Author Archives: Domenic Vadala

Welcome to Birdland Crush! Yes folks, for the record it's a spin off of the popular summer beverage native to the Mid-Atlantic Region - "orange crush." Nevertheless, I've been covering Orioles' baseball since 2009 in some capacity, and it's basically the greatest gig of all time so far as I'm concerned! But for those who aren't familiar with my work or bio, I'm familiar with pretty much every sport out there. But baseball is king - we all know that. So my hope is that you come back and check in after every Orioles' game, and throughout the off-season. I'm always on duty!

Baltimore Orioles ride Adam Jones’ bat into the break

While the past two months have been trying for the Baltimore Orioles and Adam Jones, they finished the first half strong. In the wake of Saturday’s victory, they decided to go a step further and dismantled Minnesota in the series finale. While the Birds go into the all-star break now two games under .500, splitting that series in the Twin Cities gives them just a bit of wind in their sails.

Ubaldo Jimenez put the Orioles in a spot to win the game yesterday, really only struggling in one inning. Jimenez’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 K. But Jimenez had the lead before even taking their field, as Jones smacked a three-run home run in the top of the first inning to put the O’s ahead to stay. ne inning later an RBI-double by Joseph and an RBI-single by Smith would run the score to 5-0 early on.

However Minnesota’s a team that can bleed you by paper cuts. A small in here or there is seemingly all they need. Jimenez loaded the bases in the last of the second, and walked Dozier to bring Minnesota’s first run to the plate. Grossman would follow with a two-RBI single, and then Kepler’s RBI-double would bring Minnesota to within one at 5-4.

Even though Jimenez got out of the inning with the lead, I suspect that most people probably felt Minnesota had the Orioles right where they wanted them at that moment. Jimenez was obviously on the ropes, and while the Orioles’ offense had been good to that point they had probably run their course for the day – right?

The fact that the Orioles themselves didn’t take that attitude is a good sign. They kept on fighting. Jones added a second homer, this one of the solo variety, in the fifth inning. Caleb Joseph would tag on a two-RBI single later in the inning to run the score to 8-4, and Ruben Tejada‘s RBI-double sent it to 9-4.

That little four-run splurge in the fourth inning was all the reminder the Birds needed of the game earlier in the season against Minnesota at Camden Yards where they surredered a seven-run lead. So they kept the pressure on and kept scoring. That’s not to say they ran up the score, because they weren’t trying to manufacture runs per se, but the hits just kept on coming.

Manny Machado added an RBI-single in the eighth, and Jones another as well on a sac fly-RBI. Minnesota would tack one on as well on a Polanco ground out, running the final to 11-5. Needless to say, the first half was far from perfect. But it ended on a positive note for the Orioles.

This is an Oriole team that’s had a tough tie taking momentum from a win and playing it forward. The fact that they’re off until Friday doesn’t make it an easier. However one has to hope and believe that the rest will do them good. And on the other end they’ll find a Chicago Cubs team that’s struggling even more. There are problems in the Oriole rotation, however Chicago gave up ten runs in the first inning yesterday!

Baltimore Orioles snap losing streak with Jonathan Schoop at short

A lot of Baltimore Orioles fans had to wonder what was going on when they noticed Jonathan Schoop playing shortstop yesterday afternoon. Admittedly, I raised an eyebrow at the move also. However when you’ve lost five straight games and things are turning south, you might as well shake up the lineup here and there. That’s what the Orioles did – and if the result is any indication, it worked.

I wouldn’t expect to see Schoop at short often, however it should put the Orioles at ease knowing that he can play there. What also should put the Orioles at ease was Wade Miley‘s outing in yesterday’s game. Miley’s line: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K. Obviously the O’s would prefer Miley to go deeper into games, however this start is about par for the course for him. The difference is that he only gave up one run.

The O’s trailed in this game before they took a lead, on the heels of Sano’s solo homer in the last of the third. But one inning later it was the shortstop, Schoop, who put the O’s in the lead for good. His two-run home run gave the Birds a 2-1 lead. And the best news for Oriole bats? They added on.

Manny Machado continued his hot streak with an RBI-double in the sixth. He would later score on an error that allowed Trumbo to reach. For once it seemed the opponent was making a few mistakes in the game, and the O’s were holding them accountable.

And ironically, it was the end of the sixth inning which may have decided the game. Miley gave way to O’Day, who promptly hit a batter to load the bases with two outs. You have to believe that Minnesota had to just know that this was the part of the story where they stand up and seize control of the game from the Orioles, never to look back. So when O’Day, who wasn’t at his best yesterday, powered a fastball past Escobar to end the inning, you could almost see the shock on the faces of the Minnesota players.

Trumbo would smack a solo home run in the eighth to offer the Orioles even more of a cushion, and the Birds cruised to a 5-1 victory. That of course snapped a five-game losing streak, and for the Orioles’ sake perhaps restored some semblance of normalcy to the clubhouse. Inicidentally, the fact that Trumbo has started to heat up just a bit in the last week bodes well for the Orioles as they head into the second half. They just have to hope that it continues.

The Birds will try to earn a split with Minnesota in this afternoon’s series finale at Target Field. Ubaldo Jimenez gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Kyle Gibson. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Issues behind the scenes?

With their recent struggles, many fans have taken to saying that the Baltimore Orioles aren’t very good. I don’t buy that. For the most part, this year’s roster was identical to last year’s team that went to the post-season. Notice I said for the most part. There are always differences. But are we to believe they just got lucky last year?

This year’s team has been decimated by injuries to this point, which is part of why I think it would be a mistake to sell. If you sell, you potentially ruin your chances next year. And in fact, the Birds are still in the race at this point with a lot of season left to play and the likes of Davis and Hardy looking to return.

But last night’s loss makes one wonder if there isn’t some sort of strife going on in the Orioles’ clubhouse. It’s tough to imagine what that could be, but blowing a six-run lead is as much mental as it is anything else. Kevin Gausman looked good through three innings, but then fell apart. Gausman’s line: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 6 R (5 earned), 0 BB, 7 K.

The O’s took an early 2-0 lead when Seth Smith and Manny Machado led the game off with back-to-back homers. The O’s appeared poised to break that four-game losing streak, and Gausman started mowing people down when he came in. Machado also smacked a three-run homer in the top of the third, giving the O’s a 5-0 lead. Later in the inning Mancini’s RBI-single ran it to 6-0.

But it was almost as if someone turned a switch off for Gausman and on for Minnesota. They started smacking single after single and getting guys on base. Rosario’s RBI-single cut the lead to 6-1, and then Gausman hit Giminez by a pitch with the bases loaded. Suddenly it was 6-2, and Gausman was starting to melt down.

One inning later Grossman’s RBI-double cut the lead to 6-3, and Kepler’s RBI-single made it 6-4 (following a Machado throwing error). Vargas’ two-RBI double tied the game, however the writing was already on the wall for the O’s. Later in the inning Giminez came back up, and smacked an RBI-single which gave Minnesota the lead at 7-6. They would add on two in the eighth to beat the Oriole 9-6.

Minnesota’s one of those teams who love to play small ball. A single here, a double or a hit batsman there, and suddenly you’re staring traffic on the base paths in the face. There was something about Gausman that just clicked for them in those fourth and fifth innings. Which that can sometimes happen after guys have gotten a look at a pitcher once (or twice) through the order. But coughing up a six-run lead is still fairly incriminating.

But again, it does make you wonder if there isn’t some internal issue in the clubhouse. Because even the likes of Manny Machado can’t seem to get out of his own way at times – with his error last night for example. The Orioles’ clubhouse has always been incredibly tight-knit, so it does make you wonder.

Again, it’s also fair to say that while this was in essence the same team as last year, it’s not currently the same team. Half of the starting infield is on the DL currently, as have been numerous pieces of the bullpen for much of the first half. So in that sense it’s been a tough go.

The series in Minnesota continues this afternoon at Target Field. Wade Miley gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Aldaberto Mejia. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.

Baltimore Orioles’ mistakes starting to snowball

The Baltimore Orioles were looking to be in the driver’s seat for awhile last night. Dylan Bundy seemed to be dealing, and they actually had an early lead. However one faux pas was seeingly all it took to reverse all of that momentum and had the Orioles another loss. Bundy’s line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

The O’s got on the board first on a two-run homer by Mark Trumbo in the second inning. You kind of saw that as a trend-setter at the time, because perhaps it would set the tone for the game. And as I said, Bundy seemed to be pitching well, and the outlook was bright for the Birds in this game. Then the third inning happened.

For starters, the O’s had the bases loaded (with two outs) in that third inning, and Trumbo ended it by grounding out. It seems that leaving the bases loaded angers the baseball God’s these days, and they quickly took their wrath out on the Orioles. As is usually the case, it started innocently enough…with a hit batsman to start the last of the third.

But after a base hit and a strikeout, Minnesota had two on and one out. That brought Grossman to the plate, and he rolled over on a pitch and sent a grounder to Trey Mancini at first. And while this doesn’t go as an error, Mancini did commit an unforced rookie mistake. He tried to throw to second base to either nail the lead runner or hopefully start a double-play which would have ended the inning.

However Buxton (who was previously on first) is a fast runner, and he was safe at second base. There just wasn’t time to relay the throw back to first to nail the runner, and the bases were suddenly loaded with one down. Now mind you, had Mancini just taken the out at first there still would have been two runners in scoring position. However there would have been two outs.

Subsequently, Minnesota took advantage of the Orioles’ mistake – because of course they did. Sano’s RBI-single cut the lead to 2-1, and a moment later Kepler’s two-RBI single gave Minnesota a 3-2 lead. Escobar then smacked a two-RBI triple, that almost became an inside-the-park home run with the strange way it bounced off the wall and rolled around in the outfield. And in that sense on that play the O’s were victims of circumstance; when you’re going poorly those are the things that happen.

Polanco would later ground into a force out which scored Escobar, running Minnesota’s lead to 6-2. It’s important to note that all things being equal, most of these runs would have scored had Mancini taken that out at first base. While that mistake seemed to spook Bundy a bit, he also needed to pitch out of that jam. And he couldn’t do it.

And the sad thing is that Minnesota managed to score only in that third inning. The Orioles dropped this game after giving up runs in only one inning of the game. However they did battle back, which is a good sign. Janish’s RBI-groundout in the fourth cut the lead to 6-3, and Kim’s sac fly-RBI in the sixth cut it to 6-4 – the eventual final. And perhaps they also had an opportunity to take the lead in the seventh, but they once again left the bases loaded.

I don’t want to beat Mancini up too badly over that one mistake, because in fact it was a rookie mistake. He had a lapse in judgement as a result of trying to make a play that would have helped his team. And I’ll be honest; when the ball was first hit I thought it would be a double-play to end the inning. So while I’m not a big league first baseman, I would have made the same mistake had I been there.

As I said, Bundy still was tasked with pitching out of that, and he couldn’t do it. However this shows you one of the areas in which the Orioles miss Chris Davis. I suspect that had he been there he probably would have made the veteran move and taken the out. But you have to play the hand you’re dealt; and the O’s are doing their best to do just that.

The series continues tonight at Target Field. Kevin Gausman will get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Felix Jorge. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Jayson Aquino strong in loss

Jayson Aquino came up from the minors yesterday to make a spot start in place of Tillman (who was on paternity leave) for the Baltimore Orioles. If you’re judging him based on the result of the game, he was an apt failure. If you’re judging him on his stat line, he was so-so. However savvy fans will judge him based on how he pitched, and he pitched pretty well. Aquino’s line: 5.1 IP, 5 H 4 R (3 earned), 0 BB, 7 K.

Aquino threw strikes, and while a few pitches were hung in the zone, that’s going to happen here and there. Milwaukee got on the board in the second inning when Broxton reached on a fielding error by Machado to take a 1-0 lead. That would be the unearned run given up by Aquino…

…however that’s not to say that the other runs were totally within his realm of control either. Santana’s RBI-single in the fourth was deflected by the shortstop Tejada and trickled into left field. Had Tejada come up with that, odds are it would have been a base hit because of the angle of the play. But it would have saved a run.

Later in that fourth inning Broxton smacked a two-run homer, attesting for the final two Milwaukee runs. Aquino and the Orioles’ bullpen held them down the rest of the way. The real story of the loss was that Oriole bats still couldn’t muster anything of note. And that’s something that I know is frustrating a lot of fans to death – the offense is supposed to be one of the strengths of this team.

But it’s fair to point out that this offense is in fact designed to function…when it’s functioning. There are some major pieces that are on the DL right now. The Orioles are missing the likes of Hardy, Flaherty, and Davis. (On the defensive side they just got Britton back last night.) The good news is that the Birds do in fact have depth. But when your depth is suddenly all on the field at the same time, that makes it tough to compete.

Also keep in mind that the players who are not on the DL have also had their nics and cuts. Jones has seemingly been nursing an injury for two months, and at one point he had to miss four or five games. Machado had to miss a few games with an injury as well. So this is a team that truly hasn’t had the opportunity to fire on all cylinders for some time.

Incidentally, the O’s let their opponent off the hook again last night. They had the bases juiced in the second inning with nobody out – and couldn’t score. It’s moments like those which are key in games. Not only do you come away with nothing, but it gives the opponent a bit of an inflated ego in that they got away with something. But that aside, the O’s aren’t being let off the hook for their mistakes in games. In fact, their mistakes are being magnified. So they need to start holding their opponents accountable, otherwise they can’t return to their winning ways.

The O’s will try to move on from being swept in Milwaukee as they open up a four-game set in Minnesota tonight at Target Field. Dylan Bundy will get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Jose Berrios. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Injuries pile up in another loss

While pitching has been part of the story of the Baltimore Orioles’ season thus far, you can also point to injuries as playing a factor. In yesterday’s 6-2 loss on the Fourth of July to Milwaukee, they had to lift Mark Trumbo mid-game after he fouled a ball off his calf. An MRI returned negative (which is obviously a good thing), but the O’s are being cautious.

Ubaldo Jimenez struggled, but not to the point of being blown out of the water in the game. Jimenez’s line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 7 K. The problem of course has been that the Orioles are literally held accountable for each and every one of their mistakes, while they can’t hold their opponents in the same accountability. Jimenez walked a man with two outs in the last of the second – relatively innocent in a way…

…but yet that’s a base runner for the opposition. That brought Vogt to the plate, and he smacked a two-run homer. Arcia added an RBI-single, and the O’s trailed 3-0. Milwaukee would add two solo home runs in the fifth as well.

Rickard’s RBI-single in the seventh and Schoop’s solo homer in the ninth attested for the Birds’ two lone runs. Milwaukee’s Thames would also add a solo shot in the seventh, and the Orioles fell 6-2. There’s something that’s just not clicking for the Orioles, and yes it begins with starting pitching. However as I said, the O’s are being held accountable for just about all of their mistakes. And their opponents are being let off the hook.

As an example, Trumbo sent a dying quail into right field in the second inning following an Adam Jones double. The ball was flat out dropped by Milwaukee’s Villar. He had a play on it, and he flat out dropped the ball. Jones, perhaps rightly, tried to advance to third base. Villar gunned the ball to third, and sure enough Jones overslid the bag and was tagged out.

Not only were the O’s not able to hold Milwaukee accountable for the dropped ball, but they literally found a way to turn Milwaukee’s mistake into theirs. Jones knew that the play was going to be close, so he came hot into the bag. And that was what caused him to overslide the bag. The Orioles’ aggression is often being used against them.

And again, the injury situation doesn’t help. Trumbo is only the latest Oriole to get nic’d up. Jones has battled injuries all year, Machado had to miss a few games earlier this year, Davis and Hardy are on the DL, not to mention Britton (who’s expected to be activated today), among others. It’s almost a miracle that the Orioles are close to .500 if you look at it in that light.

Chris Tillman would have stated tonight’s game, but he’s on paternity leave. He’s with his wife, who’s expected to give birth to their first child at any time. While it’s tough to lose a starter at any point along the way, we certainly send our best wishes to Chris and wife.

The O’s will try to salvage a game in this series this evening at Miller Park. Jayson Aquino was called up from Norfolk and will get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Milwaukee’s Matt Garza. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Wade Miley rocked in loss

Milwaukee in theory is a team against who the Baltimore Orioles and Wade Miley should have stacked up well. Of late the Brew Crew’s been a power-hitting club, which is of course what the Orioles are. However for yesterday’s purposes they turned back into a small ball team, which enabled them to hand it to Miley and his teammates early on. Miley’s line: 1.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

Milwaukee put four runs up in the first inning before the crowd had even settled in. Three came on RBI-singles, and one on a force out which scored a run. That pretty much set the tone for the game, and afterwards Miley to his credit admitted that he never gave the O’s a shot in the game (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

A loss is a loss, man. I didn’t give us a chance. I pretty much blew that one early on. The first and second inning, let them get out to a big lead like that and set the tempo for the other team. That can’t happen. It can’t continue to happen. Some adjustments have to be made. I don’t know.

Milwaukee would add a sac fly-RBI in the last of the second, followed by an RBI-double off the bat of Pina. Ironically, the Orioles’ lone run of the day came as a result of a third inning groundout by Jimmy Yacabonis, who relieved Miley in the second inning. Go figure that one out; a relief pitcher who in essence is a farmhand  tallied the Orioles’ only run. But having said that, it’s worth mentioning that it was Yacabonis’ first big league RBI.

Milwaukee got that run back however in the last of the third on Suter’s RBI-single. Yes folks, even the pitcher got into the act. But this was no ordinary RBI-single. First off Suter played the old “butcher boy” routine and feinted a bunt. Instead he rolled over a slow grounder in the infield, which he beat out for a base hit at first base. The Orioles then threw to third base to get the runner Arcia, who over slid the base…

…and the sick thing is that they had Arcia out – twice. Once at third (where a good throw would have nailed him), and then again when he got up and stupidly tried to go home. I say stupidly because he was dead in the water, so says conventional wisdom. However on one of the rundown throws, Yacabonis stepped in front of a ball that should have been caught by the catcher Castillo. The momentary confusion was just enough for Arcia to swing his way around the pack and score without nary a tag.

That’s pretty much how things went for the Orioles yesterday. My personal opinion was that they had a legitimate case that Arcia was out of the base paths, however that wasn’t contested. Now one very positive note is that after that play in the last of the third, Milwaukee was kept off the scoreboard. The Orioles’ bullpen was strong yesterday, albeit in a losing effort.

The Birds will try to even the series this afternoon on the Fourth of July. Ubaldo Jimenez will get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Milwaukee’s Jimmy Nelson. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Kevin Gausman gasses Tampa to death

If Kevin Gausman of the Baltimore Orioles was to go on and have a dominant second half, one might point to yesterday’s game as the moment he put the American League on notice. The Orioles may have gotten the best effort of Gausman’s career yesterday. Certainly and needless to say, it was his best performance of the season. Gausman’s line: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K.

It’s tough to find any issues whatsoever with a starter that goes seven innings and gives up two runs. Luckily for Gausman however, things were clicking on the other side of the ball as well. Because the Orioles’ offense came out of it’s slight funk and put runs on the board.

The Birds took a 1-0 lead in the third when Smith reached base on a throwing error which allowed Joseph to score. And right there you do see the value of having guys on base. The Orioles base their offense around power (power which came later, I might add), and Tampa bases theirs on getting people on base. Sometimes fluky things happen, such as throwing errors. Now in Tampa’s case they kind of base their offense off of the assumption that fluky things happen. And when they don’t (which they didn’t yesterday), they’re kind of left high and dry.

But what did happen yesterday was that we saw the Orioles’ power. Following the run scored on the error, Manny Machado smacked his first homer in 41 at-bats – this one of the three-run variety. One inning later Mark Trumbo joined the parade with a solo shot, and the O’s led 5-0. Smith would add a two-RBI double in the seventh, and Tampa would get a run back on Sucre’s solo homer in the eighth to run the final to 7-1 in favor of the O’s.

However the story of the day was Kevin Gausman. He set the tone for the afternoon with an eight-pitch first inning. Think about that; eight pitches to record three outs. That doesn’t happen often.

As I said, if Gausman gets it together in the second half, you can point to yesterday’s game as a moment when it came together. And Gausman seemed to indicate that there was a chance that could happen after the game (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

I think you only get confidence from success. You have to have that first. Feel like I’m throwing the ball well right now and just gotta keep it going. Had a great second-half last year and looking forward to that and knowing I’m the type of guy that gets better as the season goes on.

Well after the game ended it was also announced that Jonathan Schoop had been selected to represent the Orioles at next week’s MLB all-star game in Miami. It’s well-deserved by the second baseman, who for the moment is the Orioles’ lone representative. That could in theory change if someone can’t play or chooses not to.

After the brief homestand the O’s now travel to Milwaukee for the opener of a three-game set. Wade Miley gets the start this afternoon, and he’ll be opposed by Milwaukee’s Brent Suter. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.

Baltimore Orioles, Dylan Bundy, worn down by Tampa

The Baltimore Orioles and Dylan Bundy looked exhausted by the end of yesterday’s 10-3 loss to Tampa. Keep in mind, Tampa used a walk (a fairly forgettable moment) to start their comeback to beat the Birds on Friday night. Yesterday they flat out just beat the O’s. Bundy’s line: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 7 K.

As I’ve said many times, Tampa will wear out your pitching staff. Their approach at the plate is absolutely relentless, and they refuse to give in. At one point Bundy had to suffer through a 16-pitch at-bat, where Tampa’s Ramos was happy as a clam just fouling off pitch after pitch. However their pitching will also wear out your hitting – so it’s a double-pronged attack.

Tampa took an early lead on Longoria’s RBI-single. Later in the first inning, Morrison smacked a two-run homer and the O’s trailed 3-0. However the Birds did fight back just a little at that point. Gentry’s RBI-single cut the lead to 2-1 in the second.

But one inning later Tampa hit two looooong solo homers to run the lead to 5-1. One off the bat of Morrison again, and the other off the bat of Souza. Two innings later the route was on, as Ramos smacked a three-run homer, putting the Orioles behind 8-1.

There was a brief moment however where it appeared that the O’s might try to at least make the game competitive. Jonathan Schoop‘s two-run homer in the last of the fifth cut the lead to 8-3. Tampa’s starter Odorizzi had a high pitch count as well, and quite frankly had struggled just a bit also. (Even though yes, he wore down Oriole hitters.) But when these Tampa hitters get on a mission, they really don’t give up…

…they were determined yesterday, and it showed. A throwing error by Gentry allowed an additional run to score in the sixth following a Smith double. Dickerson would then add an RBI-double, running the final score to 10-3. As I said, their hitting wears out your pitching, and their pitching wears out your hitting.

There was one feel-good moment at the end of the game, however. Tampa reliever Adam Kolarek pitched the ninth after making his MLB debut on Thursday in Pittsburgh. Kolarek is a Baltimore-area native, and still lives in the area. Naturally he grew up attending games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and the opportunity to now pitch there in a big league game had to be the thrill of a lifetime.

The O’s will try to salvage one game in this three-game set this afternoon at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman will get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Alex Cobb. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Attention to detail wins and loses games

The Baltimore Orioles are a power-oriented club who doesn’t put too much emphasis on small things in a sense. By that I mean a base hit here and a walk there don’t mean too much. However they say that if you get too close to the forest you can’t smell the trees. And smelling the trees is akin to paying attention to detail, which is what a small-ball team like Tampa is good at.

Chris Tillman only lasted five innings, however he turned in a fairly successful outing. Needless to say, he put the O’s in a spot to win. Tillman’s line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K. Tampa’s Ramos smacked a two-run homer in the second – and that’s it. One inning later the Birds would get a run back on an RBI-double by Joey Rickard, but Tillman kept Tampa and their offense based on bloops and seeing eye singles off the board after that.

Rickard had a great game, making two outstanding plays in the field in one inning. His solo homer in the last of the sixth also tied the game at two. One inning later Mark Trumbo‘s RBI-single would give the Orioles a 3-2 lead. You felt that was kind of a dagger for Tampa, and if not for those small details, it probably would have been.

With the O’s still leading 3-2, Brach Brach came in to get the save in the ninth. He struck out one, and induced another hitter to fly out. That brought Peterson to the plate, and he drew a walk. The Orioles’ attitude (and quite frankly mine as well) was that it was only one base runner. There were two outs, so get the next guy out and the game’s over.

That one base runner is a small detail that the Orioles probably overlooked. In Tampa’s case, they thrive off of small things, because small things can turn into big things. Brach was called for a balk, and suddenly that runner was in scoring position. One wild pitch later, he was at third base.

If you’re the Orioles, you’re still not totally in a panic. All you need is one out, right? Eventually they got that out – but only after Hechavarria’s RBI-single that tied the game. Hechavarria was down to his final strike, and he was able to ground an RBI-single to left. Tampa’s Souza connected with a three-run homer in the tenth, and although Trumbo would smack a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, that one walk had done in the Orioles and they fell 6-4.

And again folks, I’m kind of on board with the idea of overlooking that one walk in that instance. Obviously you don’t overlook it totally, however the point is that the Orioles’ attitude is what are the odds? Tampa’s attitude is hey we have a base runner – a shot to score! In general power will defeat small ball, however in a close game like that all it takes is one runner on base.

The series continues this afternoon at Oriole Park. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Jake Odorizzi. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.