Baltimore Orioles edge Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 – MLB Spring Training
Baltimore Orioles showed great determination, mental strength and fighting abilities as they edged past the Pittsburgh Pirates in a competitive Grape Fruit League encounter of 2012 Spring Training.
In the game played at Ed Smith Stadium in Florida on Friday, March 1, the Orioles displayed some top quality baseball skills to outclass their opponents in finer details of the game. Orioles’ pitching rotation in particular showed nerves of steel as the
pitchers held their nerves in pressure situations to help their side prevail in a nail biting contest.
Not too many people expected the Orioles to read the playoffs last season. A lot of credit should be given to Manager Buck Showalter who used his resources to perfection last season to take Baltimore to the postseason. Although the Orioles were outplayed
by the New York Yankees n 2012 American League Divisional Series in 2012, their fans have high expectations from them in this season.
"I think everything from my standpoint right now is confidence-builders," said Orioles’ second baseman Brian Roberts, who drove in vital runs for his team.
"To know your bat speed is still there, that you can still do things you used to be able to do when you haven't played in a little while. So, it's not necessarily all result-driven by any means but certainly, to be able to square balls up consistently and
drive balls, I think so far that's been a positive."
"You can tell that Brian enjoys being back in the flow, but you also know it's very early," Showalter said.
Starting pitcher Jason Hammel had a big impact on the game as he pitched two solid innings. Relief pitcher B Kline also showed great control and accuracy as he pitched the perfect ninth to save his second straight game this Spring Training. Surely, he will
be looking to keep up the good work.
Pirates, on the other hand, will be disgusted with their loss. Despite putting up a strong fight, Clint Hurdle and company were unable to find winning ways. It will be interesting to see if they can learn from their mistakes to give more consistent results
during the regular season.
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