There’s really no need to discuss what happened last night in the ninth inning. The Orioles lost 8-6 to the Rays in a game that was not as close you’d think.
Baltimore scored four times in the bottom of the ninth to close what had become a six run deficit thanks to home runs by Roberts and Pie; however, the bullpen — mainly Bob McCrory blew the game wide open.
With the Rays leading 4-2 in the ninth, Bob McCrory came in and suddenly forgot how to throw strikes; moreover, the Rays pounded his fastball and put it in play for hit after hit. When all was said and done, McCrory gave up four runs, allowed three hits, and walked four in the course of 1 2/3 innings. After the game, he was sent down to Norfolk and Nolan Reimold — who has been nothing but scorching hot in in Triple-A — is now in the majors.
Brad Bergesen took the loss on Wednesday as he gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings. Jeff Neimann won the game for Tampa as he went five innings and only gave up two runs.
The Orioles got hit by the injury bug again as Adam Jones hit a sure double to right field in the second inning that drove in a run; however, he had trouble running to first, and was pulled from the game a minute later due to a sore hamstring. It is unknown if Jones will go the disabled list, but with Luke Scott ailing with a bad shoulder, and Pie being out sick — food poisoning, although he was summoned to play after Jones went out Wednesday — the outfield situation is definitely in flux.
Also,Ty Wigginton hit his second home run — a solo shot — in the fourth inning.
However, I guess the big news coming from yesterday is the callup of Nolan Reimold.
The kid has been part of the organization for a while, and there’s been a lot expected of him, but only recently lived up to the promise based on his hot start in Norfolk. I saw Reimold down in Florida and thought he would be in the majors soon enough, but sometimes out of necessity comes opportunity, therefore, I hope he makes an impact in Baltimore and makes the decision hard to send him back down — if it comes to that.
Here’s what Peter Schmuck notes about him and his potential role when it comes to the organization’s future:
Reimold has been one of the hottest hitters in all of minor league baseball, and leaves Norfolk with a .394 batting average, nine homers and 27 RBI in just 31 games. He also was one of the Orioles’ top hitters in the spring before he was optioned out. If he hits the ground running in Kansas City, it could create a dilemma for the Orioles as they reconfigure the roster to make room for starting pitcher Rich Hill and maybe top prospect Matt Wieters.
I’ll be looking forward to seeing Reimold this weekend, as well, if we see Wieters (I don’t think that will happen) or Hill (more likely) somehow find themselves in the black and orange while in Kansas City — there could be a lot to look forward to.
