Red Sox Nation descended upon Baltimore once again, and for the umpteenth time, downtown Baltimore was transformed into a sea of red and blue. As well, the Red Sox once again beat the Orioles, 4-0, in front of 36,458 at Camden Yards on Monday. The victory for Boston was their EIGHTH straight win over the Orioles.
Jon Lester, who started the night at .500 at 6-6, was nothing short of amazing as he went seven shutout innings, allowed only five hits, struck out eight, and earned the victory. Jonathan Papelon averted a potential rally for the Orioles by pitching 1/3 of an inning for his 19th save. Baltimore had two runners on bases in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, and it looked like Melvin Mora was going to get a hit to perhaps avoid the team being shutout; however, Jason Bay made a diving catch to not only prevent runs from scoring, but close out the game.
Meanwhile, for Baltimore, Jason Berken pitched valiantly, but sort of went through the school of hard knocks facing a veteran Boston lineup. Berken went five innings, gave up four runs and took the loss for the Orioles, as he gave up a run in the opening frame, and then three more in the fourth inning.
Boston’s J.D. Drew was the offensive star of the game as he had a home run in the fourth inning, and had three hits, drove in two, and scored twice. Dustin Pedroia had an RBI-single in the first, and Jason Varitek had an RBI-single in the fourth.
For Baltimore, Ty Wigginton had two hits, but beside his effort, the team only had four more hits on the night. Tonight, the Orioles face the legendary John Smoltz — who I have great reverence for and like — however, I hope he gets tagged up for a few runs and encounters the same fate he had in Washington. Seriously, I’ll try to be there tonight and see a Future Hall of Famer who embodies what’s right about the game on the mound for Boston — which is still very strange to see, he should be in an Atlanta jersey closing out his illustrious career.
Finally, there’s been a lot of talk about Wieters — well, one could say the lack of offense that he’s brought to the team so far, plus the ghastly display behind the plate on Sunday. Honestly, the fans have to let him develop at this level and see if he improves gradually. I was one of the thousands who felt he should have been brought up when was, and so far he’s playing like a rookie. Right now, he’s currently batting .235 with 2 homers and 6 RBI’s — granted, he’s not putting up numbers like Nolan Reimold — but he’s doing decent work behind the plate and has shown some ability with the bat.
We want him to become the next Johnny Bench, but he’ll develop at his own pace as he’s only played professional for about a little less than two years now. Remember, Nick Markakis started slow, as did Adam Jones, but now they are both potential cornerstones of a rebuilding Oriole franchise.
At the moment, the only way Wieters should even be sent down is if he is hurting the team at the plate, most notably behind the plate (crucial), and if he’s really that overwhelmed. As I see it, he’s still learning, so let’s all be patient.
