Baltimore Orioles beat Cleveland Indians behind Brad Bergeson’s two-hitter
It’s fun being a Baltimore Orioles fan all of a sudden. Despite having the worst record in the Major Leagues and being without any chance of catching the Yew York Yankees in the American League Eastern Division, they’re winning again. And it’s not just your regular mid-season swoon. Since firing Dave Trembley and replacing him with Buck Showalter, the birds have gone 8-1, becoming the last team in the majors to hit the 40-win mark.
The only two hits starter Brad Bergesen (4-9) surrendered were to Luis Valbuena, a single with two outs in the fifth inning and to Asdrubal Cabrera, a single with two outs in the ninth. He also gave up a couple of walks and had four strikeouts. It was an economical performance by the right-hander, who pitched better as the game went on, retiring 12 straight batters in the late innings, and getting through the seventh and eighth on only 15 pitches. It was his first win in 13 starts and he’d lost seven in a row at one point (0-7 with a 6.65 ERA) – the second worst streak in the majors – leading to a two-week stint in the minors in June.
On the other side of the ledger, although Baltimore only scored three runs, they did have 13 hits, including a solo home run by Brian Roberts in the fifth inning off Josh Tomlin (1-2) who took the loss for Cleveland. Everyone in the Orioles lineup except catcher Matt Wieters got at least one hit, and ever Wieters managed to reach base via a base-on-balls.
Roberts home run came at the start of the inning, and followed a bunch of foul balls in a 12-pitch at bat. After having no home runs all season long – including 60 games on the disabled list – he now has two in just three games, mirroring the upturn in the fortunes of his team, and it came at a great time in the game, turning the momentum in Baltimore's favor. With the Orioles up by only a couple of runs in what was turning out to be a tight game, his blast gave them a three-run cushion.
Cleveland made a mini-fight back in the bottom half of the fifth. Designated hitter, Shelley Duncan walked and raced to second base on a Jordan Brown groundout to first base. A deep sacrifice fly to right by Matt LaPorta allowed Duncan to get to third base. Then Cleveland’s first hit of the game by Valbuena, a single to right field, chased Duncan home.
But that was to be all that Bergeson would allow, and the Orioles continue their march up the table with a lot of optimism for 2011 as they face some of the better teams – clubs that sent them scurrying during the first three months of the season. Each game is now a statement game: we're back!
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