Baltimore Orioles: Mark Trumbo homers in close loss

The Baltimore Orioles got a home run from Mark Trumbo but fell 4-3 to Toronto.

If you’re looking for moral victories, the Baltimore Orioles probably recorded one this afternoon. After falling big for the past two days, the minor league version of the Birds went to Dunedin, FL and fell 4-3 to Toronto. A loss is a loss, and that will always be a loss. But maybe you can look at it as progress.

And while playing in the Florida Grapefruit League, you can look at moral victories. Especially when you’re playing guys slated for the minor leagues against opponents who are playing the majority of their projected starting lineup. The O’s will be glad to get home to Sarasota for tomorrow’s game, which will only be their second home date – but then it’s back on the road for Sunday afternoon!

One thing that was very different from the past two games was that the O’s got a decent outing from their starter, Vance Worley. Of course Worley isn’t being projected as being a starter come April, however he’s certainly capable of playing his way into a bullpen slot. Worley’s line: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. Again we have to take this with a grain of salt given that he only pitched two innings. But it sure beats not making it out of the first or second.

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Toronto third baseman Donaldson got the scoring started in the last of the third with an RBI-single which gave Toronto a 1-0 lead. However one inning later Mark Trumbo began the process of proving to the Orioles that they made a good move in trading for him. He tied the score at one with a solo homer, putting the Birds right back in the game.

However that tie didn’t last long. Toronto got homers in the last of the inning from Martin, Pompey, and Smoak, to take a 4-1 lead. All three home runs came off of Orioles’ farmhand Andrew Triggs, who ended up taking one for the team this afternoon. But again, that will sometimes happen when you’re pitching double-A talent against proven big league hitters. And from Triggs’ perspective, he shouldn’t feel too badly about that.

The O’s did make a run at a comeback, however. In the fifth inning Jonathan Schopp‘s RBI-single cut the lead to 4-2, and an inning later Alfredo Marte added a fielder’s choice-RBI cutting it to 4-3. The O’s mounted a mini-rally in the ninth, but to no avail. The loss drops their spring training record to 0-3-1.

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Again folks, keep in mind that we’ve seen the Orioles’ B or in some cases even their C-team in three of these four games. And they’re playing against other teams’ starters – which might help explain some of the crooked numbers we’ve seen. The Orioles also got some bad news prior to this afternoon’s game in that Jimmy Paredes is going to be sidelined for the foreseeable future with a sprained arm. It’s unclear how long, however it wouldn’t surprise me to see the O’s put him on the 60-day DL – let the roster games begin.

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The Orioles will finally return home to Sarasota and Ed Smith Stadium tomorrow, for the year’s first night game – against Tampa. (However it’s also a split-squad day for the O’s, with the first game being in Ft. Myers against Minnesota.) Kevin Gausman will make his spring debut tomorrow night for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Drew Smyly. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

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