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Baltimore Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez pitches to a series win

By Domenic A. Vadala

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For at least one night, the Baltimore Orioles found respite from starting pitching woes on the arm of Ubaldo Jimenez. It had been ten games since the Birds had seen a starter go past the fifth inning, so this outing came at a very timely moment. Jimenez’s line: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 8 K.

The zero walks part of the stat line really sticks out at me. We so often hear the phrase nothing good ever happens after a walk. Obviously if you don’t issue any free passes, you don’t have to worry about that. Furthermore the fact that Jimenez went seven innings is equally as impressive, given the fact that he struck out eight hitters (regarding pitch count). 

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    • The Orioles took a 1-0 lead early when Chris Davis blooped an RBI-single into right field in the top of the first inning. Yes folks, you read that correctly…an RBI-single on a bloop. It seems that opponents have made careers of scoring runs on broken bat and bloop singles, so for once it appears that the Orioles decided that turnabout was fair play. However the game was quickly tied in the last of the first on a solo home run by ARod, and NY took a 3-1 lead in the third on Beltran’s two-RBI-single.

    However that blooper in the first inning wasn’t the only break the Orioles caught in this game. In fact, it seems that they flipped the entire script of what their season has been on New York last night. They tied the score in the fifth inning on – get this! – a two-run error committed by the NY infield. With two outs (and two runners in scoring position), Jonathan Schoop grounded to NY second baseman Drew. However his errant throw to second base went into the outfield, and the two runners in scoring position came into score which tied the game at three.

    Needless to say, that gave the Orioles the momentum. And how often have we seen other teams benefit from freak plays like that against the Birds? Again, the O’s flipped the script last night, and as teams have done against them all year they said thank you kindly. 

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    Courtesy of Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

    The game remained knotted at three into the eighth inning. New York was well into their bullpen, whereas the Birds had alreaedy made the decision to lift Jimenez after seven innings. However at that moment he was still the pitcher of record. With one out Steve Pearce stepped to the plate with nobody on. And Pearce sent a deep shot to left center towards the bullpens – which eventually cleared the fence and gave the Orioles a 4-3 lead late in the game.

    It’s also been the absence of clutch hitting of late that’s hurt this Orioles team, but they’ve sure seen it the past two games in the Bronz. Chris Davis of course hit a ninth inning home run on Tuesday to lift the O’s, and now Pearce last night. The Orioles got something else off of Davis last night that they haven’t seen in awhile also: an add-on run. Davis’ RBI-double in the ninth inning ran the score to 5-3, which is how the game ended.

    The Orioles thus took two-of-three; yes folks, a series victory! And it was much needed for this team, just as this game was much needed for Ubaldo Jimenez. And while this might not come across as popular, the fact is that the Orioles’ playoff hopes are still alive until they’re mathematically eliminated. But in the interim, this win and this series win does wonders for the confidence of this team.

    The Birds will have a day off today at home, before welcoming Kansas City in for the weekend. And with this evening’s NFL season opener, MLB picked a heck of a day to give them off!

    Next: Orioles: Pitching issues remain after win

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