Baltimore Orioles, Chris Davis have a faint heartbeat

When Chris Davis walked the Baltimore Orioles off late last night with an RBI-single, the Birds were down to being only 5.5 games out of the second wild card slot. This leaves Orioles fans in a strange perdicament; many of them probably want to believe that the team is in it. And the fact is that the story of the 2015 Orioles might not yet be written. But many folks don’t want to be let down at the end.

Ubaldo Jimenez only lasted five innings last night, but the fact is that it turned into a bullpen game – big time. Jimenez’s line: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K. As has been the case for most of the second half, Jimenez needs to work on his fastball command. I suspect that he’s still trying to throw in the high 90’s, but the fact is that he can’t do that any longer.

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Jimenez walked in a run when he issued a wak to Boston’s Shaw in the third to give Boston a 1-0 lead. Now I will say that was a strange at-bat because there was at least one pitch that was called a ball which was clearly in the strike zone – and another that was borderline. However the O’s took the lead right back in the last of the inning on Steve Pearce‘s two-run homer. Davis would add an RBI-single, and Matt Wieters a sac fly-RBI.

Interestingly, Boston lifted starter Joe Kelly after that – for shoulder tightness. But Kelly never went into the clubhouse for treatment; he stayed on the bench to watch the game. So…was Kelly really injured, or did Boston want their reliever to have an indefinite amount of time to warm up? Unfortunately for the Birds, that allowed Boston to get back into the game. Bogaerts’ RBI-single, Ortiz’s sac fly-RBI, and Sandoval’s RBI-single in the fifth tied the game at four.

Courtesy of Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

But the Birds took control right back in the last of the inning when Manny Machado homered to give the O’s a 5-4 lead. However unfortunately it wouldn’t last, as Shaw would add a solo shot of his own in the top of the eighth. And on we played into extra innings, as the bullpens dwindled further and further. So on many fronts, it’s probably a good thing that Chris Davis’ RBI-single in the last of the 13th ended the game with the O’s winning it 6-5.

Again, the Birds have made up some ground in the past week or so when it comes to the standings. There are a lot of better places to be than 5.5 games out of the wild card in the middle of September – but there are worse places also. The likelihood of the Orioles coming all the way back to claim a post season spot probably isn’t the greatest in the world. But stranger things have happened.

So I would liken it to Edgar Allen Poe’s A Telltale Heart in a way. Perhaps you’re hearing a faint heartbeat from under the floorboard. (Granted that poem is more about a man’s conscience than anything else, but work with me folks!) For the record, with this win the Orioles have won their third consecutive series. So that’s something I suppose.

The series with Boston concludes this evening with Mike Wright back on the mound for the Birds. He’ll be opposed by Boston’s Henry Owens. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

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