Baltimore Orioles: Fun in the Sun

For those of you who’ve never been to Miami or the South Florida region, make your reservations now and get down there. It’s a great place, especially in winter when it’s freezing cold back up here in the northeast. And if last night’s game is any indication, the Baltimore Orioles would probably agree. The Birds trailed early as Miami looked to end a seven-game losing streak, however they rallied as a team and seized control of the game.

Ubaldo Jimenez ended up with a short outing, although had this game been played under American League rules he undoubtedly would have pitched longer into the game. Jimenez wasn’t hit hard early on per se, but he was touched up enough to give Miami some momentum. Jimenez’s line: 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K. Buck Showalter lifted Jimenez for a pinch-hitter in the form of Delmon Young in the fifth inning, which ended up being a huge momentum-swing for the O’s.

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Giancarlo Stanton gave Miami an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI-single, and pitcher Henderson Alvarez followed suit with an RBI-single of his own an inning later. Later in the second inning Marcell Ozuna hit a soft grounder to Jimmy Paredes at second with two runners in scoring position. Paredes opted to throw home to try to nail the runner, however Hechevarria slid in safe and the O’s trailed 3-0. In retrospect, it would have probably been smarter for Paredes to take the sure out at first base. But keep in mind that Paredes is the normal DH – but Showalter put him at second to keep his bat in the lineup last night.

Back-to-back singles by Alejandro De Aza and Caleb Joseph got the Orioles going in the fifth inning, which brought Jimenez’s spot to the rotation. With rookie Tyler Wilson warming in the bullpen, Showalter made the aforementioned decision to lift Jimenez and use Delmon Young as a pinch-hitter. And Young came through in the clutch with an RBI-double that cut the Miami lead to 3-1. Manny Machado grounded out to score the second run of the inning – which cut the lead to 3-2. That brought J.J. Hardy to the plate, and after foul bunting his way to two strikes Miami figured the bunt play was off…

…but it wasn’t. Hardy laid a bunt down back to the pitcher Alvarez with two strikes, in hopes of moving two runners into scoring position. However Alvarez air mailed a throw to third base in an attempt to nail the lead runner, and Chris Davis scored to tie the game at three. Similar to Paredes’ mishap above, that’s probably a play in which the pitcher (who becomes a fielder after throwing his pitch) needs to take the sure out at first base.

That would bring Caleb Joseph to the plate, and his two-RBI single up the middle gave the O’s their first lead of the game at 5-3. For good measure, Jimmy Paredes would add an RBI-single of his own to open the lead to 6-3. And it’s probably a good thing that he did, given that Michael Morse’s RBI-double in the last of the sixth cut the lead to 6-4.

It has to be a thrill for Manny Machado to be playing in front of so many family and friends in his hometown of Miami this weekend, and he didn’t disappoint. His two-RBI double in the eighth inning gave the Orioles some insurance going into the ninth inning, where Justin Bour would add a solo homer for Miami. The Orioles however would close out an 8-5 victory, running Miami’s losing streak to eight. They’re also still looking for their first win under new manager (and GM) Dan Jennings.)

The O’s have several bullpen hands who will not be available going into this evening’s game after having been used so often in recent days. After the game Buck Showalter was discussing the possibility of having to make a roster move prior to tonight in order to solidify the ‘pen with a fresh arm. Tyler Wilson, who recorded his first major league win in relief, is a candidate to be optioned if necessary.

Wilson came in after Showalter pinch-hit for Jimenez, who of course didn’t last

Courtesy of Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

the necessary five innings to qualify for the win. As Wilson himself said afterwards, he was in the right place at the right time in a sense. I can’t imagine how great it had to be for Manny Machado to return to his hometown as a big leauger this weekend, something that was addressed by Buck Showalter after the game (courtesy of Roch Kubatko of MASNsports):

"You know it means a lot for him playing here. He grew up here, basically. But we have four or five guys not staying at the hotel here. Delmon lives here, (Everth) Cabrera lives here, Rudy Arias lives here. This is a big kind of return home for them."

The fun in the South Florida sun will continue for the Birds this evening as Mike Wright will make his second big league start. It’ll be interesting to see how he reacts to being regular rest (five days), as he hadn’t pitched in ten days or so before his start last weekend. He’ll also have to swing a bat in this game, which I’m sure he’s looking forward to doing. Wright will be opposed by Miami’s Dan Harren, with game time being set for 7:15 PM.

Next: Baltimore Orioles vs. Miami Marlins: Live Stream, Start Time, TV Info, and Lineups (5/22/15)

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