BALTIMORE, Maryland May 1, 2014 - Steve Pearce and Ryan Flaherty, the 8th and 9th hitters in the Oriole line-up, each drove in two runs, and Bud Norris and five relief pitchers combined to limit the Pirates to a single run as the Orioles knocked off the Pirates, 5-1, in the first game of a rain-necessitated doubleheader Thursday in Baltimore. In the second game, Matt Wieters led off the tenth inning with his fifth homer of the season, giving the Birds a 6-5 come-from-behind win and a sweep of the twin bill. In that second game, the Oriles welcomed back All-Star Third Baseman and Gold Glove Winner Manny Machado, out since late September of last season with an injured knee. Machado was activated before the first game, but didn't play until the second game, which he then started and played all the way at third base, going 0-5 at the plate. Nevertheless, his presence was met with a prolonged standing ovation by the Oriole faithful.
The Orioles fell behind, 4-0, in the second game before mounting a comeback. They scored four times in the sixth inning to tie the game, but fell behind again, 5-4, after the Pirates scored a run in the top of the seventh inning. But the Birds scored a run themselves in the seventh to tie the game once again. The teams both were scoreless in the 8th and 9th innings, setting the stage for Wieters' heroics in the bottom of the tenth inning.
In sweeping the doubleheader, the Orioles tied the division leading Yankees in the loss column and are now just one-half game behind New York in the American League Eastern Division Race. The up-to-the-minute American League Eastern Division Race is below, and it takes into account not only the Orioles late game, but also the game between the Blue Jays and Royals.
The Pirates grabbed the lead in the second game in the very first inning, getting two runs on back-to-back bases loaded walks given up by Oriole starter Chris Tillman. Tillman lasted only four and two-thirds innings. He surrendered six hits and walked three Pirates' hitters. After surrendering the two runs in the first inning, Tillman kept the Pirates off the board until the fifth. The third inning was typical of his night: he struck out the side but also gave up two hits. In the fifth, Tillman gave up a one-out double to Andrew McCuthen, and a two-out triple to Gabby Sanchez that scored McCutchen. After Sanchez' hit, Showalter brought in Evan Meek, who walked Neil Walker, but got out of the inning by getting Starling Marte to fly out to Adam Jones in center field. Meek got into immediate trouble in the sixth inning however, with the result being the Pirates moving ahead, 4-0. Meek hit Clint Barnes with a pitch to lead off the sixth, and walked Travis Snider with one out. Ike Davis then singled, scoring Barnes. Meeks then struck out Andrew McCutchen before being replaced by Troy Patton, who made his first appearance of the season after serving a 25-game suspension for having illegal substances in his system during a spot check. Patton got out of the inning by getting Pedro Alvarez to ground into a force out. It was now 4-0, Pirates.
The Birds mounted their comeback in the second game in the bottom of the sixth. Nick Markakis led off with a single, and advanced to second on a passed ball. But Markakis was still at second with two outs. That is when Adam Jones got the Orioles on the board with an RBI double. Matt Wieters got Jones home with an RBI single, bringing Baltimore to within 4-2. Steve Pearce, one of heroes of the first game, then smacked a double that moved Wieters to third. Both men scored when J.J. Hardy lined a single to left field. It tied the game at 4.
Pittsburgh regained the lead in the top of the seventh. Gaby Sanchez led off with a double off of Patton, and moved to third on Walker's bunt single. With runners at the corners and nobody out, Showalter went to the bullpen for Ryan Webb. Marte greeted Webb with a solid single, scoring Sanchez and giving the Pirates a 5-4 advantage. And there was still nobody out and two men on. Webb got out of the inning, however, with some outstanding relief pitching. Barnes flied out for the first out, but Walker tagged and took third, and Marte tagged and took second. Webb then struck out Chris Steward and Snider to end the threat with no further damage.
This Pirates lead was brief. With one out, Markakis hit his second homer of the doubleheader to tie the game.
Showalter called on lefthander Brian Matusz to start the 8th inning, and Matusz quickly retired the first two Pittsburgh hitters on ground balls. But the Pirates then loaded the bases on a walk, a Sanchez double and an intentional walk. This prompted Showalter to summons Darren O'Day, and he got out of the inning be getting Marte to fly out to center field. The Orioles also loaded the bases in their half of the 8th, but couldn't push across the go-ahead run. With two outs and nobody on, J.J. Hardy walked. He then raced to third on pinch-hitter Delmon Young's single. Jonathan Schoop was next up and he was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. But the Pirates survived when reliever Tony Watson struck out Markakis one inning after he homered. Both teams went 1-2-3 in the ninth inning. The Pirates also went relatively quietly in the top of the tenth. O'Day, who pitched in the first game of the doubleheader and entered in the eighth inning of game two, was replaced by Tommy Hunter with one out after he walked McCutchen. It worked out beautifully for the Birds, as Hunter struck out Alvarez and induced the dangerous Sanchez to ground out to Machado at third. All of this set the stage for Wieters, who, along with Nelson Cruz, has been the Orioles best offensive weapon in the early going. In 20 games and 79 at bats, the former first-round draft pick has five home runs, 17 runs batted in and a .342 batting average. The latter stat leads the Orioles and is seventh among all big league hitters, while his RBI and Home Run totals are second on the Orioles to Cruz. Cruz, incidentally, is fourth in the major leagues with 25 runs batted in. Wieters homer also made the doubleheader especially sweet for Hunter, who picked up his seventh save in the first game and his first win in the second game. His ERA is now 2.79 in nine and two-thirds innings of work over 11 appearances. He has struck out eight.
The Orioles fell behind the Pirates, 1-0, in game one when Pittsburgh struck for a single run in the third inning. Jose Tabata led off the third with a triple off of Oriole Starter and Winning Pitcher, Bud Norris (2-2). Norris nearly stranded Tabata on third when he induced Ike Davis to ground out softly back to the mound, and struck out Andrew McCuthen. But with two outs, Pedro Alvarez sent a ground ball single up the middle of the infield to score Tabata.
The Birds took the lead for good in the fifth inning when they struck for three runs after waiting out a brief rain delay. Delmon Young singled to start the fifth, and Steve Clevenger walked to put runners at first and second base. J.J. Hardy then laid down a sacrifice bunt, but when Pirate third baseman Alvarez threw wildly to first, Hardy was safe and the bases were loaded with nobody out. Steve Pearce followed with a single to left field, scoring Young to tie the game and keeping the bases loaded. Ryan Flaherty followed with another single that scored both Clevenger from third and Hardy from second base and giving the Orioles a 3-1 lead.
The Orioles made it 4-1 an inning later on another RBI hit by Pearce. And a fifth run scored in the seventh inning when Nick Markakis belted a solo home run. The Birds missed adding a sixth run when Nelson Cruz, who singled to lead off the inning in front of Markakis, was called out on a controversial call while attempting to steal second base.
Norris pitched five and one-third innings to start the game, and was credited with his second win after five relief pitchers held the Pirates scoreless the rest of the way. Norris was first relieved by Ryan Webb in the sixth. Webb retired both hitters he faced to get out of the sixth inning, and the Pirates' lead off hitter in the seventh before being relieved himself by Zach Britton. Britton retired both hitters he faced in the seventh and got one out in the eighth before the Orioles called on Darren O'Day. He got out of the eighth inning by retiring both batters he faced. But he caused a large stir when he tried to pick-off one of the two runners that had reached base against Britton, but threw wildly, allowing both runners to advance. Brian Matusz was summonsed to start the ninth, and he got the first two batters out before allowing Andrew McCuthen to walk and Pedro Alvarez to single. Tommy Hunter then came on to strike out Gabby Sanchez and record his seventh save.
The Orioles optioned Steve Lombardozzi, Evan Meek and Josh Stinson to Norfolk of the Triple A International League to make room for Machado, Troy Patton and another pitcher, who will be identified before Friday's game at Minnesota. Meek and Patton both participated in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader before being optioned after the game. The move involving Lombardozzi was made before the doubleheader and Machado was eligible to play in the opener. Lombardozzi was the Orioles opening day second baseman after being acquired from the Tigers in a March trade. Baltimore Manager Buck Showalter said the choice was between Lombardozzi and Jamile Weeks, who was just recalled from Norfolk last week when All Star First Baseman Chris Davis went on the 15 day disabled list. Weeks started the first game of the twin bill at second base. Ryan Flaherty, who will see a lot of time at second base, played third base in the opening game because Showalter didn't want Machado playing 18 innings in his first game back.
American League Eastern Division Standings Up-To-The-Minute (10:09 pm EDT)
1. New York Yankees: 15 wins, 12 losses, .556 pct
2. Baltimore Orioles: 14 wins, 12 losses .538 pct, 0.5 game behind
3. Toronto Blue Jays: 13 wins, 15 losses, .464 pct, 2.5 games behind
4. Boston Red Sox: 13 wins, 16 losses, .448 pct, 3 games behind
4. Tampa Bay Rays: 13 wins, 16 losses, .448 pct, 3 games behind
Results on May 1, 2014:
The first place Yankees lost to Seattle, 4-2.
The second place Orioles swept a doubleheader from Pittsburgh, winning the first game, 5-1, and the second game, 6-5, in ten innings.
The third place Blue Jays beat Kansas City, 7-3.
The fourth place Red Sox lost to the fourth place Rays, 2-1.
Rays beat Boston, 2-1
No comments:
Post a Comment