Somewhere, thereโs a Bob Hope like joke here somewhere. Ya know, โWhat the only thing worse than watching two last place teams play for nine innings?โ
Of course, deadpanned: โWatching them play for 12 innings.โ
But thatโs what I did tonight as the Orioles and Nationals pitching staffs combined to duel well into the night in a 2-2 deadlock until Adam Jones hit a two-run double, improbably scoring pitcher Danys Baez who also vultured the victory in Washington D.C.
Nolan Reimold got the โBattle of The Beltwayโ started with a homer in the first inning off of rookie starter Jordan Zimmerman but that was all of the offense the Oโs could manage before the 12th inning.
Oโs starter Rich Hill was decent, going 5 2/3 innings and allowing just three hits although he walked four Nats as well. Manager Dave Trembley used four members of the bullpen โ Matt Albers, Jim Johnson, Baez and George Sherrill โ so there will be an extra tax for the extra baseball tonight.