The Baltimore Orioles got one of the best starts of Trevor Rogers’ career last night at Dodger Stadium. Anytime you only surrender one hit in the bulk of the game, you’re going to put your team in a spot to win. Rogers’ line: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K.
Rogers mowed ‘em down from the beginning. Following Friday night’s debacle, this was a game the Orioles needed to win. Rogers did his part. Oriole bats did just enough.
The O’s put runners at the corners with nobody out in the second. Coby Mayo grounded into a force out at second, which scored Leody Taveras and gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. One thing I found fascinating is that Betts at short fielded the ball and took the force out at second, could he have not tried to nail the runner at home plate?
Maybe they thought the contact play wasn’t going to be on. Maybe the angle wasn’t ideal. Or maybe they figured it was only one run and they would get it back. Or that the Orioles would squander the lead. If it’s that last option, that’s a dangerous mentality.
With one out in the fourth the O’s loaded the bases. Keep in mind that this is a team that struggles with runners in scoring position. Jackson Holliday struck out, and you all but expected Blaze Alexander to do the same – or put the ball in play and record an out. But he didn’t – he smacked a two-RBI double down the third base line, giving the Birds a 3-0 lead.
The lead held up until the end. Los Angeles did threaten to spoil the party again, however. Ohtani’s solo homer in the last of the ninth cut the lead to 3-1. After putting a couple of additional runners on, Los Angeles got a second run when Edman reached on a fielding error by Leody Taveras in right field when he bobbled the ball. But the O’s closed out the final out, and took a 3-2 win at Dodger Stadium home – or back to their hotel.
That’s too close for comfort, however the Dodgers are the best team in the league. And the two-time defending champions. But a win is a win. And the Orioles will take it.
Before the game the O’s sent Adley Rutschman to the seven-day concussion IL after he showed concussion symptoms. Rutschman of course was hit in the head on a relay throw back to first base after he grounded into a force out on Thursday in Seattle. Not news the Orioles wanted to report. Not an injury that the training staff or anyone else could have prevented. Just something that’s about par for the course for this year’s Orioles’ season – and last year’s.
The series concludes today at Dodger Stadium.
Brandon Young gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Los Angeles’ Emmett Sheehan. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.
Birdland Crush 