Baltimore Orioles defeat NY on Manny Machado’s dribbler

A seventh inning swinging bunt by Manny Machado gave the Baltimore Orioles a 6-5 victory over New York last night.

The Baltimore Orioles abruptly lost the lead last night, but they eventually got it back thanks to Manny Machado and company. Furthermore we got a partial answer to the question of whether the Birds’ bullpen is better than NY’s. For one game at least.

Chris Tillman mowed NY hitters down for three innings. But then he ran into some trouble, and suddenly he wasn’t able to locate any of his off speed pitches. However while NY took the lead on Tillman, he kept the team afloat just long enough. Furthermore, we partially answered the question of who’s bullpen was better between the Orioles and NY. At least for one game. Tillman’s line: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

The Birds took a 1-0 lead in the second on Pedro Alvarez‘s RBI-single. With how Tillman was pitching in the first two innings, everything was looking promising for the homestanding nine at that point. However Tillman lost it in the fourth. He couldn’t locate any pitches in the strike zone, and he walked two guys back-to-back. New York took the lead on a two-run homer by Beltran, immediately after which ARod followed with a solo shot. 

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But come the last of the fourth the Birds got back into the swing of things. Chris Davis smacked a solo homer to cut the lead to 3-2, although an inning later it was 4-2 on Romine’s solo home run. Incidentally, I’m not sure I’ve seen a home run on that much of a line drive trajectory. At first you thought it would just be a line drive out to left field; it ended up leaving the ballpark nearly without rising.

In the sixth inning NY ran the lead to 5-2 on Headley’s RBI-single. At that point you were counting the number of outs the Birds had left before the likes of (former Oriole) Miller got called into the game. We all know how great the NY ‘pen is, although as I predicted before the season they have a tough time using them. If you can’t get to the later innings with the lead, the bullpen can’t be used the way it’s supposed to be.

Luckily for the Birds, starter Eovaldi remained in the game just long enough for the O’s to touch him up. With the bases loaded Matt Wieters‘ two-RBI single cut the lead to 5-4. Jonathan Schoop followed with an RBI-double which tied the game. And the best news of all for the Orioles? Machado’s dribbler down the third base line an inning later allowed a run to score, giving the O’s the lead back. 

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And then it was the Orioles’ bullpen that took over. With O’Day on the DL there were questions as to who would step up and how. But McFarland and Givens (who was credited with the win) were solid last night, and they successfully bridged the gap to Britton in the ninth inning.

WIth the win and Boston’s loss, the Birds have reclaimed first place in the American League East. Of course that’s only for one day, as everyone plays again today and tonight. However we know that this race is going to be tight the whole way – every game and every win counts!

Next: Baltimore Orioles News: Darren O'Day place in 15-day disabled list

The series continues tonight at Camden Yards, in a game that will be shown on national television by FOX. Tyler Wilson will get the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Ivan Nova. Game time is set for 7:15 PM.