Brandon Young wasn’t at his best for the Baltimore Orioles last night. Certainly not his worst, either. It was one of those famous in between starts, and You mg motored through six innings. Young’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 earned), 3 BB, 4 K.
For what it’s worth, the previous two games had starters lifted early. So the fact that Young went six innings saved the bullpen a bit. He also qualified for a quality start.
Gunnar Henderson singled to lead off the game, and was followed by Pete Alonso. And Big Pete set the tone for the evening with a two-run home run. That gave the Birds a 2-0 lead, immediately putting Minnesota on notice.
In reality however, Henderson set the tone by getting on base. That’s what a lead off man is supposed to do. One has to hope that last night’s game is a catalyst for Henderson breaking out of his slump.
And I say that also in part because in his next at-bat in the second inning, Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run home run of his own. That doubled the Orioles lead. It also meant that Minnesota needed to score at least five to beat the Orioles. And when you’re playing a team who put up nine the day before and refused to take its foot off the gas, that makes a difference.
Young would load the bases in the last of the second. However the only run he surrendered was on an RBI-groundout by Roden. In limiting the damage, he pitched through difficulties and maintained the status quo. And he was rewarded for that, as one inning later Christian Encarnacion-Strand smacked a solo homer and extended the Orioles’ lead to 5-1.
The O’s may have another issue at catcher coming out of this game, as Yohel Pozzo got clipped by a swing in the last of the third, and had to leave the game. In short, it’s an injured thumb, and x-rays were negative. Whether a roster move is pending remains to be seen. Lee’s subsequent run-scoring double cut the lead to 5-2.
That’s an unearned run, as catcher’s interference was called on Pozzo – which is an error. That pushed a runner already at first base into scoring position, further highlighting the Orioles’ luck with catchers. Samuel Basallo and Adley Rutschman were both hurt, Rutschman was traded to Boston, Basallo’s still injured, and now one of the replacements might be down as well.
Josh Walker and Yennier Cano retired Minnesota in the seventh and eighth, and Andrew Kitteredge closed things out in the ninth. All in all, a good win for the O’s, who need to finish off the series today in strong fashion.
The series concludes this afternoon at Target Field. Shane Baz gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Zebby Matthews. Game time is set for 1:40 PM.
Birdland Crush 