Baltimore Orioles win first game against Oakland Athletics
A bunch of late-night home runs help the Baltimore Orioles get the win over the Oakland Athletics in the first of the four-game series.
Baltimore Orioles rookie Trey Mancini flexed his muscles to lead the team in scoring in the 7-2 win.
The combination of strong offense and quality pitching from Wade Miley showed the A’s what the Orioles are capable of doing.
The big story in this game was, again, home runs. When the Orioles get started, they just can’t seem to stop hitting them. And, in this game, they came in pairs.
Getting the Offense Started
In the first inning, Tim Beckham – batting in the lead-off spot – started the game with a triple to center field. Then, Manny Machado earned an RBI scoring Beckham on a ground out.
The A’s tied it up in the first after Rajai Davis singled, stole a base, and scored on a sac fly to Joey Rickard.
The game remained tied until the fourth inning. Adam Jones, batting clean up, got the scoring started with a line drive home run to left field. Mancini had to show the veteran that the rookie could do it, too. Only his went to right field instead.
Enjoy the video from MLB.com:
Two innings later in the sixth, Mancini did it again going yard to left field. Not to be outdone by the rookie, veteran Mark Trumbo followed him with his own homer to left center. After going O-fer yesterday in his return from the DL, the home run showed that Trumbo was feeling better.
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Getting the Win
If a 5-1 lead wasn’t enough, the O’s scored two more in the seventh. Beckham continued his multi-game hitting prowess with a one-out double. A throwing error landed Jonathan Schoop on base and moved Beckham to third. This set up Jones to clean up the bases. And, he did. A timely double scored both Beckham and Schoop and put the nail in the A’s coffin.
Hot Pitching
Along with good hitting, the pitching was hot, too. Miley’s final line involved pitching in seven innings, allowing three hits and three walks. He struck out seven and had zero earned runs. He was followed by Darren O’Day who in uncharacteristic fashion gave up two hits and one run in the eighth. The ninth inning was a situational masterpiece by Buck Showalter using three pitchers to get the outs. The final out belonged to Zach Britton who also got his 10th save of the season.
Next: Three O's with outstanding numbers in August
The Orioles face the A’s in another late night game. The 10:05 start time is late, but with the possibility of more home runs – it is worth watching. Ubaldo Jimenez faces rookie pitcher Paul Blackburn.