 100th career home run – all of them of course in the orange & black. So it was fitting that he hit that homer at Oriole Park. Also perhaps in one of his last games as an Oriole. Potentially. To show he wasn’t kidding, Mullins reached on a swinging bunt in the sixth. Colton Cowser scored on an E1.
Jacob Stallings would plate a run a moment later in a similar fashion – an E1. Colorado’s Robison did not have a good night in the field. The O’s would blow the game further open in the seventh. They batted around, and then some. When the smoke cleared, the O’s put nine runs on the board in the inning. And Colton Cowser made a play for a two-run homer, but it ended up being a long fly ball out to end the inning.
Lost in the shuffle was Trevor Rogers’ effort. Seven innings of one-hit baseball. However the story of the game, aside from the margin of victory, was Cedric Mullins. What happens between now and Thursday’s trade deadline remains to be seen. But Mullins has been a solid Oriole. And he deserves to have had his 100th career homer in front of Orioles’ fans.
Also worth mentioning, Mullins’ contract is up after this season. So the Orioles could trade him this coming week, only to re-sign him (if they so choose) in the off season. For the record, Alex Jackson smacked a solo homer in the eighth to run the final to 18-0. The Orioles set a franchise record tonight incidentally – 18 runs is the largest shutout win (in terms of margin of victory) in team history.
The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Colorado’s Austin Gomber. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 