Baltimore Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez keeps the Birds in the game

Ubaldo Jimenez keept the Baltimore Orioles in the game last night in Washington and left them in a good position to win – no matter how you spin it.

A lot of Baltimore Orioles fans had chalked last night’s game up as a loss due to one reason: Ubaldo Jimenez. And in saying that, I mean people thought it would be a beat down. JImenez obviously has struggled this year, so perhaps people thought that with good reason.

The Birds did end up falling last night. However no matter how you want to spin the game, Jimenez was very good last night in place of the injured Tillman. Jimenez’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Jimenez made one bad pitch: he left a fastball up in the zone to Werth in the fourth inning. Werth being a great hitter, jumped on that and smacked it over the wall giving Washington a 1-0 lead.

But I can’t stress enough that Ubaldo Jimenez was the Orioles’ best chance to win last night’s game. If you’re in a situation where if you do make one bad pitch you’re going to lose, then…well, odds are you’re going to lose. The Orioles were stymied all night by Washington’s Scherzer, who allowed barely any baserunners over the course of his eight innings. The Orioles seemed to use a “swing early and often” approach on Scherzer, which didn’t work very well.

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However as one of the best pitchers in MLB, Scherzer’s used to shutting down good teams. And the Orioles aren’t alone in being stymied by him. Heck, as good as Jimenez was last night, even he couldn’t muster getting on base against Scherzer! As I’ve said many times, good pitching will usually shut down good hitting.

That 1-0 lead held up all night, which was fine with Washington because they allowed nary a run. They also added to their lead in the last of the eighth on a Murphy RBI-double, and a two-RBI double by Harper. At the end of the day it goes as a 4-0 loss for the Orioles in DC.

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But again, Jimenez’s outing is the story of the day from the Orioles’ standpoint. After the game Jimenez addressed the fact that he felt very good out there, and that he was able to mix his pitches well during the game (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASN sports):

"It’s been a while since I’ve started. I felt good. I was able to command the fastball, throw the breaking ball behind the count. Everything was good."

Jimenez has been much maligned by the Orioles’ fanbase this year, and in many cases justifiably so. He hasn’t been good. But he was the lone bright spot for an Orioles team last night who luckily for them didn’t lose any ground due to Boston and Toronto falling.

The Orioles pinch-hit for Adam Jones in the top of the ninth, and we later found out that he had cramped up late in the game. Jones expects to play tonight in New York. As hot and humid as it was last night, it’s somewhat understandable. 

Next: Baltimore Orioles: Can you root for the O's and the Washington Nationals

The Birds open up a series in the Bronx tonight against the new-look NYY. Yovani Gallardo will get the start for the Orioles, however New York is strangely enough still yet to announce a starter. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.