It was another game for the Orioles and yet another loss.
With J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis out due to injuries – the Orioles were already at a huge disavanatge.
The newest Bird, Tommy Hunter could not stop the losing skid, so the Baltimore Orioles lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-4, last night. He got behind some of the Toronto batters, and at times got hit hard.
Hunter gave up four runs in four innings as Baltimore lost their 66th game of the 2011 season. Adam Jones hit his 19th homer – a shot that went over 400 feet – however, the Orioles had umpteen chances to score throughout the game, but could not capitalize. Despite battling, they were only 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
The Orioles had a golden chance in the ninth, as they scored once (off a Nick Markakis double), but could not muster any more offense.
If there was an unsung hero from last night, it would have to be lefty Troy Patton. After Hunter left the game with Baltimore trailing, 4-2, after the fifth inning, he threw three innings, giving up a run and essentially keeping the team in thick of things on Friday night.
Cesar Izturis started his first game in about three months, but didn’t look comfortable out in the field. I was a little surprised to see him playing second (as opposed to shortstop), but maybe he was still having problems with his elbow.
The Oriole defense did an incredible job on the night – especially in the 6th inning, where they limited the Jays to one run in a frame that could have buried them. Two critical plays were made at the plate and Matt Wieters used his body to prevent two Jays’ runners from crossing home plate.
With Chris Tillman on the mound tonight, let’s hope he gets some consistency going in his outing.
In other news, highly touted Toronto prospect Brett Lawrie got his first major league hit on Friday.
