Miguel Gonzalez leads Baltimore Orioles to 1-0 win against Tampa Bay Rays – MLB Update
Miguel Gonzalez produced a magical performance as the Baltimore Orioles shutout Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida in the finale of their three match series.
Credit should be given to the Orioles for showing great determination and fighting spirits in final two games of the series. After Tamp Bay secured a comprehensive 2-0 win in the opener, they were the favourites to win the series but Baltimore certainly
had different ideas.
Orioles’ rotation displayed some top quality throwing skills in Game 2 to shutout the Rays to level the series 1-1. Similar pattern of play was observed in the finale with Orioles’ pitchers making quick work of Rays’ hitters to set up another important win.
Gonzalez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking-out four to lower his ERA to 3.80. Relief pitcher Luis Ayala was awarded with the win after he struck-out one in a scoreless inning. Jim Johnson pitched the perfect tenth for his 32nd save.
"We have a great team ... we battle," Gonzalez said. "We're not going to give up. Keep working hard, getting better, and things are going to work out for us."
"I stayed within myself, and stayed confident," Gonzalez added. "Kept the ball down. I knew it was going to be a tough ballgame."
Rays’ starter David Price also used his sliders and fastballs very effectively but he was unable to grab the win. Price gave up just two hits in eight innings, striking-out five. Reliever Joel Peralta took the loss after he gave an RBI single to Baltimore’s
catcher Taylor Teagarden in the tenth.
"We were talking in the dugout that we had the right man in the right place," Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter said.
"Our guys did a lot of things well to make a difference in a real close game," Showalter said. "Well pitched on both sides."
With their win, the Orioles moved to second place on the American League East Division standings table and it will be interesting to see if they can continue their excellent form to win the World Series final after almost three decades.
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