Jeremy Hellickson wins his 3rd straight game as Tampa Rays edge past Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles faced an unpleasant defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday in their last match of the 3 game series. Both teams were on even terms and they’re pursuit for the winner hit a bumpy road.
The Rays were looking to come out of the series on top. Their title ambitions for the Eastern Division have come in conflict with the New York Yankees. Both teams are looking for a way to oust the other in the race, hoping of not only attaining the trophy, but securing a shot at the playoffs. Since the injury of pitchers like Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann, the ball club has gone to great lengths to cement a potential ace backup. One of those is none other than the sensational, Jeremy Hellickson. Having won 2 straight games, the quick learner has already made a good number of fans already.
Yesterday proved to be the night for the ball thrower once again as Hellickson shut the Orioles out with a 3-2 win against the Rays. The versatile change up ball thrower became the first pitcher for the Tampa Bays’ to win his first three games in a row. The ball player pitched 97 times in his 6 innings of play and managed to strike out 5 players. In the process, he allowed 3 hits, 1 run and 1 walk. He came off with an Earning Runs Average of 1.35. Jeremy also became the first player since 1920 to allow three or less hits with a run in each of his first three games.
Compared to Jeremy, Baltimore Orioles’ start pitcher, Jake Arrieta, also pitched for 6 innings, but threw the ball 114 times. The player allowed 6 hits, 3 runs and 3 walks, while striking out 2 players. Unfortunately for the visitors, the support from Tropicana Field was unfriendly and that may have been the case for added pressure behind the team’s performance.
The Rays took advantage of their 29,654 strong fan support at home to bolster their efforts against their opponents as the ball club took the series 2-1 to clinch the advantage over the Yankees, who lost their game last night.
The Orioles began the session with batting duties. However, they were unable to do anything in the top 1st. The Rays moved into action as Carl Crawford bashed Arrieta for a 403 feet homer down the right centre in the bottom 1st. This brought up the first run for the home team and things were looking great as the match prolonged with Hellickson providing cover. However, all that changed in the top 2nd as Baltimore responded with Lee Scott clearing the last base. The third baseman got his chance when Felix Pie hit a sacrifice fly to the centre.
The Tampa Rays would get back on the scoring sheet as the bottom 3rd approached. John Jaso scored this time from Crawford’s Runs Batted In (RBI) single to the left centre. Ben Zobrist scored next as Matt Joyce boomed a double to the deep right, giving the basemen an opportunity to move forward. The innings ended with the score tally on 3 Tampa Bay-1 Baltimore. A chance to deduct the lead would only come in the top 7th as Jake Fox smashed a homer to the right off Jeremy Hellickson’s replacement, Dan Wheeler.
The final score of the fixture was 3 Rays-2 Orioles. The match was closed down by the relievers in both teams at the end. With no concessions, the Tampa Bay club secured a vital win for their ongoing campaign to dominate the league and make it to the playoff finals.
One must wonder how much potential does Jeremy Hellickson has because his role proved detrimental for the opponents on Sunday. Things however will look easier on the Tampa Bay manager John Madden as he looks to guide his team forth in a positive way.
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