Baltimore Orioles’ fans have to tip their caps to Tomoyuki Sugano today. The guy battled – and dominated. And after getting hit with a comebacker early in the game against Toronto, he left with the lead. Sugano’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K.
A first inning RBI- double by Gunnar Henderson and a subsequent RBI-groundout by Tyler O’Neill gave the O’s a 2-0 lead. The bottom of that first inning was tough for Sugano given the aforementioned comebacker. But he got out of it. Albert Suarez briefly warmed in the bullpen in the top of the second, but Sugano stayed in. And again, he was fairly dominant.
Susan would surrender solo home run to Berger in the fifth. That got Toronto on the board, and cut the lead to 2-1. For most of the game the tenor seemed to be that the Orioles were holding on for dear life. However the got an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI-double by Samuel Basallo. Incidentally that was set up by an astute Gunnar Henderson stealing a base after two disengagements, and a swinging bunt for a base hit.
Yet, Toronto threatened on the eighth. And big time at that. Kirk’s pinch-hit RBI single cut the lead to 3-2. Suddenly the O’s needed more insurance….and they got it. Coby Mayo’s solo homer on the ninth extended the lead to 4-2.
However insurance only gets you so far. One thing led to another, including a Keegan Akin throwing error, snd Toronto loaded the bases in the ninth. Back-to/back RBI-singles tied the game at four. Kirk’s subsequent sac fly-RBI won it for Toronto, 5-4.
As I said, insurance only gets you so far. If you’re up 10 and the opponents gets 11, that wasn’t enough. On top of that, the O’s are appearing to be making tomorrow’s series finale a bullpen game.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Rogers Centre. Albert Suarez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Shane Bieber. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM
Birdland Crush 