Yesterday at Camden Yards, the Orioles earned a four game split with the Cleveland Indians, as they won 8-3.
They snapped a painful skid on Saturday thanks to a nice effort from Alfredo Simon – who is now in his native Dominican Republic to settle his legal issues. On Sunday, we all wondered what we would get from starting pitcher Mitch Atkins.
Well, it would not be good.
He put Baltimore in trouble early as he labored through the first inning, giving up three runs and putting his team in a deep hole.
Crazy enough, this would have been a game that they would have lost last week. In fact, attending the afternoon contest yesterday, most of us in our section figured, “oh yes, the Orioles f**ked it up again.”
We all figured it was going to be another miserable Sunday; therefore, all of us were going to make the most of it. It’s sad to have thought that way in the very first inning; alas, in the last month, what else would you have expected?
For the most part, we all kind of complained before the game about the direction of the team — how player X, Y, Z we’re not doing anything, plus what was going to happen to Andy MacPhail in the off-season.
But the Orioles surprised us and they would get help from some unexpected sources.
The Orioles got clutch relief pitching by Mark Hendrickson and Jim Johnson, plus the bats came alive as Robert Andino hit a surprising three-run homer in the fifth inning to put his team ahead for good, 4-3.
Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters would also homer as well and send the Orioles to 38-54, plus their second straight win.
Funny enough, I had noticed that past few days that Nick Markakis has started choking up on the bat. However, he seems to be hitting the ball with a lot more authority and power. I guess that Nick should stay with whatever works.
As well, I do think Jim Johnson is a being a tad over-exposed in the bullpen; however, who else can you go to right now in a tight situation on the mound?
With the series against the Indians over, we all look forward to the Red Sox – or Idiot Nation as James proclaims – coming into Charm City. Of course the Yard will probably be overrun with Sox fans gleeful about the rise of their team and what not.
It will be interesting to see if both the Orioles and Red Sox are still miffed at one another for their crazy series right before the All-Star break. The only thing I can say is that Baltimore should focus on winning some games rather than going after Boston at this point.
