Alfredo Sauce Stuns

I was a little worried at the start of last night’s game with Simon on the mound just because he’s been pretty bad recently. However, he came back and came back with a bang last night. He went out there and threw 8 solid inning giving up 3 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. A really, really solid outing where he dealt every single inning. Showalter pissed me off yet again because he was still throwing 93 in the 8th and could have easily gotten the complete game, but we all know Showalter doesn’t let starters throw 9 innings, but that’s okay.

Anyways, he threw nastier and nastier stuff as the game went on, which is pretty unusual. The only time he even remotely got close to getting into trouble was in the 3rd after giving up a lead-off solo home run and then allowing a double. However, he got a ground-out and then a double play to end the inning. He probably pitched the best game of his career last night. He was awesome.

On top of the great outing by Simon, the offense was hot as anything. Getting 13 hits and 8 runs, the O’s were unstoppable last night. After Wieters hit an RBI double, Nolan Reimold opened it up early with a 3-run shot in the 2nd. The next inning, Mark Reynolds, who’s been cold, hit a 2-run triple. He also had an RBI single later in the game. The whole team was on a roll except Nick Markakis, who ended his 9-game hitting streak going o-for-5, and Matt Angle, who went 0-for-4 after being substituted for Adam Jones. Angle has still not gotten his first major league hit after playing in a few games this season. Poor kid.

Now, onto more negative aspects. First off, before you all freak out about AJ. He doesn’t have an injury. He left the game last night with an illness. He told Showalter he felt weak and was later sent to the hospital with shortness of breath. He’ll be fine and will probably just sit out the next few days to recover.

Nolan Reimold needs to be in the line-up every single day. Thankfully, Pie was sent to waivers. This could be very good news for us fans who are tortured watching him clown around in left field and give pitchers free outs at the plate. There are three possibilities of Pie being on the waiver wire: 1. Another team claims him. Probably very unlikely because who the hell wants Felix Pie. 2. He has the option of, after passing through waivers, not accepting his assignment and becoming a free agent. I’m praying for this option. or the worst-case scenario 3. He passes waivers and accepts his assignment and remains with the team. We know he’s not the future left-fielder for this club so why play him there? Nolan Reimold has a shot of being that guy. He needs to get better defensively, but that comes with age as he matures. He has good skills at the plate and has shown us the kind of power he possesses. Why not let him get as much playing time as possible so he can get as good as possible and so that the team can have a good sample size to look at his stats? If not him, play someone from the minors in left field. Keep Matt Angle up and play him in left for a while to see how he does. Do some scouting for the future at this position. See what these young guys can do.Seriously. Come on.

Anyways, the win was a great one last night and the O’s have 2 more games to pull out a win in this series. I wish all teams were as bad as the Orioles and Twins because then playing every team would be exciting and a good game. Oh well.