Baltimore Orioles overcome mighty Texas Rangers to reach playoffs – MLB Update
Baltimore Orioles’ Manager Buck Showalter will be extremely pleased with what he saw from his men in the American League Wild Card game against the Texas Rangers. The way that the Orioles’ handled the pressure situation during the contest is a dangerous
sign for other Major League Baseball teams.
Showalter and company dominated their American League rivals in almost all aspects of the game on Friday, October 5. Orioles’ pitching rotation, in particular, played a big part in deciding the outcome of the clash.
Starting pitcher Joe Saunders had one of the best nights of his careers as he gave up just six hits and one run in five plus sharp innings to lay the foundation of an impressive victory.
"With our team, it's just a bunch of guys that raised the bar and wouldn't give in and still haven't. Now they get a chance to win to roll the dice, and there's a lot of good card players in there," said Showalter.
"Real proud of everybody. Tacking on runs were big, knew they were going to run at you," Showalter said. "But just a real proud moment for us.”
Striking-out four batters, he showed the stuff he is capable of. Putting up a powerful performance against the best betting line-up in the American League says a lot about the kind of comfort level Orioles are feeling right now.
Relief pitchers Darren O’Day, Brian Matusz and Jim Johnson also made valuable contributions to help Orioles restrict their opponents to just one run. Showalter knows that Orioles’ fans want more out of this team. With Orioles making it to the playoffs, the
fans will be more passionate and they will not settle for anything less than a World Series title.
"We just didn't get it done," manager Ron Washington said. "I'm not stunned; I was right there watching it.”
"To be honest with you, I never thought anything like this would happen," Washington said.
One thing is for sure; the running season presents Baltimore with their best chance of clinching the World Series title. If they can continue their excellent work during the playoffs, surely they will be able to make their dreams come true.
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