The Orioles won last night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-8, on the road in Grapefruit League action. Brad Bergesen struggled in his latest outing as he only went 2 2/3 innings and gave up four runs – three earned.
That’s not good; however, it’s still early. Then again, if Brad is still running into problems during let’s say the last week of Spring Training, it would be time to worry.
The bullpen did fairly well; however, in the eight h inning, the Pirates rallied and plated in four runs off reliever Raul Rivero – who was just plain awful. He allowed four runs in just 2/3 of an inning pitched.
On the offensive front, Ryan Adams had a homer and drove in four runs, Vladmir Guerrero also homered; in addition, J.J. Hardy and Craig Tatum both had two RBI’s.
Today, the Phillies and pitcher Cliff Lee come to Sarasota and face The Orioles. I’m curious to see how it goes.
I’m heading home right now after a long vacation filled with a week of baseball and another of fun in the sun. After watching the Orioles person for six games, plus several times over the internet on MLB.tv, they will be a lot better this year than they were previously.
The question on everyone’s mind is … will the Orioles finish over .500?
At the moment, I am predicting Baltimore will win 79 games. The media – national and local – are hoping that 2011 will start to turn the tide of losing. With a revamped ballpark in Sarasota, a retooled roster and Buck Showalter at helm, everyone is looking upward with a dose of optimism.
However, a lot still has to go right in order for the Orioles to succeed. As I see it right now, how far they go will be determined by their pitching and if key members of the team can stay healthy.
