The Orioles needed to win this series versus the last place Red Sox more than Andrew
Bynum needs Just For Men. After winning
10 of their first 14 series in 2012, the Orioles dropped their next four
series. In fact the Orioles had not won a series since round one of the Battle
of the Beltway at Nationals Park. Sorry I’m not sorry for bringing that up
Nationals fans. The Orioles fan base
started to groan and gripe, and the talking heads jumped off our bandwagon
faster than John Kruk can eat a cheesesteak. Birdland can resettle itself because there is
no quit in this baseball team and therefore the same should be expected of the
fan base.
Game one was the kind of game that the Orioles would have
lost a year ago. Every time the Red Sox
scored a run to either tie the game or take the lead, the Orioles would come
right back and respond with a few runs of their own. Despite Mark Reynolds’s defense being more
toxic than a pond in New Jersey, and Jim Johnson blowing his first save of the
season, the Orioles were able to rally together and show resilience in enemy
territory. It was a much-needed win
considering they had lost seven of their previous eight games.
They carried the momentum of Game 1into last night with a gritty
win against the Red Sox ace Josh Beckett.
There was not enough beer and chicken in the world to console Mr.
Beckett after watching his teammates fall to the tunes of Sweet Chen Music. Wei-Yin Chen twirled his way in and out of 3
ball counts for 7 innings, and Robert Andino continued his very personal
assault on Red Sox Nation with an inside out single to right on a Beckett
curveball that tied the game 1-1. The
next batter, Endy Chavez then brought in the go ahead and ultimately winning
run on a fielder’s choice. The back end
combo (sounds like an item on Taco Bell’s menu) of the HeliSTROPter and Jim
Johnson continued to be reliable as they collected the final six outs of the
game without much trouble. This was an
important game for Jim Johnson because it was the night after his first blown
save of the year. Closers need to have short memories and it was important to
see how Johnson responded to his first blown save since August 6 of last
season. Failing to get the job done was
as foreign to Jim Johnson as speaking Swahili is for me. But J.J. was in his usual lockdown mode and
nailed down the series win for the Birds.
Tonight the Orioles go for the sweep and their eighth
consecutive win at Fenway Park. They
will send the RE-emerging Brian Matusz to the mound to face off against “The Laptop Larcen” Clay Buchholz.
Matusz has really righted the ship with 4 consecutive quality starts in which
he has gone 3-1. After a rocky start to
the season, Matusz has evened his record to 5-5 and lowered his ERA to
4.41. His success can directly be
attributed to his command coupled with his sharp curveball and his fastball
sitting consistently at 92-93. His
renewed velocity is giving Matusz a little more leeway against the big hitters
of the vaunted A.L. East. Fenway is
always a scary place for a left-hander to pitch because it is so friendly to
right handed hitters. However, Matusz has looked strong as of late
and has hopefully turned the proverbial corner.
There are still some big concerns surrounding this team
(e.g. Nick Markakis’s hamate injury, the majority of the rotation’s struggles,
and Mark Reynolds playing first base with a frying pan on his hand), but the
team remains resilient and still holds a ½ game lead of first place in the A.L.
BEast. The surging Yankees are on their
tails and the Rays are only a game back.
All teams in the A.L. BEast are .500 or better so this division will be
one of the best races in all of baseball, and the Orioles should remain in the
mix.
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