Baltimore Orioles cruise to victory; take two-of-three vs. Boston

The big question surrounding the Baltimore Orioles going into yesterday was whether or not they’d be able to keep the momentum from Saturday’s walk off win going. The secondary question was whether or not starter Bud Norris would be able to get himself together. We got resounding answers to both questions, and ironically those answers were both a resounding YES. The Orioles used twenty hits to defeat Boston 18-7. Norris’ line: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

With the O’s already leading 1-0 in the last of the third, Adam Jones drew a four-pitch walk with the bases loaded and nobody out. Before we knew it, the score then went to 3-0 after Delmon Young‘s RBI-single, which was followed by Chris Davis‘ two-RBI double. Steve Pearce would add an RBI-single, and Jimmy Paredes grounded into a fielder’s choice-RBI before the end of the inning. So to review; Oriole bats, which had previously been silent in a sense, proceeded to effectively end the competitive phase of the game before the end of the third inning.

More from Birds Watcher

Courtesy of Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The O’s chased Boston starter Wade Riley early, however the Boston ‘pen gave no respite. Delmon Young, who had himself a day, came up again in the last of the fourth and ran the score to 9-0 with a two-RBI single. One inning later Rey Navarro‘s RBI-single sent the Orioles over double-digits for the day at 10-0. By this point third base coach Bobby Dickerson’s arm might have been starting to tire due to waving so many runners home, however he got a freebie in the sense that he didn’t have to wave a runner around because Chris Davis’ homer made the score 11-0.

The O’s would add another on a Jimmy Paredes RBI-triple, but then Boston fought back – just a bit. Pablo Sandoval smacked a three-run homer in the seventh with two outs, which ended Norris’ day. The Orioles probably left Norris in for one pitch too many, however when you have a twelve-run lead one three-run homer shouldn’t bother you. However after Buck Showalter summoned Jason Garcia from the bullpen, Hanley Ramirez hit the first pitch he saw out of the park to narrow the lead to 12-4.

But this was the Orioles’ moment in the sun, and they weren’t about to let Boston back into the game on their day. Adam Jones smacked an RBI-single in the last of the seventh, followed by another two-RBI double by Delmon Young. Toss on a Steve Pearce RBI-single, and a Jimmy Paredes RBI-double…oh yeah, and Ryan Lavarnway scored on a pass ball – just for good measure. Garcia would allow another three-run homer to Sandoval in the ninth, but it was to little too late for Boston.

Following the civil unrest in the city on Saturday night, it was going to be interesting to see what the Orioles’ attendance would end up being yesterday. The city of Baltimore and the Orioles fans didn’t let the team down, as an enthusiastic announced crowd of over 43,800 people in attendance. Buck Showalter offered a top of the cap to the crowd in postgame comments, via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports:

"I was curious to see how many people we would have today.That was pretty impressive. I really thank them, too. They had something to do with that game today. There was a great feel in the ballpark, more than just baseball.To have that many people show up tells you how much they love the Orioles and how much confidence they have in this city. Pretty impressive. Doesn’t go unnoticed."

I got a couple of tweets during the game to which I want to respond en masse this morning in the column. Several people questioned if the O’s were running up the score. And the answer is no – not in my view, at least. So long as you’re not trying to manufacture runs via stolen bases, moving guys over, etc, you aren’t running up the score in baseball. But it’s certainly unreasonable to expect any team to purposely swing through pitches, record outs, etc., even with a lead like that. In fact, that’s just as disrespectful as manufacturing runs.

Jason Garcia got knocked around a bit, however working in this game was good experience for him. It also gave the Orioles a chance to keep everyone else in the bullpen rested for the upcoming Chicago series. Darren O’Day got up to get warm in the 9th, however the Orioles only used two pitchers in the game. It’ll be interesting to see how long the O’s will be able to carry Garcia. I can’t see them being able to do it for the entire series, that is unless he spends some time on the DL for whatever reason.

The Orioles now stay at home all week and through next weekend for a long homestand. Obviously they opened it up in grand fashion by taking two-of-three from a division rival (including an 18-7 drubbing yesterday). But tonight they’ll open up a three-game series with the ChiSox, who ironically will be the first non-AL East opponent that the Orioles will face. Ubaldo Jimenez will get the start for the Birds tonight, and he’ll be opposed by Hector Noesi. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Home/Orioles News