Tag Archives: Jordan Westburg

Grayson Rodriguez struggled out of the gate for the Baltimore Orioles this evening against Boston. It wasn’t a total disaster, but Boston hitters were all over him from the first pitch. Rodriguez’s line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 10 K.

The ten strikeouts illustrate that it wasn’t a total washout. Ten strikeouts is impressive . However it also shows how in some capacity perhaps Rodriguez was getting too much of the plate. Sometimes pitch location can be a strange tug of war. The opposite of this is nibbling, and obviously you don’t want to do that either.

A solo homer by Abreu and an RBI-single by Devers gave Boston a 2-0 lead in the first inning. But the O’s bounced right back. Colton Cowser’s RBI-single in the last of the first cut the lead in half. After the Birds put two runners on base as the inning went on, Jordan Westburg’s two-RBI single gave them a 3-2 lead.

And that single was tight down the right field line. Westburg put it exactly where it needed to be in order to get the two runs in. And the Orioles held a brief lead.

However Boston immediately tied the score and retook the lead. Duran’s RBI-double in the second tied the score at three. Devers would add another RBI-single, which was in essence a bloop, later in the inning. That gave them a 4-3 lead. It was softly-hit, but it found daylight.

The key moment in the game however was in the last of the sixth. The Orioles loaded the bases with nobody out. Boston pulled its starter, Bello, and the Birds zero’d in on attempting to tie the game.

But it never came to that. Austin Hays struck out, Jorge Mateo grounded into a force out at home plate, and Gunnar Henderson struck out as well to end the inning. The O’s totally let Boston off the hook.

And you can’t win games when you don’t take advantage of opportunities like that. They say when you get a runner to third with less than two outs you should score. The O’s had that in the sixth inning tonight and then some – they had the bases loaded with nobody down. You have to score there.

Boston would tack on a run in the eighth on an RBI-single by Wong. They would then add four more in the ninth. They picked up what the Orioles left on the field. Which has to be expected in big league baseball.

The series concludes tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Kutter Crawford. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

On the night Jackson Holliday made his big league debut for the Baltimore Orioles, starter Cole Irvin had a few struggles at Fenway Park. However he’s not the first pitcher, and he won’t be the last, to have issues there. Boston was pesky at first, but in the end it was the Orioles celebrating a win. Irvin’s line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K.

Of course as I alluded above, the star of the day was Jackson Holliday. This by default. When the top prospect in baseball makes his debut, it’s a big deal. He made his debut wearing the number 7, which was his Dad, Matt’s, number. Matt Holliday (who was on hand for his son’s debut) of course being a former major leaguer in his own right. 7 was Cal Ripken Sr’s number, and it’s been un-officially retired since 1992. The Ripken family gave their blessing for Jackson Holliday to wear it. Incidentally, Cal Ripken Jr. was Matt Holliday’s favorite player growing up. Just another factoid that ties together these two baseball families – together with the Orioles.

Boston took a 1-0 lead on an RBI-single by O’Neil in the third. It was a bloop single, and it fell in a “Bermuda triangle” near Holliday at second. One inning later Wong added a two-RBI single, and Casas smacked a two-run homer in the fifth.

But remember, the Birds do their best work late. One would think a five-run lead in the sixth would put a team in good shape. Especially at home. But not when they’re playing the Orioles. And not at Fenway Park.

Colton Cowser smacked the Birds right back into the ballgame with a two-RBI single in the sixth. Jackson Holliday might not have gotten his first big league hit, but he did register his first RBI. He grounded into a fielder’s choice later in that sixth inning, netting the O’s an additional run. And bringing them to within 5-3.

But it was the seventh inning where the O’s seized control of the game. They loaded the bases, and Ryan O’Hearn was able to score on a wild pitch. The O’s trailed by a run, with Jordan Westburg coming to the plate. At the time, you thought that a base hit would give the Birds the lead. But Westburg didn’t get a base hit…

…he smacked a three-run homer. And the O’s took a 7-5 lead into the later innings. The bullpen was lights out, especially Craig Kimbrell in the ninth. And the Birds went home winners.

This is a game to which people might point back after the season. The Jackson Holliday debut and Westburg’s heroics – needless to say, it was all a lot. And it came against a division rival at their place. Make no mistake, this was the Orioles putting their mark of dominance on the division for the foreseeable future.

The series concludes tomorrow at Fenway Park. Grayson Rodriguez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Garrett Whitlock. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Dean Kremer gritted out his first start of the season for the Baltimore Orioles tonight at Camden Yards against Kansas City. He did have some issues locating his pitches, and he fell behind. But he kept the O’s in the game, and managed to out the team in a spot to win. Kremer’s line: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

The Kremer runs surrendered came against big names. Witt smacked a solo homer in the top of the third. Later in the inning Perez smacked a two-run homer, and the O’s trailed 3-0.

But the Orioles battled back. Anthony Santander’s RBI-single in the fourth cut the lead to 3-1. And before you knew it, the game was tied later in the inning. Ryan Mountcastle’s two-run homer gave the Orioles three, tying the game.

The Birds put themselves in a spot to win late. Gunnar Henderson was at third base with two down in the eighth, and Ryan Mountcastle sent a sharp grounder into the hole at short. The ball was bobbled on the throw back to first base, and Mountcastle was safe. As was Henderson at home plate.

The Orioles brought Craig Kimbrel out of the bullpen for the first time to close out the game. Blanco got on base with a softly hit bloop single. He advanced to second and later third (by way of a steal), and with one out he scored on Garcia’s sacrifice fly-RBI. It goes as a blown save by Kimbrel, but not on anything hard hit.

Ultimately however, Kimbrel gets a win. Not a save, but a win. Cedric Mullins got on base with a single in the last of the ninth, and he later scored on Jordan Westburg’s walk off two-run homer.

End of the day, this might be a game we look back on. The Orioles are clearly a better team than Kansas City. Yet Kansas City took them to the brink. So perhaps you look at this game as a tool in overcoming adversity. They got punched in the mouth a bit in a sense. But they landed the final punch. And in the grand scheme of things, that‘s what matters the most.

The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Cole Irvin gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Alex Marsh. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

It’s been well over a year since the Baltimore Orioles have been swept, a trend that ALMOST ended this afternoon (and this weekend) against Minnesota. Now it’s worth pointing out that this is a Minnesota team that’s had the Orioles’ number the past few years as well. Cole Irvin put the O’s in a good spot to win, however for the second consecutive day the Birds couldn’t put any runs on the board for a starter. Irvin’s line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 1 K.

Irvin was good today, as I said above. Not technically a quality start given the five innings pitched, but he pitched well enough to win. He just didn’t get the run support.

He did load the bases in the first inning, but pitched out of it. Castro’s RBI-double in the fifth inning gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead. And it almost stood up to beat the O’s. ALMOST.

Minnesota closer Duran was going for a six put save, but it seemed they were prematurely looking to win the game. The O’s put two runners on, and Ryan O’Hearn came on as a pinch hitter, and took the count to 3-0 before Minnesota walked him. What could go wrong with two outs and their closer on?

That brought Jordan Westburg to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. And Westburg was hit in the back on the first pitch, that forced in a run, and the Orioles suddenly led, 2-1. Which ultimately turned into a 2-1 win, ending the losing streak. And keeping the streak of not being swept in tact.

When you’re scuffling you take runs however you can get them. And you take runs however you can get them. That was certainly a painful way to win if you’re Jordan Westburg, but it got the job done. And sent the Orioles on the road with a good feeling.

Left fielder Austin Hays collided with Minnesota first baseman Solano running out a ground ball in the second inning. The game was held up for a brief moment as the Minnesota training staff checked on Solano – who ended up being fine. However Hays appeared to be okay…

…until the fourth inning when he was replaced by Aaron Hicks in left. The Orioles later said it was a hip contusion, and Hays’ status going onward is unknown. For the record, the collision occurred due to a foul throw by the Minnesota infield. It drew Solano off the bag, who collided with Hays.

The O’s now head to New York to open up a four-game set with the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Tyler Wells gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Domingo German (who’s fresh off a perfect game). Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Kyle Gibson struggled this evening for the Baltimore Orioles. However in the beginning at least, it appeared like tonight’s game against Cincinnati was going to be a shootout. (And in the end it was.) That’s certainly the direction in which things appeared to be going. Gibson’s line: 4.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

Gibson spotted Cincinnati a 3-0 lead in the first. Not ideal, but Oriole bats immediately proved that it wasn’t an issue. Ryan O’Hearn promptly smacked an RBI-single in the last of the first. The O’s would then load the bases, only to have them cleared by Gunnar Henderson’s triple – and suddenly the Orioles led 4-3.

But Cincinnati could bounce back also. Friedl’s RBI-single tied it up in the second. He would later score on India’s RBI-groundout, and once again the Orioles trailed. Fraley’s RBI-single extended the lead to 6-4.

However as suddenly as the scoring surge happened in this game, it was also shut off. Suddenly the game turned into a pitcher’s duel. Both starting pitchers settled in. Gibson obviously only lasted 4.2 innings, but I know that I was a little surprised to see him last into the fifth.

The good news is that by sticking it out a bit, Gibson probably saved a bullpen reliever. Now the fact is that the O’s probably weren’t overly concerned about that, as they have today off before Minnesota comes in on Friday. So the ‘pen should be fairly rested. But every little bit helps.

Cincinnati would extend their lead to 7-4 with an RBI-groundout in the eighth. That appeared to be an insurance run at the time. However the Birds still had a trick up their sleeve. Jordan Westburg smacked an RBI-double in the last of the eighth. And he would later score – on Adam Frazier’s two-run homer, which tied the game at seven.

We went to extra innings tied at seven, but things came unraveled for the Orioles fairly quickly. Benson’s run-scoring triple in the top of the tenth gave Cincinnati an 8-7 lead. They would pad that with a two-run homer by Friedl, and an 11th run would score on a wild pitch, sending the O’s down to defeat, 11-7.

This was a hard-fought series between two very good teams. And luckily for the Orioles, this doesn’t hurt their positioning too much given that it was against a National League team. As I said above, today is an off day before Minnesota comes in Friday for the weekend.

It took the Baltimore Orioles much longer than one would have thought to win last night. Starter Cole Irvin only lasted three innings. But that was due to a lengthy rain delay, this after the game was delayed 15 minutes at the beginning. Given the forecast, maybe it made sense. Irvin’s line: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

This game was obviously the start of three with upstart Cincinnati, but also noteworthy because prospect Jordan Westburg was making his make league debut. Westburg started at second base, and walked in his first at-bat. Westburg drove in a run on a fielder’s choice in the third, and got his first big league hit on a bloop single in the fifth.

Cincinnati took an early 1-0 lead in the third on Steer’s RBI-single in the first inning. However the O’s just needed to get warmed up. They loaded the bases in the second, and Austin Hays’ two-RBI single gave them a 2-1 lead. Not long after, the skies opened up – and we waited. For two hours.

Jordan Westburg’s aforementioned RBI came on a fielder’s choice in the third. A second run scored on a throwing error, extending the Orioles’ lead to 4-1. However the O’s would break the game open in the fifth. Ramon Urias’ RBI-double extended the lead to 5-1, Cedric Mullins added a sac fly-RBI, and Urias would later score on a wild pitch.

When the smoke cleared, the Orioles held a 7-1 lead. Cincinnati would get two back in the sixth on a two-run homer by Steer, however call that a “nominal blip in the radar.” Austin Hays tacked on an RBI-double in the last of the seventh, and Adley Rutschman a two-RBI single, to close out the scoring in the Birds’ 10-3 win.

Jordan Westburg of course was the story. And the fact is he looked good overall in the game. The moment to remember of course is his first hit. However in his first at-bat he fell behind 0-2 in the count. Yet he came back and drew a walk. That should speak to not only his plate discipline, but his knowledge of the strike zone.

Westburg’s first at-bat also came in a driving rain. The weather was unsettled all night, but Westburg took it in stride:

Pretty crazy. It felt like something out of like a movie, or something that you dream, honestly.

Quote courtesy of Jake Rill, MLB.com

Cincinnati is also one of MLB’s hottest teams, and this series is being billed as being between two of the teams who are poised to be “the future.” Playing Cincinnati also brings back memories to many fans of the 1970 World Series. Namely, Brooks Robinson throwing a runner out from behind third base. Baseball’s fun.

The series continues tonight at Camden Yards. Tyler Wells gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.