Baltimore Orioles beat Washington Nationals 2-0 to take Battle of the Beltways – MLB News
Baltimore Orioles took the battle of the Beltways, as they beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 at the Camden Yards on Thursday, May30, 2013, to win three of the four games played between the two closely located
rivals. The victory was witnessed by a nearly 31,000 crowd.
The scoring pattern was in complete contrast to the previous high-scoring game. It was a game where none of the sides was able to entirely run away with the ballgame and it was perhaps the pitching excellence
of veteran pitcher, Freddy Garcia, which helped the birds secure the win. Freddy threw down eight scoreless innings with just three hits.
The pitcher was pleased with the outcome but is not willing to take anything for granted. He knows that he has an opportunity to pitch and he intends to make full use of it.
"I don't take it for granted," Garcia said. "Every five days I take the mound, I'm glad they gave me the opportunity to be here and pitch."
Buck Showalter, the manager for the Orioles thought that the game was fun to watch.
"It was fun to watch," said Showalter.
Buck said he considered giving the pitcher a go in the last innings as well but decided against in eventually.
“I got to tell you, I considered running him out there in the ninth. He's not going to sweat any more than he already is. Man, he had a great lather going tonight. I think he changed shirts two or three times,"
Showalter said.
The dominance of the pitcher in the game can be observed by the fact that he once retired 14 batters without a hit in the game. The pitcher himself had lost count of how many were unable to get a hit of him.
Right fielder, Nick Markakis, who got one of the two runs batted in, was amazed by the performance by the 36-year-old. He compared him to a strong bulldog.
"You can't say enough about him. He was a bulldog out there,” Markakis said.
Third baseman, Manny Machado, too had some kind words for him as he thought that the pitcher had brought his A game and did a spectacular job.
"Today, he had his 'A' game on, got ahead and pitched a very great game," Machado said.
For the second consecutive game, Jim Johnson was given the opportunity to close and he did not blow it. Jim seems to be getting his relatively shattered confidence back.
The win leaves the Orioles two and a half games behind the Boston Red Sox who are currently at the top of the American League East. The second spot is half a game away from the birds.
It was indeed a great win that gave the Orioles their fifth win out of the last seven ballgames. The momentum is there for the O’s and a continuation of the good work can help their cause a lot.
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