Cade Povich wasn’t the only Baltimore Orioles pitcher who struggled in last night’s game against Houston at Camden Yards. Heck, he wasn’t the only pitcher on either side who struggled. It was just one of those games in a sense. Povich’s line: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 6 R (4 earned), 2 BB, 5 K.
Houston took a 1-0 lead in the second as a result of two errors – one of which was on Povich. McCormick tried to sacrifice two runners into scoring position, and Povich overthrew him at first allowing a run to score. To make matters worse, Pena smacked a three-run homer in the aftermath, and the Orioles trailed 4-0.
And that really shows that you can’t allow mistakes to balloon. That inning started with a walk, and then a second runner got on by way of an error, before that aforementioned sequence with Povich. And the Orioles were held accountable.
But they also fought back. Alex Jackson’s RBI-single in the fourth inning cut the lead to 4-1 But Houston wasn’t above mistakes either. With two on later in the inning, Jeremiah Jackson sent a deep fly to right, and Houston’s right fielder Smith misplayed the ball. In short, it was in his glove and popped out, allowing two runs to score and cutting the lead to 4-3.
That was ruled a double, but my personal opinion was that it should be an error. The ball was in his glove. It was a tough play, but it seemed more routine than extraordinary. Either way two runs scored.
Povich was lifted in the fifth with two on and one out. Interestingly, Tony Mansolino went to a leverage reliever early, that being Yennier Cano – who surrendered a three-run home run to Walker. Houston had its four-run lead back at 7-3.
But the O’s chipped back. They loaded the bases in the sixth, and Jackson Holliday’s fielder’s choice-RBI cut it to 7-4. Similar results with Jeremiah Jackson, cutting it to 7-5. One inning later Colton Cowser smacked a very loud solo homer which went a long way, and the Orioles were back to within one at 7-6.
However Houston would add three more in the eighth. Two of them came on a two-RBI double by Caratini, a pinch hitter, which was just barely out of the reach of Jeremiah Jackson in right field. Every button Houston pushed last night worked. But needless to say, the Orioles are never out of a game like this. And they came close.
The series continues this evening at Camden Yards. Dean Kremer gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Cristian Javier. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 