After losing two out of three this past weekend to the White Sox, the Orioles headed up north to the Bronx to take on the Evil Empire in a three game series in what has been — as thought — a very tough road trip.
Last night, the Orioles fought long and hard against the Yankees, but in the end, the Bombers got the best of them a Hideki Matsui broke open a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the ninth with his 15th homer that sailed over the right field wall. The Yankees earned a 2-1 victory, and Jim Johnson — who was on the mound in relief for Baltimore — took the loss as served up a pitch on a 2-2 count that Matsui absolutely crushed.
Of course, the Orioles ran themselves out of potential scoring opportunities and that killed them. Seriously.
All the runs in the game came via the longball — which the new Yankee Stadium has become renowned for — as Nick Markakis hit a solo home run for Baltimore in the 1st (his 10th), and Eric Hinske hit a solo shot of his own in the second inning. Otherwise than that, the game featured solid pitching by David Hernandez for the Orioles, and Andy Pettitte — who owns the Orioles with a 25-6 record — for the Yankees.
Hernandez went six innings and gave up a run on three hits. He was very shaky in the first and loaded the bases with two outs (a very dangerous situation, especially against the Yankees), but he got Robinson Cano to pop out to kill the rally. After that inning, Hernandez held his own and did so in such a tough environment in the Bronx.
If anything now, Hernandez has shown that he belongs in the majors, and had confidence in himself to face one of the scariest lineups in the entire sport. As well, one should give Matt Wieters credit for the work he did with Hernandez on the mound on Monday as for his to called have such a strong game speaks as a testament to how goo
d he is behind the plate.
Finally, the Orioles traded bench guy Oscar Salazar to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Cla Meredith — a right handed reliever. Well, Salazar was not going to see much time in Baltimore because of the youth movement, plus an overall numbers game. I like his bat, and he seemed to come through a lot with the Birds in ’09; however, was he a part of future with the organization? I’m sure in the National League, Oscar would get a lot more at bats and see more playing time. As for Meredith, he had some solid years in San Diego and used to be Red Sox product, but he’s been anything but special the past few seasons and I guess he’s now just an extra arm.
I would have figured that Felix Pie would have been sent on his way (I mean there’s still time before the 31st), but I think he’s potentially a lot better than what has been seen in Baltimore so far. There’s no way Pie is an everyday player with the triumvirate of Nick Markakis-Adam Jones-Nolan Reimold in the fold, but he’s a nice insurance policy and has played much better as of late (when he’s been in the lineup.)
