Baltimore Orioles: Strange fifth sinks Ubaldo Jimenez, Birds

For starters, Ubaldo Jimenez got roughed up in the first inning of yesterday afternoon’s Baltimore Orioles series finale vs. Detroit. Roughed up might be a bit harsh, but he had some tough times for sure. But Jimenez rebounded to retire 12 straight Detroit hitters after that first inning. It appeared to be one of those games whereby Jimenez simply needed the bats to show up…

…but Oriole bats were stymied by Detroit rookie starter Daniel Norris. Let’s put it this way; if Norris’ performance was any indication, the real loser of the trade (which sent David Price to Toronto) was the Orioles. Norris could do no wrong against the Birds yesterday, although he did get a little help from his friends – an foes.

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Call to the Pen

Jimenez was hit hard from the beginning, although as I said he quieted down

Courtesy of Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

right after the end of the first inning. Jimenez’s line: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 2 K. Jimenez put two of the first three runners on base, and they moved into scoring position on Victor Martinez‘s sac fly. With J.D. Martinez coming to the plate and first base open, Jimenez was under no obligation to throw anything worth hitting. However he hung a fastball, and Martinez jumped on it – it landed in the bullpen.

However as I said, Jimenez buckled down after that first inning. He retired the next twelve Detroit hitters, and in the process Chris Davis smacked a solo home run to right center to cut the lead to 3-1. At that point it looked like the O’s might make a run at things. But the fifth inning put a stop to that – after Jimenez retired the first two hitters, that is.

Why the Orioles struggle in the field or on the mound once they reach two strikes, I’m not sure. However strange things seem bound to happen. Rajai Davis hit what should have been a single over the outstretched glove of Chris Davis. The Orioles were playing the other way, so it took Nolan Reimold some time to get over to the ball. Davis immediately started to try to stretch it into a double – which based on where the ball was and so forth, was probably a stupid move.

But as can often happen, Davis was rewarded in a sense for making a careless move. Reimold hit the cutoff man trying to relay the ball into second base – and I mean he literally “hit” the cutoff man. His throw ended up nailing Jonathan Schoop in the shoulder, which eventually allowed Davis to get to third base. While Davis was running, Schoop doubled over in pain…

…he ended up being fine, however it was just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time as a bad throw was made. And while that happens sometimes, the fact that a teammate could have been injured makes it a lot worse. Anthony Gose‘s RBI-single would score Davis from third, and Gose would proceed to steal second – a play that the Orioles challenged. Replays were inconclusive, however Buck Showalter felt that the umpiring crew missed that one. After Gose proceeded to steal third, he would score on Jose Inglesias’ RBI-triple. Inglesias would score on Ian Kinsler‘s RBI-single.

That gave Detroit a 6-1 lead, a mark that would hold up for the rest of the game. All things being equal, the O’s would have lost this game 3-1 if not for that blip in the fifth inning. However bear in mind that happened with two outs. Rajai Davis hit a legitimate single, however he would have stayed there at first base if not for Reimold hitting Schoop and so forth – which means that the rest of that might not have happened also. This shows why you have to play such a close attention to detail, because small things can balloon if you aren’t careful.

The Orioles now head out to Oakland to begin a three-game set and a nine-game road trip. Chris Tillman was to get the start tonight, however an ankle injury is keeping him out until later in the week. The Orioles are saying that this will not be a DL situation as of what they know right now.

Instead, Tyler Wilson will be called up from triple-A Norfolk to make the start. He’ll be opposed by Oakland’s Jesse Chavez. Game time is set for just after 10 PM.

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