Trevor Rogers finished August with yet another outstanding start for the Baltimore Orioles this evening in San Francisco. Rogers has been the closest thing the Birds have had to an ace this year, most poignantly from June or so onwards. Rogers’ line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Rogers gave up a solo homer in the last of the first to Adames. That‘s it. While in the moment it appeared that on the heels of a rough game last night this one would be similar, it ended up being just a blip in the radar. The difference between last night’s game and tonight’s? The bats stayed hit after last night. But the pitching improved leaps and bounds.
The Orioles did actually squander an opportunity or two early on. But they took the lead at 2-1 on Jeremiah Jackson‘a two-run homer in the third. Ryan Mountcastle followed suit later in the inning with a two-run shot of his own, and the O’s led 4-1.
In a game full of offensive highlights however, it was Samuel Basallo in the fourth who made headlines. His solo homer extended the lead to 5-1. However it was the first home run of his career, which by default is noteworthy. Is it the first of a long line of home runs by Basallo in the Orange & Black? One hopes.
The O’s would add a run on an RBI-triple by Jackson Holliday, and a sac fly-RBI by Gunnar Henderson before the inning ended. The Orioles would take a couple of innings off, and the onslaught continued in the seventh with Dylan Beavers’ RBI-single. That extended the lead to 8-1 – did the O’s have some insurance in them?
It’s fair to suggest that eight runs are enough when you’ve only surrendered one. To be clear the Orioles did call off the dogs. They became a station-to-station team, but runs still trickled through. Jeremiah Jackson’s two-RBI double extended the lead to 10-1. Jacksonville would later score on a wild pitch, and the O’s took it 11-1.
Big win for sure, as that snapped a five-game losing streak. Not to mention, the Orioles surrendered 15 runs to this same team last night. However it was also noteworthy for Samuel Basallo’s first major league home run. You only get one first time at something – anything, really. Needless to say, Basallo won’t soon forget Oracle Park.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Oracle Park. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by San Francisco’s Justin Verlander. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.
Birdland Crush 