Opening Day dawned for the Baltimore Orioles and starter Trevor Rogers. Make no mistake, it’s one game. There are 161 to go. Rogers was as good as advertised today in his role as staff ace, and the bats did just enough. Rogers’ line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K.
Rogers did pitch out of a couple of jams, but it wasn’t necessary too much. He induced a ground ball double-play to get out of the third, as well as the fourth. He also induced a double-play in the seventh to erase a threat and record two outs.
But the Orioles weren’t able to do much offensively either. However the eventually got into the Minnesota bullpen. Samuel Basallo singled in the seventh, and then went to third on a Tyler O’Neill single. Either runners at the corners Colton Cowser’s sac fly-RBI gave the Birds a 1-0 lead.
Not many people had the Orioles playing and winning with small ball today on their bingo card. But Blaze Alexander’s RBI-single drove home a second run, extending the lead to 2-0. And that was also big because Keaschall would get Minnesota on the board with a sac fly-RBI in the eighth.
Ryan Helsley came on for the save in the ninth, and allowed one base hit. But he largely shut Minnesota down, starting the Orioles off 1-0 on the season. Again, end of the day it’s one of 161. But it’s a win.
And a big win. You always want to look good on Opening Day. Especially at home, and especially with a new manager. That begins the Craig Alberbnaz era off on a winning note. Needless to say, that’s a big deal going into a scheduled off day tomorrow.
Birdland Crush 