Britton too much for the mighty bats of the Texas Rangers

I guess Zach Britton didn’t get the memo. You know, the one that said the Texas Rangers were undefeated, bringining in a team slugging percentage over .600. You know, the one that said, hey rookie, you may have had one good first game against a mediocre team, but let’s see how you do against the big guys.

All Britton did was pitch 7 2/3 of shutout ball, lowering his already low ERA to a microscopic 0.66 and upping his record to 2-0. WOW! That’s all I can say. Britton got the Rangers to hit into three double plays, and looked in control the entire game.

Britton was helped out early by his offense. In the bottom of the first, Nick Markakis hit a rocket down the right-field that stayed fair for a solo home run. While this would turn out to be the only run that Britton and the O’s would need, it wasn’t the only one they would get. In the second inning, Mark Reynolds hit Earl Weaver’s favorite – the three-run home run. Reynolds is starting to get hot, with RBIs in his last two games, he has raised his average to .292. It was also good to see Brian Roberts in the lineup, even though he didn’t get any hits. His stomach issues turned out to be nothing serious and he didn’t miss any playing time. The O’s really can’t afford to lose him.

But this day belonged to Britton. In the post-game interview, Britton said that he “feels really comfortable out on the mound lately.” We can only hope that his comfort level continues. For now, the Orioles are 6-1, on top of the A.L. East, and share the best record in baseball with the Rangers. After the second game of the double-header later tonight, we might have that record all to ourselves.