Baltimore Orioles beat Houston Astros 3-1 to win series at Minute Maid Park – MLB news
Baltimore Orioles got the better of Houston Astros by a margin of 3-1 to win the three game series 2-1 on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at the Minute Maid Park.
It was not a high scoring affair and both teams pitched well to keep the opposing batters in check. Miguel Gonzalez was the starting pitcher for the birds as he recorded his third win for the season. Generally very reliable Bud Norris recorded a rare home
loss for the Astros, mainly due to lack of production from the offense.
Jim Johnson appeared to be his usual self as he was able to record his 20th save of the season, his fifth consecutive one.
The Astros got on the board courtesy of a sacrifice fly by J.D. Martinez in the bottom of the first innings. However, they were unable to score again in the game.
The Orioles got their runs in the fourth innings. The scoring got underway with an Adam Jones RBI double. It was followed by an RBI single by J.J. Hardy who went 4-for-4 in the game.
A wild pitch by Bud Norris saw Chris Dickerson score to allow the Orioles a two-run lead. The score line did not change for the rest of the game.
Buck Showalter, the manager for the Orioles, was pleased by the performance by the veteran shortstop. He said that he has made all the accomplishments in his career and he is someone who likes to win.
“He's just so steady,” Showalter said. “He likes to win. He's at the stage in his career where he's had the individual accomplishments and he's established himself as a quality shortstop. He doesn't tolerate the things that aren't conducive to winning.”
Hardy himself was pleased by the outcome as he knows the importance of winning. He felt that it was important to win on the road.
“It's big anytime you can win a series,” said. Hardy. “It's a long season, so that's the goal. It's nice to do it on the road.”
J.J. felt that his three ground balls were not the most glamorous of results but he will take them.
“I hit three ground balls that happened to get hits,” Hardy said. “It's not something that I make a huge deal out of, but I'll take them.”
The Orioles have generally struggled in the last games of the series but the trend also shows that they perform better when they are in a series deciding ballgame.
The Orioles are currently a couple of games away from the American League East leaders Boston Red Sox. A continuation of performance in such a consistent manner will certainly help the team in achieving the pole position.
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