Friday, April 9, 2010

(1-2) O's win last of 3 against Rays to start the season

The O's managed to grind the last game out and get off to a 1-2 start. Matt Wieters went 6 for 12 in the series, including his first home run. Garrett Atkins was 4 for 12 and added 3 RBIs, already surpassing the total I had predicted he would get in all of April.

Kevin Milwood pitched decently in the opener, giving up only 2 runs and striking out 5 but going only 5 innings and allowing 10 base runners. The O's hit well (11 for 37) but stranded a lot of runners and scored only on solo home runs from Adam Jones, Luke Scott, and Wieters. With a 3-2 lead in the 9th, new closer Mike Gonzalez blew his first chance at a save and the O's fell 4-3.

The second game also ended in a 4-3 loss. Jeremy Guthrie got off to a great start and faded some late, ending with 3 runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out 6. After Cla Meredith allowed a home run in the 8th, the O's almost came back in the 9th, scoring 1 but stranding a runner on 3rd with 2 outs. They managed only 6 hits over the game.

The series finale leaned more in the O's favor, as starter Brian Matusz struck out 7 in 5 innings of 2 run ball. He also allowed just 2 hits, but was a little on the wild side with 5 walks. Still, Nolan Reimold hit his first home run of the season and Atkins added 2 RBI's which were enough for Gonzalez to earn his first save, despite loading the bases in the 9th. The final score was 5-4.

Felix Pie suffered an injury in the first game and sat out the next two. He is day-to-day.

2 comments:

Matthew Hoyt said...

How much longer will Gonzalez last, and who's next? I think maybe Kam?

Tim said...

Gonzalez will get plenty more chances. His contract gives him that privilege. However, I can't see the Orioles sticking with an ineffective closer all the way into May. If he hasn't figured things out by the end of that month, the O's will have to make a change. I would have said Mickolio, but he's not even on the 25-man roster. Maybe that's where a "healthy" Uehara comes into play.