On a day that saw much of the Baltimore area covered by 5-10 inches of snow, the Orioles provided some solace in the form of an evening game against the Toronto Blue Jays on MASN. With temperatures well below freezing where many viewers were, it was nice to hear the voices of Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer and see many regulars in action.
In a way, it was a perfect ending to a winter day.
Miguel Gonzalez got the start and had a relatively easy time completing a scoreless two-inning shift, striking out two in the process. Darren O’Day struck out all three batters he faced. Zach Britton faced three batters and induced three ground ball outs. That sounds familiar. Tommy Hunter faced four batters and struck out two of them. One-time shortstop, now reliever, Mychal Givens sent down the three Blue Jays he faced in succession.
As far as position players go, this was certainly a welcomed sight as Chris Davis launched a three-run homer.
Jonathan Schoop chipped in with one of the two-run variety.
Manny Machado had two hits in three at-bats. Adam Jones and Steve Pearce had one hit apiece while newly acquired Ryan Lavarnway got his Matt Wieters on and gunned down Devon Travis trying to steal second base
When it was all said and done, the Orioles blanked the Blue Jays 5-0.
It’s often tough to take much away from spring training games, especially for guys you know will break camp with the big league club. For them it’s not about making the roster, but getting their timing down, staying injury free, and getting reps.
However, on Thursday it was nice to watch so many familiar faces. The added bonus was seeing them play well. It may not feel like it when you step outside tomorrow or look like it when you see the piles of snow, but baseball is near and Baltimore’s birds will be back at Oriole Park at Camden Yards before we know it. Thankfully they provided us with a much needed diversion from winter in Baltimore tonight.
