Baltimore Orioles: Colton Cowser’s debut ends with a win

After a couple of rough games, Dean Kremer gave the Baltimore Orioles a quality start this evening at Yankee Stadium. And he picked a good time to do it, with the team having lost two straight division games, and with outfielder Colton Cowser making his big league debut this evening. Kremer’s line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10 K.

Cowser, the number two prospect in the organization, came up at a time when the O’s need a shot in the arm. He singled in the top of the sixth, recording his first major league hit. A moment that neither he nor his parents will ever forget.

The game stayed scoreless through four innings, and Donaldson smacked a solo homer in the fifth. Later in the inning Higashioka would deliver an RBI-single, and the O’s trailed 2-0. However, they had only just begun to fight.

Cowser’s aforementioned big league hit was actually an RBI-single in the sixth, and it got the Orioles on the board. Later in the inning Jordan Westburg’s two-RBI triple gave them a 3-2 lead. Adam Frazier would reach on a fielder’s choice, which scored a fourth run.

New York would get one back in the eighth on a solo homer by Volpe, which made things interesting for awhile. However Ryan O’Hearn would give them some insurance with a two-run homer in the last of the eighth, which sealed the game. And the Birds took game three of the series, 6-3.

Insurance runs help. That took a lot of pressure off of Felix Bautista in the ninth. Which always helps. And needless to say, that’s part of the goal in any game (making the closet’s job easier, that is).

The series concludes tomorrow evening at Yankee Stadium. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Luis Severino. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles draft outfielder Colton Cowser

The Baltimore Orioles selected outfielder Colton Cowser with the fifth pick in this evening’s MLB Draft. Cowser, 21, is enrolled and plays collegiately at Sam Houston State. He bats left and throws right.

This past season at Sam Houston, he hit .374 with 16 homers and 52 RBI. This over 55 games. He was also named to the conference all-defensive team. All in all his college stats are impressive.

Ultimately the Orioles’ first priority needs to be to sign him. But once that’s done the success or failure of his career will start to be decided at the minor league level. The O’s are stacked in the outfield on the farm, but they took the best player available. And that’s all you can ask.