The Orioles won 10-6 today against the Cardinals in Jupiter; however, a recurring theme once again haunted Baltimore — obviously, the pitching. Well, the offense bailed starting pitcher AdamEaton out as the Orioles scored twice in the fourth inning, and four times in the fifth. Adam Jones hit a long two run homer to start the rally; thereafter, in the fifth inning, Nick Markakis had a two-run double and then scored on a wild pitch. Aubrey Huff drove in a run in the fifth, Oscar Salazar drove had an RBI in the sixth, and to cap it off, Melvin Mora hit a homer in the eighth inning.
Meanwhile, the story of the day was Eaton. He’s trying to make the rotation out of Spring Training, but the results have not looked good so far, and if you need to know how bad he’s been, read this from the Orioles.com:
Starter Adam Eaton struggled through his fourth appearance of the spring, giving up five runs on nine hits while walking four and striking out three. The 31-year-old right-hander’s biggest troubles came in the third inning, when he gave up four straight hits to start the frame and ended up surrendering four runs. Through 16 Spring Training innings, Eaton has given up 12 runs, putting his ERA at 6.75.
And he spoke about his performance after the game with the Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck:
“I still got five innings in and 90 pitches. In that regard, mission accomplished, but I wanted to go one more. … It’s my fifth time on the mound. I feel like I’ve progressed.”
His performance today was not good, and I wonder if this is what we are going to see out of him in Baltimore. Right now, he’s pitching the same way as he was in Philadelphia, and if he’s going to pitch like this in the American League East, the Orioles might as well bring up one of their young guns up now.
I have no idea what Dave Tremebley is thinking right now, but there may be a chance that Eaton may not be in a Baltimore unform for long if he doesn’t improve.
