Baltimore Orioles Hold Their Own Against World Series Champs

On Monday night, the reigning World Series champs and their MVP pitcher visited the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards for an early evening exhibition game.

While the Baltimore Orioles did not come away with a win, they played well up and down the line up.

There were several notable performances of the night, but the two best belonged to the few rookies who took the field.

Despite earning the loss after giving up a two-run home run to power-hitter Howie Kendrick, Alex Cobb performed better than expected. He threw four innings giving up two hits, two runs, with two walks and five strike outs. His command was good, and he looked ready for the regular season.

He went toe-to-toe with Stephen Strasburg who allowed six hits in his five innings of work. Unfortunately, the O’s could not string enough together to get more than one run off of the World Series MVP.

The other notable performance of the night belonged to veteran shortstop Jose Iglesias. He flashed his typical quick hands on defense, but he also showed that he can swing a bat. Manager Brandon Hyde put him in the second spot in the lineup, and it was fitting as he went 3-4 on the night. After his final hit of the game in the eighth, Mason Williams came in to pinch run, and he scored the O’s second run of the game after Renato Nunez hit a single.

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The Orioles manufactured a run in the fourth after Chris Davis led it off with a double. Hanser Alberto attempted to bunt Davis to third, but he ended up grounding out to second to get Davis in top scoring position. Rio Ruiz earned the RBI on a sac to Trea Turner. This was a positive sign to see the Orioles take advantage of a lead-off double to get the runner home.

Anthony Santander continued where he left off in 2019. He went 2-2 against the Nationals on Monday. His first hit was a double, then he singled in the third. Considering both hits were off of Strasburg, it looks like Santander is ready for Opening Day.

Other than the home run in the fourth, the only other problematic inning was the seventh. David Hess struggled to get outs after he replaced Paul Fry who gave up a double to Juan Soto. Hess followed suit by giving up a double to Kendrick scoring Soto. Then, he hit Eric Thames in the thigh – it didn’t appear intentional, as Hess didn’t seem set for the pitch. Carter Kieboom flied out, then Yan Gomes singled to score Kendrick. Hess finally got things together with a pair of strikeouts to end the inning, but not after the Nats led 4-2.

The O’s visit Nationals Park for their final exhibition game of the short Summer Training session. Kohl Stewart will face off against Patrick Corbin at 6:05 ET. The game will air on MASN, or you can watch it on MLB TV.