Baltimore Orioles fall in battle of two-run homers

The good news is that there were no incidents in last night’s game in Toronto for the Baltimore Orioles. Caleb Joseph had a pitch sail over his head, but if there was any sort of intent the Baltinore Orioles let it go. This is not to say that whatever bad blood exists between the two sides is gone, however needlesss to say it did’t manifest itself last night.

The bad new is that the O’s couldn’t pull out a win, despite leading early on. And the main reason for that was ineffectiveness on the part of Ubaldo Jimenez as time went on. Jimenez’s line: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 6 K. Jimenez was very effective early on, however the second time through the order Toronto seemed to figure him out. He had a very rough fourth inning, which all but seemed to seal his fate.

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Courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Caleb Joseph drew a lead off walk in the third, which was followed up by Jimmy Paredes’ first home run of the season and the O’s were out to a 2-0 lead. However when Jimenez was struggling to find the strike zone in the fourth, Justin Smoak made him pay for it with a two-run homer of his own to tie the game at two.

My personal opinion was that Jimenez made quite a few quality pitches in the fourth and fifth innings. Many of them were in fact out of the strike zone. However anything borderline seemed to go Toronto’s way. And I would submit that part of the Orioles’ frustration was that they were forced to see some of those same pitches called strikes when they were at bat.

Jimenez gave up a second two-run homer to Devon Travis in the last of the fifth, which put Toronto ahead. However the O’s did mount a rally or two. Alejandro De Aza inexplicably tried to steal third base with Chris Davis at bat in the last of the seventh, recording the final out of the inning. The Bids also mounted a rally in the ninth by drawing a walk after Manny Machado’s leadoff double. However pinch-hitter Delmon Young swung at the first pitch and grounded into a double-play to end the game.

The O’s committed two other errors last night, one on Everth Cabrera and one on Manny Machado. None of those errors hurt the Orioles in terms of leading to runs, but they obviously forced Oriole pitchers to throw additional pitches. This is the third game in a row whereby the O’s have committed errors. So I ask the fans, is this now a problem, or do you still trust the full body of work (which says that the O’s play tough defense)?

For what it’s worth, Jose Bautista was held out of last night’s lineup on Toronto’s side. He was 2-for-29 for his career against Ubaldo Jimenez. However Toronto also announced that Bautista had strained his shoulder on Tuesday night trying to throw Delmon Young out at first base. In a moment where Bautista appeared to be still attempting to show the Orioles up, he gunned the ball to first base trying to nail Young after a single. Believe what you wish surrounding the circumstances of his injury, karma, etc.

The Birds will attempt to salvage one game in Toronto in the series finale this evening, as Chris Tillman takes to the mound. He’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Drew Hutchinson, with game time being set for just after 7 PM.

Next: Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays: Live Stream, Start Time, TV Info and More 4/22/15

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