It was a glorious night to watch a ball game; however, but if you rooted for the black and orange, it was nothing short of painful to watch.
The St. Louis Cardinals teed off on Brian Matusz and beat him like a piñata on Thursday night. It has been pretty obvious to anyone who has been watching the Orioles that the southpaw has been struggling since his return.
It was horrific to watch him struggle on the mound on Thursday. The Orioles lost, 8-6, as Matusz only lasted 3 1/3 innings and gave up eight runs – all earned.
There was not much more to say observing Matusz, as his stuff was not thrown all that hard and was hittable.
St. Louis used the longball to run up the score off Matusz and there seemed to be little hope for him on the night. They saw his offerings, and they hit them often. John Jay’s three-run homer in the 4th inning was the nail in the coffin for Matusz.
The moment that Matusz was yanked from the game by manager Buck Showalter, the Oriole fans in attendance showed their displeasure with the pitcher by booing him into the dugout.
It may not be classy to boo your own player; however, Matusz was that dreadful on the mound.
After the game, Matusz was sent to Triple-A Norfolk. There was no other conclusion for him considering how inept he looked on Thursday.
Hopefully down there, he will get a chance to work and figure out what is wrong with him without the pressures of major league life. It is a strange turn of events considering how well Matusz finished last year. Moreover, he was supposed to be the mainstay of an emerging rotation.
It sucks for us fans to watch a pitcher struggle so badly on the mound, despite his talent; alas, it must be ten times worse for Matusz. Every young pitcher apparently struggles at some point, and Matusz should figure out what is ailing him.
Nolan Reimold’s three-run homer (his 4th) in the fourth inning, Mark Reynold’s two-run blast (his 15th) in the sixth gave Baltimore some life; however, St. Louis pitcher Jaime Garcia did his job, going 5 1/3 innings for the win and giving up 5 runs.
Finally, Nick Markakis extended his hitting streak to a career high 19 games.
