Baltimore Orioles: Disjointed three games in interleague play

Kevin Gausman heads to the mound tonight for the Baltimore Orioles as they open a two-game set with Pittsburgh. I’m not a fan of these two-game series’, be they interleague play or not. In my view they just don’t make much sense. I suppose that we condition ourselves to believe that series’ are supposed to be three games, and in some instances four. But…two?!

However in terms of balancing an otherwise unbalanced schedule, this is what the Orioles have to do. For what it’s worth, they’ll make a two-game swing through Pittsburgh to complete a home-and-home this year during the final week of the season. Perfect time for interleague play, right?

Speaking of which, the Birds were supposed to have two days off this week, however that’s been trimmed to one (that being yesterday). On Thursday they’ll head back down the pike to take on the Washington Nationals in a makeup game rescheduled from last month. The red-hot Washington Nationals, I might add.

Pittsburgh’s struggled this year, and Washington has thrived – all of that is unimportant for the most part. You still have to play the games in a sense. However the difficult part for the Orioles is having to condition themselves to play one floating game this week under National League rules. It appears that Bundy will get the start on Thursday, and he’ll be hitting in the order as well.

At least if you’re looking at an entire series or even a stretch of games where you’re playing under National League rules, you can perhaps better condition your lineup to deal with the loss of a Mancini, Trumbo, etc. for a game. But one game makes it tough to do – you almost have to just sweat through it and hope for the best.

Of course tonight and tomorrow night’s games against Pittsburgh will be played under American League rules since the games will be at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. So no problem there. It’s just that one floating NL game on Thursday night which will pose an issue. But the Orioles will deal with it – they always do.

Of course there is one way around this type of thing in the future. The American League could outlaw the DH and go back to pitchers having to hit in the order just like everyone else. Yes folks, I recognize that there’s next to no chance of that happening, and that at some point the NL will probably adopt the DH instead. But I’ve always preferred the National League game because I believe that pitchers should in fact take a turn at the plate while they’re in the game. It also provides for more strategy late in games. But that’s another story for another day.

The aforementioned Kevin Gausman starts tonight for the O’s in game one of two against Pittsburgh at Camden Yards. He’ll be opposed by Pittsburgh’s Ivan Nova. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall on two-run error

Chris Tillman had his faults in yesterday’s game, however in my personal view he pitched better than the numbers indicate. Tillman’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R (3 earned), 4 BB, 3 K. Tillman had a bit of a rough first inning, but then settled in. Again in my view, he put the Orioles in a spot to win the game.

Tillman did give up two early runs which in a way set the tone for the game. Bradley’s two-RBI single in the first inning gave Boston a 2-0 lead. The Orioles were able to garner an out on the play however, as Moreland was tagged out at third base trying to advance – ending the inning.

But it also appeared that Boston’s Sale was going to struggle on this day as well. Before anyone knew it, the game was tied following Chris Davis‘ two-RBI single in the last of the first. Later in the inning Jonathan Schoop would double Davis home, and the O’s held a 3-2 lead.

And it appeared that Tillman was settling in on this Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately he gave up a solo homer to Benintendi in the third, which tied the game. However he did continue to record outs, and looked good in doing so. For the most part, base runners which he did allow were erased – until the sixth.

On one hand, it’s nary impossible to blame a pitcher when runs score due to an error…especially when said error comes as a result of a ball that wasn’t even in play. However it could also be said that had runners not been on base, nothing would have happened. You just never know what can happen, so when guys get on base they could end up getting home in any fashion.

Sure enough in the sixth, Boston had two runners in scoring position. Catcher Fransisco Pena had a shot at picking off Sandoval at third. In fact, he probably had him picked off…if not for the fact that the throw was errant and ended up in left field. Two runs scored on that E2, and Boston had a 5-3 lead. Benintendi would homer in the seventh, and smack an RBI-single in the ninth and Boston took the game 7-3.

So as seems to be the case in many four-game series’, the Orioles split this one with Boston two games a piece. Again, anything can happen when guys get on base. While those two runs are unearned, they are charged to Tillman. Yet they didn’t score as a result of anything that he did. That’s baseball sometimes.

Yesterday’s game was also the last one in the career of Orioles’ radio voice Fred Manfra, who is retiring and moving to Tampa, FL. It’s the end of a 50-year career in broadcasting for Manfra, which took him to NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Triple Crown Races, and to the Orioles broadcast booth. He began with the Orioles in 1993, and has been a fixture in the radio booth ever since, being paired with the likes of John Miller, Jim Hunter, and of course Joe Angel.

Manfra will be missed, both by fans and by his co-workers. Angel said it’s been like calling games with his best friend for all the time they’ve worked together. Manfra’s a Baltimore native, and attended Patterson High School. And as I said, he will be missed.

Baltimore Orioles: Don’t blame Ubaldo Jimenez for loss to Boston

Ubaldo Jimenez saw action in last nights game for the Baltimore Orioles; for the first time since Sunday. Jimenez surrendered two runs, immediately drawing the ire of an Orioles’ fanbase that ran out of patience with him long ago. All in all for that reason, he seemed to be the perfect scapegoat for the Birds’ 5-2 loss. But is that really fair?

Dylan Bundy was fairly effective last night, however he exited after only five innings due to a triple-digit pitch count. Bundy’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K. The two runs that he gave up came on a fourth inning home run by Ramirez, which gave Boston a 2-0 lead.

Boston hitters fouled off a lot of pitches in this game, which drove Bundy’s pitch count up. There were several hitters who had seven or eight-pitch at-bats. This has been a problem for Oriole pitchers all year, and it’s tough to put a finger on why that is. Certainly in some manner you have to tip your cap to opposing hitters because they’re zeroed in at the plate trying to get a base hit. But…why does it keep happening?

My personal theory is that a lot of teams are trying to take what the defense is giving the in a sense, as opposed to always trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark. While they haven’t hit-for-power too much this year, Boston’s a power-slugging team just like the Orioles. So whereas if a pitch is slightly off, the Orioles are more likely to let it go by – because it’s not a home run pitch. However other teams are trying to foul that pitch off and protect the plate (with two strikes of course) because they’re just trying to get on base.

Either way, Oriole pitchers end up getting their pitch counts elevated, and the bullpen has to enter much earlier than otherwise. In this case however the O’s were able to cut the lead in half in the seventh, with a home run off the bat of Manny Machado. Then Jimenez came in to pitch the bottom of the inning…

…and Boston tacked on two additional runs. Bogaerts scored a run reaching on a fielder’s choice, and Ramirez smacked an RBI-double to left. Boston would tack on an additional run in the ninth (against Hart) on a Betts RBI-single. Mancini would drive a run in on an RBI-double in the ninth, however that’s as close as the Orioles could get and they fell by the aforementioned score of 5-2.

My aim here isn’t to defend Jimenez until the cows come home. He’s obviously responsible for those two runs, and they didn’t help matters. My point has always been that when the calls for DFA him now start coming up I think a lot of people don’t realize what that means. The Orioles would be paying Jimenez essentially NOT to play for them. Any other team could then pick him up, again on the Orioles’ dime.

There’s one proviso to that in a sense; if nobody claims him after ten days, he could opt to stay in the Orioles’ system and go to the minors. But someone would pick him up. And the next response is well I’d love to see Ubaldo pitch against the Orioles. Please folks, do you not know what the law of averages says about how that story ends?

Mind you that Jimenez was coming off of a pretty decent outing on Sunday in Houston. It’s easy to suggest that if not for Jimenez the game would have been tied with the run in the ninth inning. But Boston scored a fifth run off of Hart in the ninth as well. So are we saying all things being equal except the additional run that was scored while Ubaldo was on the bench, and the game would have been tied?

My point is that this game was lost because Boston’s Price was in the zone all night, and Oriole bats couldn’t figure him out. NOT because Jimenez gave up two runs in the seventh inning. If the O’s had the lead or the game had been tied, that might be a different story.

One positive spin was that the O’s forced Boston’s hand in bringing their closer, Kimbrell, in during the eighth inning. All in all after a laborious ninth inning, he threw north of thirty pitches – a lot for a closer. So would Kimbrell in theory not be available today if needed? Interesting question. However while I suspect they’d use him if they were in a save situation (because they’re off on Monday), the question is how effective would he be?  Either way, the Orioles may have helped themselves out for today’s game by making him work.

The series concludes this afternoon at Camden Yards. Chris Tillman will be on the mound for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Chris Sale. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles win behind a strong Alec Asher effort

The Baltimore Orioles got a strong outing out of starter Alec Asher last night, inspiring them onto victory against Boston. Asher’s line: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K. This was obviously a massive improvement over his last outing in Houston, when he seemingly walked everyone who didn’t get a hit.

Oriole bats obviously helped and played a role in the game also, because you can be as shutdown on the mound as possible but if your offense can’t score you can’t win. The Birds took an early lead right off the bat when Seth Smith led the game off with a solo homer. Mark that into the category of great job, don’t ever do it again! You want your lead off guy to get on base. If he homers, great. But you’d rather he get on base and be driven in.

Next up after Smith was Manny Machado, and wouldn’t you know it…he smacked a solo shot as well. This was a shot-and-a-half in a sense however, because the ball hit off of the facade of the club level in left field. Very few Camden Yards home runs make it that far.

Boston would cut that tally in half in the third when Sandoval smacked a solo home run of his own, which incidentally was Boston’s first hit of the game. But they say that solo home runs won’t kill you, and the Orioles made sure that didn’t happen. Kim’s RBI-double in the bottom of that fourth inning extended their lead to 3-1. Boston would get to within 3-2 on an RBI-single by Bradley in the seventh, the the Orioles’ bullpen shut the door after that.

So news of the Orioles’ demise has been a bit overstated of late. A lot of people had tweeted me over the course of the dry spell saying that the real Orioles were showing up, and that this team was destined for last place. They still might be for all I know – I can’t predict the future. However what I can say is that you’re never as good as you think when things are rolling (Houston, for example), and never as bad as you feel when things are going south.

Teams go through phases over the course of the season – both good and bad. The O’s seem to be out of that poor phase for now. And while you hope not to go through a spell like that at any point, over 162 games it’s probably difficult to avoid.

The series continues this evening at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s David Price. Game time is set for 7:15 PM.

Baltimore Orioles hold on to beat Boston

The Baltimore Orioles had a good night last night, although it got a bit more interesting than it should have. First off, they got a solid outing by starter Wade Miley, who put the Bird in a position to win. Miley’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K. You’re going to be tough to beat when you get an effort like that out of your starter; personally I thought it was Miley’s best outing as an Oriole.

Oriole bats remained just as alive as they were the previous night against New York, giving the O’s a big lead. Mark Trumbo got things going in the last of the first with a two-run homer, giving the Birds a 2-0 lead. For a split second however, it appeared that Boston was going to make a game of it early on, as Vazquez’s RBI-single cut the lead in half at 2-1.

However Chris Davis would smack a solo shot in the fourth, and Adam Jones added another in the last of the sixth. Boston asked for a replay review on that homer thinking that there was fan interference, however the call was upheld. It was a weak argument to begin with in my personal view, because there didn’t appear to be any fan interference.

Jonathan Schoop‘s three-run homer broke the game wide open later in that sixth inning, and the O’s held a 7-1 lead. The issue of course was that they still had to record 27 outs in total to win the game. And Boston wasn’t going quietly.

Vazquez added a second RBI-single in the top of the ninth, cutting the lead to 7-2. However there were two outs, so that didn’t seem like a huge issue. Boston would proceed to put runners at the corners, bringing Bradley to the plate. Sure enough, he smacked a three-run homer – all of this against Mike Wright.

The O’s brought in Donnie Hart after that to record the final out, which he did. The final score of 7-5 was obviously not indicative of the ebb and flow of the game per se, as the O’s took it to Boston all game long. However the fact is that ebb and flow mean little while the game’s still going on. It’s not over until you record that 27th out.

Ultimately, the O’s took game one of a very important four-game set. So that’s a good thing. They just didn’t want to make it as interesting as it ended up being in the end.

The series continues this evening at Camden Yards. Alec Asher gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Rick Porcello. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Avian power surge

The Baltimore Orioles were in an offensive funk prior to Adam Jones going down for a few days; however apparently all it took for them to get out of it was for “the Captain” to come back. The O’s exploded in last night’s series finale against New York for ten runs, which clinched a series victory. As I’ve been saying, the lack of runs and power is a phase; all teams go through it from time to time. For the Orioles’ sake, hopefully they’re finished with it now.

Kevin Gausman had his struggles in this game, however ironically most of them came after the O’s had put up several runs in the previous inning. Gausman’s line: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R (2 earned) 5 BB, 4 K. Obviously he stuck around long enough to qualify for a much-needed win, pitching the necessary five innings.

The Birds took a 1-0 lead in the last of the third when Jones smacked an RBI-double to center. That also left runners at the corners which allowed Trumbo to produce a two-RBI double later in the inning. And for good measure, Chris Davis‘ RBI-single ran the Orioles’ lead to 4-0.

New York would get one back in the fourth on a force out at first base which scored a run, however the O’s were far from finished. With two runners on in the last of the fourth inning Adam Jones ceremoniously announced his return, and perhaps that of the Orioles in general. His three-run homer broke the game open and gave th Orioles a 7-1 lead.

However that lead at times seemed somewhat precarious. Hicks would smack an RBI-double in the fifth for New York, and Holliday an RBI-single. Luckily for the Orioles, they were able to pitch out of that, as NY left the bases loaded. But one swing could have changed the scope of the game. Luckily for the O’s, that never happened.

In fact, the Birds extended the lead in the later innings. Chris Davis seemingly broke out of his funk with a two-run homer in the seventh, and Jones added another run on an RBI-single in the last of the eighth (after New York came to within 9-4 on a Gardener RBI-groundout in the top of the inning). Offensive woes are nothing that a ten-run game won’t cure I suppose.

Perhaps very quietly this series, the Orioles’ bullpen started to function as it was meant to do once again. In the two Orioles’ wins, we saw O’Day shut New York down in the eighth, and Brach in the ninth. Obviously they’re still missing Britton, but the fact remains that the ‘pen has gotten stronger again. Obviously if they want it to remain that way they’re going to need starters to go deeper than 5.1 innings, however I think the O’s will take that in a winning effort as opposed to Gausman’s last start where he pitched seven strong innings and lost.

The O’s now open a big four-game set with Boston at home. Wade Miley gets the start this evening for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Power only works if it’s used

I talk a lot about the Baltimore Orioles being a power-hitting club. The fact is however that it’s only worth mentioning if they’re firing on all cylinders. And at the moment, the Orioles aren’t. They won on Monday, however you’d be hard-pressed to argue that they did so due to power.

The good news for the Birds is that this seems to happen every year – and right around this time if anything. Everyone seemingly looks lost at the plate, and the power just gets zapped. And everyone always seems to talk about how the entire team goes into a funk at once and so forth. Again, it seems to happen each year in late May or early June.

However in the case of last night’s game, the fact that Chris Tillman wasn’t really on his game didn’t help. Tillman’s line: 2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 B, 1 K. Two of the first three batters of the game (Gardener and Holliday) homered. They say that solo home runs won’t hurt you; but several of them might. Hicks would add an RBI-single in the second, and in his next turn at the plate Holliday added another solo home run.

NY would knock Tillman from the game later in the third after Headley’s RBI-single, running the score to 5-0. But New York hitters were simply teeing off on Oriole pitching on this night. Gardener added a second solo homer as well in the fourth, and Judge added an RBI-single. Before the game was half over, the O’s trailed 8-0.

But the silver lining on this game for the Orioles was that towards the end they made New York work. And by that I mean their bullpen. The last thing any team wants to have to do is use multiple relievers in a game that they had well in hand. Mancini got the Orioles on the board in the last of the sixth with an RBI-single, and RBI-singles by Rickart and Hardy in the eigth ran the final to 8-3.

However as I said, New York had to blow through several relievers – four to be exact. That’s probably about three more than they would have liked to have used with an eight-run lead at one point. They also used several relievers in Monday’s game, so again that bodes well for the Birds going into the series finale.

That series finale will be this evening at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman will get the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Nw York’s Masahiro Tanaka. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Dylan Bundy deals the O’s back in the win column

If it begins and ends with starting pitching, Dylan Bundy put the Baltimore Orioles right where they needed to be yesterday on Memorial Day. Bundy’s line: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K. Over the “late” seven-game losing streak, there were times the O’s did get quality starts. They just couldn’t muster runs.

Yesterday was in essence no different, as the O’s only put three on the board. But when your starting pitching limits the opponent to two runs, that’s going to be a win every time. With the victory, the Birds perhaps restored some semblance of normalcy to the universe.

The O’s took the lead right off the bat when Mark Trumbo smacked a first inning RBI-single. However keep in mind that losing streaks don’t go quietly. They usually go kicking and screaming. The following inning, Bundy hit Castro with the first pitch. It was unintentional, but it led to the game being tied.

But while you don’t want to lead off an inning in that manner, it’s not squarely on Bundy. Judge proceeded to fly out to right field. However both Trumbo and Rickart were converging on the ball, and Rickart didn’t call for it until well after he should have. Trumbo ended up catching the ball, and the two almost collided. But that slight miscommunication allowed Castro to tag up and go to second base – moving into scoring position.

Castro would go to third on a subsequent single, and Hicks’ sac fly-RBI would later tie the game. If not for that slight hesitation by Rickart and Trumbo, he would have never been in scoring position to begin with. Little mistakes can often turn into runs in games, but luckily Bundy minimized the damage.

However the Orioles took the lead back on a two-RBI single by Schoop in the last of the third. And after that Bundy shut New York down – save for a solo homer by Judge in the seventh. But the likes of O’Day and Brach closed the door in the eighth and ninth, allowing the Orioles’ ‘pen to function as it’s supposed to. Again with the win, the O’s snapped a seven-game losing streak.

After the game Bundy said that it’s all about competing and putting your team in a spot to win. And he couldn’t be more on point (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

I mean, I just go out there and try to pitch my game and stick to my strengths and compete. And just keep the team in the game and we were able to do that today. I don’t know if we had to have a win today, but, yeah, you want to win every single day. You know, we were scuffling for a week or so or two weeks. But we’re ready to play every single day, so we’ll be ready tomorrow.

The series continues this evening at Camden Yards. Chris Tillman gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Luis Severino. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez saves the pen in loss

Ubaldo Jimenez did a huge service to the Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen yesterday with his performance. And yes, there is some irony in the fact that this was to be Jimenez’s normal turn in the rotation, had he not been demoted to the bullpen. Instead the Birds turned to Alec Asher, who didn’t last long. Asher’s line: 2.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

The Orioles actually had a 3-0 lead in this game, which if you look at the box score lasted about as long as it took Houston to go through the batting order once. After everyone got a look at Asher, they seemed to figure him out. But the Birds got a two-run homer from Jonathan Schoop in the first to take a 2-0 lead.

Schoop would come to bat again in the second inning and smack an RBI-single to make it 3-0. The O’s looked like they were off to the races, and ready to break their six-game losing streak. However that second inning overall cost the Orioles the game. The O’s loaded the bases and had seven men come to the plate – yet they only scored one run.

They also say that your enemies get fat on what you leave behind. In the last of the second, Asher issued a lead off single. He then proceeded to have Beltran right where he wanted him in the next at-bat at 0-2. But Beltran wasn’t about to get cheated, and ended up drawing a walk. Singles and/or walks are easily fixable in the minds of the Orioles because a ground ball double-play is in order. But it’s also exactly what a small ball team like Houston covets, because every base runner is a potential run.

Asher would proceed to strike out Gattis, but the pitch got away and ended up a wild pitch. The two runners on base both advanced into scoring position, and would score on Gonzalez’s subsequent two-RBI double. Gurriel’s RBI-double a moment later would tie the game, and Houston took a 5-3 lead on Springer’s two-run homer.

Before the smoke cleared in that second inning, it was 6-3 on Altuve’s RBI-single. Mind you, the Orioles had an opportunity to blow the game wide open. But the Orioles aren’t hitting-for-power right now – and incidentally, Minute Maid Park has always been a house of horrors for this team. The Birds couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity that they had, and Houston was happy to oblige instead.

That inning ended Asher’s day, and the Orioles turned back to Jimenez, who appeared to get out of the third inning unscathed after a 1-4-3 double-play. But Houston challenged that the runner was out at second base, and the call was overturned. Again, Houston seems to take advantage of every opportunity it gets. Gurriel smacked an RBI-single to run the score to 7-3.

Later in the inning, Jimenez uncorked a wild pitch which scored a run and suddenly it was 8-3. However while that was ruled a wild pitch, to me it was one that the catcher Castillo should have gotten and smothered. It went right between his legs.

Other than that, Jimenez was solid. And he completed the remainder of the game for the Orioles, saving the rest of the bullpen. That shouldn’t go unnoticed. The Birds had to fly back to Baltimore last night, and they have an afternoon game against the NY Yankees today at Camden Yards – so a quick turnaround. Had this been a game where they had to use three or four relievers (even in a winning effort), they might have had to make a roster move before today’s game.

Incidentally, Mark Trumbo smacked a solo homer in the eighth to make the final score 8-4. It’s worth mentioning that just prior to that home run Manny Machado was rung up on a 3-2 pitch that was clearly off the plate. So all things being the same (and yes that’s a tough sell especially given that the pitcher would have been working out of the stretch with a runner on base) that should have brought the Orioles to 8-5. And you never know what happens from there.

The Orioles are obviously struggling right now, but it seems like every year right around May or June they go into a tailspin. At some point they always right the ship. So am I telling fans not to worry? It’s fine to be concerned, because they always right the ship…until they don’t, I suppose. But the track record of these players indicates that they will. So in a sense, yes I’m saying not to worry – too much, at least.

The O’s now open a three-game set at home against New York on this Memorial Day. Dylan Bundy will get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Jordan Montgomery. Game time is set for just after 1 PM this afternoon.

Baltimore Orioles: Houston we have a problem

The Baltimore Orioles have never played well against Houston – at least since the ‘stros have come to the American League. It’s somewhat reminiscent of games with Tampa from years ago. Houston has hitters that refuse to give in at the plate, and will sit there fouling pitch after pitch off to stay alive. That eventually wears down your pitching. On the flip side, their pitching in turn seemingly wears down your hitting.

As a power team, the Orioles are impatient at times. And in reality, there’s nothing truly wrong with that. However as a result they’re suseptible to pitchers who are good at fooling hitters – like Houston’s Keuchel was last night. Wade Miley found himself in a struggle early on against Houston’s lineup, who as I said fouls off pitch after pitch – after pitch. Miley’s line: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

The way that Houston wins games is by getting little one and two-run leads early on and hunkering down. Sure enough, they got an RBI-double by Altuve, and an infield RBI-single by Correa in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. The Correa single had a shot at being an out, but it was hit so hard that it careemed off of Chris Davis‘ glove at first. By the time the Orioles recovered, the runner was safe and the run had crossed the plate.

The O’s were able to attempt a comeback in this game, unlike Friday night’s, however. Welington Castillo‘s RBI-single in the third cut the lead in half at 2-1. But the last of the third brought several elongated at-bats, which drove Miley’s pitch count up. Sure enough one inning later, Springer took advantage of that and smacked a two-run homer which ran the Houston lead to 4-1.

The Birds would net a second run following a Davis triple in the seventh, when he (Davis) was able to score on a wild pitch. However Correa’s RBI-single in the botto of the inning put the lead back to three at 5-2, which is how the game ended. The best the O’s can do now is salvage a game in this series this afternoon, and they’ve now lost six straight games.

I’ll never understand how teams dedicated to in essence piecemealing runs together here and there can defeat a power lineup like that of the Orioles. After Houston took a 1-0 lead on Friday night, I tweeted that it might be all they needed. Sure enough, they won the game 2-0. Somehow it defies logic.

Adam Jones was out of the lineup last night with a sore hip and ankle. He apparently sustained these injuries in Detroit, and they had progressively bothered him. The Orioles are hoping that a day or two out of the lineup will help him to heal without having to send him to the DL.

The series concludes this afternoon at Minute Maid Park. Alec Asher will get the start for the O’s (with Jimenez now in the bullpen), and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.