Despite a wild start to this one, the Orioles got an outstanding effort from the bullpen and center fielder Adam Jones, as they held on to defeat the Rays, 7-5.
Starter Mark Hendrickson lasted only two innings after surrendering five runs, but Brian Bass entered in the third and pitched four scoreless innings to bridge the gap to the later innings. Danys Baez, Jim Johnson, and George Sherrill each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the victory.
Adam Jones sparked the offense with two home runs and drove in four runs. The 23-year-old center fielder continues to be among the league leaders in batting average (.363) and leads the club with eight home runs.
Left fielder Felix Pie left the game in the fourth inning and was taken to the hospital with a stomach ailment. If Pie is unable to recover for tomorrow’s game, the club will only have a two-man bench with Luke Scott unavailable until the start of the Kansas City series. In case you were wondering, Nolan Reimold hit another home run for Triple-A Norfolk tonight.
All in all, not a bad ballgame despite the sloppy start for both teams.
The Orioles will go for the two-game sweep tomorrow night before leaving town on a 10-game road trip. The Orioles will send rookie Brad Bergesen to the hill against Tampa Bay right-hander Jeff Niemann.
A reminder that WNST will be at Donna’s Tavern in Dundalk tomorrow night for the Coors Light King of Baltimore Sportstalk Competition semifinals. Please come out and join us, and I thank the WNST audience for all of its support throughout the competition!
