Baltimore Orioles win over Toronto Blue Jays: End their 12 game skid with an 11th inning move
The Baltimore Orioles are on the rise. They are back to their winning ways and a recent win over the Toronto Blue Jays at their home ground set the right tempo for the series opener. The Orioles Park at Camden yards was not filled to the brim with supporters as there were just 9,882 fans in the stands. However, the hosts were challenged with the impregnable task to perform in the middle. With their current East Division rivals doing better than them in the American League, there was nothing to play for but pride.
The Baltimore Orioles had not beaten the Jays in their past 12 outings and this game provided the first opportunity for the team in this season. Much was owed to the Bullpen which provided cover for Brian Matusz who managed to pitch just one innings due to an injury on the back of his upper left arm. Marc Rzepczynski however was able to pitch 5 innings for Toronto before he was replaced following a bad run in the 7th innings. He conceded 6 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks in his 90 pitches.
The Blue Jays were the first ones to set their sights on the ball from the batting plate. However, they didn’t begin their scoring till Baltimore put their runs on the board. Much to the delight of their home town fans, which lacked in strength considerably, the home team got ahead first. Brian Roberts was the first one to punish the Blue Birds and he did so in style. Rzepczynski faced his first hit of the match in the bottom 1st. And it wasn’t just any hit, as Roberts dealt a massive smash to the regular pitcher, with a homer to the left. The event brought the team its starting run of the match and set the tempo up for the bout.
The fixture continued and it was the Orioles who scored again. This time round, it was Adam Jones who shinned for the hosts. He started off his bid for the run with a double to the deep right. He moved to the third base when Matt Wieters flied out to the right and gave ample room to the baseman to make his sprint down the diamond. The strong hitter finally got to his destination when Brandon Snyder reached on infield single to third, getting Jones through for the 2nd score of the team in the bottom 2nd. The Jays didn’t muster up enough energy till the top 6th when Edwin Encarnacion brought the fight to the Baltimore side with a stylish homer to the left. This move got the visitors to a much needed run in the innings. The scores still favoured the hosts 2-1.
Baltimore however, got back into the lead with an extension. This time, it was Shawn Camp, whose bad pitching form got the best of him with a loose pitch hit in the bottom 7th. Nick Markakis was the man to deliver and he started off with an infield single from a shot to the second. Ty Wigginton then got the player to the second base with an infield single of his own. From there on it was Camp who damaged the team’s efforts. He delivered a wild pitch and got the basemen to run up a base on the diamond. It was finally Jones who got the ball to work for his team as he was hit by a pitch. That move got Markakis through for Orioles 3rd of the game.
Adam Lind and Mike McCoy, however, were in no mood to give the under dogs an easy victory as the duo made their mark on the fixture for the Blue Jays with sprints to the last base from Yunel Escobar’s single to the centre in the top 8th. The teams were at par with each with other with Baltimore 3-Toronto 3. The win, however, finally came, courtesy of Luke Scott who made his name with a single to the centre to get Markakis through the last checkpoint for his second of the game. The hosts won the fixture well, beating their superior rivals 4-3.
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