Baltimore Orioles lose to Toronto Blue Jays after late charge at Rogers Centre – MLB News
Baltimore Orioles suffered from a late charge by the Toronto Blue Jays as the home team was able to score four runs in the last innings pitched by closer Jim Johnson to win 6-5 on Sunday, May 26, in front of
a 28,502 strong crowd at the Rogers Centre.
It was a game that the birds controlled from the word go and weren’t far away from bagging in the last innings when Jim gave away four hits and a walk to allow Blue Jay to end the series levelled at two apiece.
The loss certainly hurt the manager of the Orioles, Buck Showalter, but he is not willing to ponder over it for too long. Buck is aware that they now have to concentrate on the next games to come and it is best
to forget about the loss.
"We'll pack up our bags and head on to the next challenge," Showalter said. "I don't dwell on those things. We try not to live in that world."
Jim Johnson himself is very disappointed by the performance he gave in the game which he believes should have ended in a win. He feels that the result hurts and it should do that.
"We should be getting on the plane with three wins here, but I can't hang my head too long," said Johnson. "It's going to hurt for a little bit, and it should."
Matt Wieters, the Orioles’ catcher, felt that it was not entirely the fault of the famed closer and felt that the hitters did a pretty good job too in getting away pitches that are never easy to dispatch.
"I think when he got into some deeper counts and some hitter's counts, it allows them to hit some better pitches," Wieters said. "A 94-mph sinker is never going to be easy to hit, no matter where it is. They
were able to get the barrel on it and find some holes."
The scoring started in the second innings when Matt Wieters registered an RBI double and was followed by a Danny Valencia groundout RBI.
The Toronto ballclub chipped away some of the lead in the fourth. An Adam Jones homer in the seventh made it a 3-1 ballgame. Another run by Blue Jays made it a one-run game in the eighth.
A two-run RBI double gave the O’s a three-run lead which Johnson was unable to defend in an indifferent bottom of the ninth innings effort. This was Jim’s fourth blown save in five attempts, something that may
worry the Orioles a touch.
Brian Matusz had an excellent night with the ball as he only gave away a single run in nearly six innings. Reliever Tommy Hunter had a got outing as well.
The Orioles remain in a decent position in the American League East at the moment. However, it is important that they do not miss such opportunities to win in order to remain firmly on track to make it to the
post-season.
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