One lousy inning on Saturday befell Jake Arrieta and the Baltimore Orioles and there was little they could do to dig out of it. In the end, they would lose their second straight game to the Los Angeles Angels by a score of 6-3.
The Orioles were up 2-0 in the fifth inning and Arrieta had been cruising through the game. It looked like that he would cruise to his second victory of the season; however, his start would fall to pieces.
The frame started off with Torii Hunter reaching base, but then advanced to third off an errant pickoff throw. He was driven in by Mark Trumbo, and then Angels tied the game at two via a bases-loaded single by Erick Aybar.
The Angels were not done with the scoring, as Bobby Abreu plated in two runs with the bases loaded again, raising the score to 4-2. Thereafter, Kendry Morales made the score 5-2 with a bases loaded single.
Even though the Orioles were down by three at that point, the game might as well have been over.
Arrieta only lasted 4 1/3 innings and gave up five runs on six hits. It was quite shocking to see him fall apart in the fifth inning, considering how well he was doing. For the first half of the game, it looked as if he and Waver were going to be involved in a duel; however, it was not to be. It was like Arrieta just lost it and could not get things back into check.
Jered Weaver won his third game of the season, as he mastered the Orioles, striking out five and walking none.
Of course, the Orioles had yet another error – this time by Mark Reynolds in the seventh inning that led to another run for the Angels. They have committed 15 errors – in 15 games. That is inexcusable.
If there was a positive with Saturday’s game, Matt Wieters hit his fifth home run in the fifth inning. He has now become a legitimate power threat after a good, but not spectacular start to his career. Coming up, he was christened as “Joe Mauer with power”, and now is starting to live up to the hype.
Adam Jones was 2-for-4, and Nick Markakis along with Robert Andino got the other hits for the Orioles.
The two teams meet again on Sunday as the Angels will go for the sweep.
It looks like pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada is going to be shut down from his rehab assignment. I do not think this all bodes well for the Orioles. I would not be surprised if Wada is shut down, or placed on the 60-day DL.
Finally, congrats to Chicago’s Phil Humber on his perfect game – only the 21st in history. And my God, the Boston Red Sox.
It was an ugly Friday for them, and it got ten times worse with their loss to the Yankees – as they came back from a nine-run deficit – on Saturday. It’s going to be a very interesting summer up in New England if the Red Sox continue to tank.
