Albert Suarez may have been the highlight of the day this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles in the series finale in Toronto. The O’s went with a bullpen game, so Suarez didn’t last long. But he was probably the highlight of the day. Suarez’s line: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
Coby Mayo’s solo home run in the second inning gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. Toronto tied it in the third on an RBI-double by Springer. This on a double that split the outfielders, as countless others have done this season. In the fourth Toronto benefitted by two infield base hits – you guessed it, softly hit.
However Clement’s subsequent two-RBI double wasn’t. He hit a screaming line drive off the third base bag, giving Toronto the lead at 3-1. That may not have been softly hit, but it was definitely to the Orioles’ misfortune. And opposing teams taking advantage of the Orioles’ luck is as much what this year has been about as anything else.
Springer’s solo homer in the fifth and Loprofido’s RBI-double in the sixth extended the lead to 5-1. The O’s would get one back in the seventh on Colton Cowser’s solo home run. You have to hope that puts some wind into Cowser’s bat going into Chicago tomorrow.
However Toronto would put six on the board in the seventh. Many of them on softly-hit bloops, or infield the infield. The precision with which opponents seem to work their way into that sort of thing is noteworthy. Personally I fully buy into the adage that sometimes you have to tip your cap. But it’s almost as if you get punished for doing it too much, or taking that attitude too strongly.
And I stand by that – sometimes you have to tip your cap. It’s just tough to do when there’s the appearance that opponents are simply putting contact on the ball and everything else is working out. And on the flip side, all season long we’ve seen the Orioles scorch the ball at times…only to have it fall into someone’s glove.
The Orioles now head to Chicago for the first of three against the ChiSox at Rate Field. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Sean Burke. Game time is set for just after 7:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 