Every team has a clunker but when Ubaldo Jimenez has those
clunkers they are harder to watch than most. Ubaldo stats off well with a walk
in the first that is erased by a double play then two strikeouts in a clean
second inning. Then, in the third inning he just seemed to lose his release
point walking the bases loaded then gives up a ground rule double to John Jaso,
all with no outs. If that was unbearable enough Ubaldo then walks Nick Punto to
re-load the bases and after getting Josh Donaldson to ground in to a fielders
choice Brandon Moss launches a grand slam to make the score 6-0 Athletics
leaving Ubaldo’s final line at 2.1 innings pitched 6 runs allowed to go along
with 5 walks and 2 hits allowed. This is not the line you want from a pitcher
that you’ve invested 50 million dollars in but hopefully Ubaldo will get it
together. Brad Brach came in and wasn’t much better, possibly because he
already had to go in and pitch three plus innings in relief of Tillman when he
went one inning against Texas. Brach allowed 4 more runs and 5 more walks in
two innings of relief, giving the Orioles their highest walk total since 2008.
After Brach TJ McFarland actually came in and pitched well to save the rest of
the pen for Boston with 4.2 innings of relief allowing one run and only one
walk compared to ten in the first 5 innings.
The offence really couldn’t solve Scott Kazmir who went 7
innings allowing 4 hits 2 walks and racking up 7 strikeouts. There were a few
chances like when Nick Markakis got a hit in the first inning to extend his
hitting streak to 13 games but then was erased by a double play. Then in the
second there were singles by Nelson Cruz and Steve Pearce but nothing came of
it. The excitement of the game came from Manny Machado and sadly it wasn’t
involving him getting hits. There were two times that he hit Derek Norris on
his back swing then when Fernando Abad threw around Machado’s knees Manny
retaliated by throwing his bat causing the benches to clear for the second time
in as many nights. Even Buck had difficulty-defending Manny after the game
saying, “If you look at it realistically, it was two competitive guys. Both
were probably a little right and a little wrong” referring to Friday, “Two days
later somebody decided to do something else. I’ll manage my club accordingly
and they’ll live with their decisions.” Manny will probably end up being
suspended for around 5 games for the incident and he should just take the
suspension rather than appealing so he can be on the field when it counts. The
Orioles were able to scratch across a run in the eighth inning with Chris Davis
getting a bases loaded walk off of Ryan Cook.
Video of Machado's Bat throw
This is one of those games that you just want to forget. The
inability to get outs made me feel like I was watching the pre 2012 Orioles who
couldn’t put together a winning season.
The player of the game was Scott Kazmir who continued his career
resurgence after being in independent baseball 2 years ago.
Preview to
Tomorrow:
The Orioles will start a big series against the Red Sox
sending their resident bulldog Bud Norris (4-5, 4.41 ERA) against Jake Peavy
(1-3, 4.72 ERA). This is a big series and the Orioles need to win against the struggling
Red Sox to gain momentum going into a series vs. the division leading Blue Jays.
Remember
that if you like what you've read to follow me @Chuck_Yeaa on twitter to
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chuck. We're also looking for guest writers so let me know if you're
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