The Baltimore Orioles came into tonight’s game with Tampa in dire need of a win. Trevor Rogers, the winning pitcher the last time the Birds won (on Sunday) was on the mound – so there was that. And they were playing the same team as they were that day, in Tampa. So there was that as well. Rogers’ line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K.
Jackson Holliday led off the ballgame with a single that he extended into a double. Lee Alonso’s subsequent RBI-single gave the Birds a 1-0 lead in the last of the first. But Tampa sort of did the same thing in terms of ambushing a starter – this in the second. Simpson’s RBI-single tied the game at one.
But Tampa wasn’t done yet. In short, Rogers had one bad inning – the second. Later in the inning with one down and one on, Piper smacked a two-run homer – the first home run of his career. Never a good sign when you surrender someone’s first big league homer. But Rogers re-centered himself, and got out of the inning.
Granted it was early in the game. But that felt fairly definitive given that Tampa is a first place team, and the Birds had lost four straight. But the O’s immediately got a ray of hope. Dylan Beavers’ solo home run in the bottom of the inning cut the lead to 3-2. His third home run in as many games.
The key moment of the game came in the last of the fifth inning. However it was sort of an unsung moment. With two on and one out Jackson Holliday had a two strike count. Holliday checked his swing, and the call was appealed to third base umpire Dillon Wilson, who ruled that Holliday had checked his swing.
Whether he did or didn’t is almost irrelevant. Holliday at least had the perception that he had come around, and started walking back to the dugout. This before Wilson ruled he had checked his swing.
Tampa manager Kevin Cash came out incensed to argue, and was promptly ejected. Whether Holliday checked his swing or not, Cash may have had a point in that the hitter even felt like he came around. Yet the at-bat continued.
Holliday would immediately tie the game with a sac fly-RBI. Later in the inning Pete Alonso’s thirtieth home run of the year came in the form of a two-run homer, giving the O’s a 5-3 lead. The bullpen was strong, and closed it out, putting the O’s back in the win column.
Many would say that after the New York series, the Birds were due to get a call to go their way. One way or the other, fans should want the correct call to be made. That should be the goal. Whether Holliday checked his swing or not is almost irrelevant. Needless to say, HE thought he was out. That could in theory speak volumes.
The series continues tomorrow at Camden Yards. Brandon Young gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Shane Mclanahan. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.
Birdland Crush 