Who stood out in the Orioles’ 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night?
In the spirit of hockey’s “three stars” system with the addition of home plate for honorable mentions and other notes, we go around the bases after the 98th game of the 2016 season.
1st — Yovani Gallardo continued the run of good work from the starting rotation as he turned in his best performance of the season. Allowing only two runs and five hits while striking out a season-high six over 6 2/3 innings, Gallardo said after the game that he’s trying to be more aggressive in the strike zone and it appears to be working as he’s pitched into the seventh in each of his last two outings. He effectively used the cutter and had good command of all of his pitches, getting eight swinging strikes and walking only two over the course of the night. Gallardo lowered his home ERA to 3.33 in five starts and gave the Orioles a chance to win on a night when they struggled to score against Colorado’s Jorge De La Rosa.
2nd — Adam Jones scored the winning run on an error by Rockies pitcher Jordan Lyles, but there wouldn’t have been extra innings had it not been for the center fielder driving in the other two Orioles runs. His single to right scored the first run of the game in the second inning while his grounder to short in the seventh plated the tying run. Some might ask why Jones broke home on a comebacker to the mound in the bottom of the 10th inning, but manager Buck Showalter said he did exactly what he was supposed to do. With runners at the corners and one out, the runner at third is instructed to run on any moderately-hit grounder to try to deter the defense from otherwise turning an inning-ending double play. Jones’ second-inning RBI moved him ahead of Rafael Palmeiro and into sole possession of seventh place on the Orioles’ all-time RBI list with 702.
3rd — Zach Britton made his fifth appearance in the last six days and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning against the heart of the Rockies lineup, striking out Carlos Gonzalez and Trevor Story in the process. The Orioles closer hasn’t surrendered an earned run over his last 34 appearances dating back to May 5. He lowered his season ERA to a remarkable 0.63 and continues an incredible season.
Home — Mychal Givens took over for Gallardo with two outs in the seventh and retired four in a row. Two were left-handed batters, who entered Monday hitting .385 with a 1.080 on-base plus slugging percentage against him this season. … Chaz Roe stranded the potential go-ahead run in scoring position in a scoreless 10th inning and earned his first victory of the season. … The Orioles improved to a season-high 18 games above .500 and increased their lead in the American League East to 2 1/2 games. … Baltimore is now 4-2 in extra-inning games this season. … Jonathan Schoop hit his 28th double of the season and is now just two shy of Manny Machado for the club lead. … Making his return after a six-game absence due to a bruised right foot, Matt Wieters went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. … Playing his second rehab game at Double-A Bowie on Monday night, Hyun Soo Kim went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and could be activated from the disabled list on Tuesday, the first day he’s eligible to return. … In search of their sixth straight win, the Orioles will send Chris Tillman to the hill on Tuesday night while Colorado hands the ball to right-hander Chad Bettis.
