Thursday, May 1, 2014

Game #1 Same Old Bucs; Birds Win 5-1 - Second Game Lineup

Well, if the off days gave the Bucs a well needed rest, it didn't give them a fresh start. One big inning with some insurance for the Orioles and a 1-for-14 RISP performance by Pittsburgh, along with a pair of costly boots, gave the Bucs and Charlie Morton (0-4) yet another loss in the gloam of Baltimore.

The Pirates left runners on second and third in the first, a pair of runners on the pond four other times, and had a runner on second thrown out at third on a grounder to short while the bottom of Baltimore's order, Steve Pearce and Ryan Flaherty, each had a pair of RBI to go with Nick Markakis' first homer.

It was 1-0 going into the fifth, with the Bucs scoring in the third on a Pedro single before the wheels fell off. A single and a walk were followed by a sac bunt that Pedro one-hopped to first; Neil Walker couldn't come up with the pick, and a pair of ground ball singles made it 3-0. It's more than possible that Charlie Morton, who had been rolling, just sat too long after a 21-minute rain delay before the O's at-bat.

A Neil Walker muff was followed by a pair of singles in the sixth to make it 4-1, and Markakis' homer off Jeanmar Gomez provided the final run in the seventh.

Brandon Cumpton will go against Chris Tillman in the nightcap. The lineup: Travis Snider RF, Ike Davis 1B, Cutch CF, Pedro 3B, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Starling Marte LF, Clint Barmes SS and Chris Stewart C. Snider and Davis one-two? Ask Clint, because we don't have a clue why. The game will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

We are a bit surprised that the Bucs, allowed to call up a 26th man, didn't bring up LH Andrew Lambo for the day. We're supposing Clint wanted to give Gaby the at-bats.

EDIT - the teams are in yet another rain delay between games.
  • Pedro went 3-for-5, while Cutch and Starling Marte each went 2-for-3 with a walk.
  • Tony Sanchez's eight game hitting streak ended. 
  • This was Steve Pearce's first game back with Baltimore after being DFA'ed and re-signed. He had three hits and two RBI against his old teammates.
  • This was the first time in six tries that the Orioles won  at Camden Yards after giving up the first score.
  • The appeals of the suspensions dealt out to Travis Snider (two games) and Russell Martin (one) after the Milwaukee brouhaha for will be heard next week.

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