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Baltimore Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez and the Birds blank Anaheim

By Domenic A. Vadala

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The Baltimore Orioles needed a strong outing last night out of starter Ubaldo Jimenez. Heck, Jimenez needed a strong start for himself, so as to return to his first half form. Luckily for everyone involved, that need was fulfilled as the Birds blanked Anaheim 5-0 behind a dominant effort from Jimenez.

Anytime you allow two hits over eight innings, odds are you’re going to be in a

Courtesy of Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports

decent spot to win games. Jimenez’s line: 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. Even in some of his lackluster starts, Jimenez and all Oriole starters have really worked on keeping their walks down. In Jimenez’s case, a lot of that is due to the influence of Ramon Martinez (brother of Pedro), who’s now a pitching instructor in the Orioles’ system.

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    • J.J. Hardy hit what was originially an RBI-double in the second inning, and it appeared that the O’s had a lead. Jonathan Schoop appeared to score on the play; however it was challenged by Anaheim – and after a lengthy review the umpires ruled that Schoop had actually slid over home plate and never actually touched it until after the tag. So Schoop was called out and we played onward in a scoreless tie. Based on the replay, I think they got the call correct – in theory. However whether or not there was evidence to overturn the call on the field, I’m not so sure.

    Adam Jones‘ fielder’s choice-RBI in the third would give the Birds a 1-0 lead. It wasn’t the prettiest of runs scored and it wasn’t as easy as some RBI, however it counted the same. Manny Machado would add a solo homer in the fifth, and one inning later Schoop’s sac fly-RBI gave the O’s a 3-0 lead (scoring Chris Davis). That scene would repeat itself in the eighth with Davis scoring on a Schoop sac fly-RBI, and Caleb Joseph added a home run for good measure in the ninth inning to close the scoring in the Orioles’ 5-0 victory.

    But the story of the night was Jimenez’s dominance over an Anaheim lineup that does have some pop with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. It’s tough to be more dominant in a game than Jimenez was last night. This game really backs up what I (along with many others) have said all along: it begins and ends with starting pitching. 

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    One other benefit for the O’s in terms of Jimenez pitching such a strong game is of course the fact that the bullpen only needed to work for one inning. Darren O’Day did give up three hits in the ninth inning (including a play that was overturned at the plate on instant replay – keeping Anaheim off the board), however he ultimately recorded three outs and the game was over. Any questions?!

    The series in Anaheim concludes this afternoon as Miguel Gonzalez takes the mound for the O’s. Gonzalez of course is a resident of southern California, and not too far from Angels Stadium at that. So this will be very much a “home game” from his perspective. Gonzalez will be opposed by Jared Weaver of Anaheim. Game time is set for just after 3:30 PM.

    Next: Baltimore Orioles: Is Dan Duquette mismanaging assets?

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