It was as if the O’s were afraid that the memories of last week’s infuriating losses in Arizona – where they dropped three straight winnable games by a grand total of three runs – weren’t fresh enough in our minds. Starting the stretch of their season that will ultimately define it, the Orioles proved that they’re far from finished finding new and ever more improbable ways to lose winnable baseball games.
This time they did it by beating Tampa Bay Rays ace David Price to a pulp – 10 hits off the lefty in just five innings – yet forgetting to do the most important thing: score runs.
Let’s get to it…
Evan Longoria took Chris Tillman deep for the fourth time in 22 career AB with two outs in the first to stake Tampa to a 1-0 lead. Tilly labored through the second as well, surrendering another run on three singles, including a two-out RBI liner to right by number nine hitter Kelly Johnson. Oriole-killer Johnson is 9-for-27 with four homers and eight RBIs in seven games at OPACY this season (h/t @masnRoch), and has 23 career RBI against the O’s, his most by far against any AL team (h/t @danconnollysun).
Price worked around Davis in the first, then made Adam Jones look silly, striking him out on an 0-2 pitch in the dirt to strand Crush.
It was just the beginning of STRANDING, which would be the theme for the night.
In the second, singles by J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis set up Danny Valencia (who came into the game 7/10 career off Price), who drove a double to left, scoring Hardy. With runners on second and third and one out, Steve Pearce lined to left. The ball appeared to be nearly deep enough to score Markakis, but Nick was caught too far off the bag to go back and tag up. Brian Roberts then popped out on the first pitch to end the O’s threat in the second.
In the third, Manny Machado and Jones singled, bringing up Matt Wieters with runners on the corners and one out. The catcher launched a ball to the deepest part of the park, and it hit off the very top of the 410 corner in center. One run scored, and the Birds again had second and third with only one out. A Hardy strikeout and Markakis pop-up later, and the O’s had stranded two guys in scoring position for the second consecutive inning. Instead of having a 4-2 lead, the game remained tied at two.
Couldn’t you have done just ONE more pushup last offseason, Matt?
The Rays quickly made the Birds pay in the top of the next inning. Tillman issued a walk to Yunel Escobar with one out, and Matt Joyce put one right over the Esskay sign in right-center for a 4-2 Tampa lead. Tillman would settle down however, and retire the final eight batters he’d face following the home run. His teammates’ RISP failures denied him the chance for his 15th win though – they ended up stranding even more runners while he was in the game than we’ve been over so far…
In the fourth, Valencia beat out a grounder up the middle to push his lifetime line against Price to 9/12, and Pearce followed with a single to left.
First and second, nobody out, top of the lineup to the plate. Following a Roberts fly to right, it was again men on the corners with one down. Machado went down swinging. Could Chris Davis be the one to step up? Nope. He also struck out.
In the fifth, more of the same. Second and third, one out. Markakis pops to shallow left. Valencia walks. Bases loaded, two outs. Pearce grounds out.
Through five, the Birds had 10 hits, and just two runs. They’d left TEN men on base, and SEVEN of those in scoring position. Every time, a runner got to third with less than two outs, only to get stuck on third base.
I can’t remember a more frustrating baseball game.
The O’s chased Price after just five innings, racked up TEN hits off him, yet still trailed 4-2 when he departed.
They’d strand another in the sixth, as Machado’s one-out walk from Jamey Wright went to waste with a Davis fielder’s choice and a Jones groundout.
Wieters led off the seventh with a solo shot to the flag court off Rays reliever Joel “Dainty Toe-Point” Peralta, leaving him only a triple shy of the cycle, and the Birds only a run shy of tying the game. Valencia knocked his third hit of the night, and Pearce blooped a single behind him to put runners on the corners, this time with two down. At that point in the game, the 5-9 hitters in the O’s lineup were a combined 11-for-19, while 1-4 were just 2-for-14.
Rays skipper Joel Maddon went to the pen for Jake McGee, who retired Roberts on one pitch.
Sad trombone.
In the top of the eighth, the RISP Bermuda Triangle at OPACY proved that it doesn’t discriminate, as the Rays loaded the bases with no outs against Francisco Rodriguez only to come away empty.
Davis doubled off Jason Bourgeois’ glove with one out in the bottom of the frame, but Jones and Wieters both – OF COURSE – struck out. Crush became the 14th runner stranded by the O’s overall on the night, and the ninth left on second or third base.
In a one-run game.
In the ninth, the Rays brought in their own struggling closer, Fernando Rodney, who’d blown seven saves coming in. The inning started off good for the O’s, as Hardy singled to left. Pinch runner Alexi Casilla though, was caught stealing, and the potential tying run was quickly erased from the basepaths.
Markakis worked a walk, and yet again the Birds had the potential winning run at the plate. Unfortunately, Valencia went down swinging, and Nate McLouth – who’d entered the game for Pearce – grounded out to end it.
In the end, the O’s set a new season-high with 15 runners left on base (most since 2011), and managed only three runs despite 15 hits, the first time they’ve done that since August of 2007.
Like I said, they just keep coming up with new ways to lose. They still have plenty of time to bounce back, but it needs to start soon. And they need to start figuring out how to get these baserunners across the plate.
