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Baltimore Orioles soar on Kevin Gausman’s arm, Joseph’s bat

By Domenic A. Vadala

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Admittedly I was one of the folks who thought that the Baltimore Orioles should at least consider throwing Kevin Gausman out there as a trade chip. Keep in mind that I said consider; that doesn’t mean that it was something that should have definitely happened. And they would have needed to get one heck of a return in a trade involving him.

However last night we saw exactly why the Orioles and Dan Duquette were prudent in NOT trading Gausman for a bat last week. Last night’s outing showed us the potential that the Orioles always knew he had. Gausman’s line: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K. It’s easy to see why other teams have put so much due dilligence into asking about him over time. Gausman used his four-seam fastball to perfection, fooling Detroit hitters almost all night. 

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    • Ironically, Gerardo Parra became the 1000th player to wear an Oriole uniform when he stepped onto the field and headed for left. And he celebrated his spot in team history with a first inning double which put two runners in scoring position for the Birds. Chris Davis then grounded into a fielders choice-RBI, and the O’s had a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning Matt Wieters made it 2-0 with an RBI-single, and Caleb Joseph‘s RBI-single an inning later ran the score to 3-0.

    Incidentally speaking of Wieters, he made his first ever big leauge start at first base last night. And he looked pretty good in doing so, picking a few balls out of the dirt here and there, and stretching for a few others. First base is a position that a lot of catchers are able to play, and if the Orioles are able to keep Wieters after this season I suspect there’s a chance that we might see more of that. Certainly not on a daily basis, however perhaps here and there.

    Courtesy of Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

    Gausman retired the first eleven hitters in this game, and looked darned good in doing so. As I said, in this start it was all about that high four-seam fastball. Gausman’s battery mate (Joseph) also made a huge impact, even after the aforementioned RBI-single. Joseph hit a two-run homer in the last of the fourth to open the game wide open with a 5-0 Oriole lead.

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    Detroit’s Nick Castellanos would smack a two-run bomb as well in the top of the fifth, however that was just a blip on the radar for Gausman. And in the last of the seventh the O’s would get one of those runs back on Manny Machado‘s RBI-double. The Orioles also got two strong innings in relief to close the game from Brad Brach.The Birds are now gauranteed of at least a split of this four-game set with Detroit. A win today would give them the series. They’re also gauranteed of a winning homestand; the O’s are five games out of first, and one game out of the wild card.

    The O’s will close out the homestand this afternoon against Detroit, with Ubaldo Jimenez on the mound. He’ll be opposed by Daniel Norris, who will be making his debut for Detroit. Norris was part of a trade made by Detroit last week; he’s also a guy with whom the O’s are somewhat familiar given that he came from the Toronto organization. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

    Next: Baltimore Orioles: Tommy Hunter was part of something special

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