Mr. Consistent Nick Markakis helps Baltimore Orioles beat Blue Jays 3-2 with walk-off single
The Baltimore Orioles were able to get back into the second spot of the American League East as they edge past the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Monday, April 22, 2013 as Nick Markakis drove in the lead-off run with a bases loaded single.
The birds now stand at a 10-8 winning record and are 3-3 when it comes to single run games this season. Last year, single run games were a crucial reason why they performed well as they had a 29-9 record in those.
Nick Markakis has been going well and has a .319 batting average so far in the season. He has been delivering when it mattered most. He has so far been able to have 25 hits this season. He got the walk-off single with bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
Manager Buck Showalter was pleased with the performance from Nick and said that he is a competitor.
"He may not wear it on his sleeve, but there's a real fire in there," Showalter said. "He likes to compete.”
Catcher Matt Wieters was all praise for the right fielder and believes that Nick has all the weapons that are needed in order to deal with all kinds of pitches.
"The way he battles and the way he can hit any pitch, he's the right guy to have at the plate," Wieters said.
Chris Tillman had a good game as well and he almost threw down all of seven innings. He gave away two runs and was retired one out shy of completing the seventh.
Relieving pitcher Darren O’Day had a good day at the office as well as he threw down over a full inning without giving anything away.
The game went into the bottom of the ninth with the game tied 2-2 before Markakis and company got the better of the Blue Jays.
Nick was himself please with how the whole thing went. He liked the home advantage and the fact that his team was the last to bat since it gives the home team better awareness of the situation.
"That's the beautiful thing about home-field advantage," Markakis said. "You get the last out of the ballgame, and it came down to the last strike there. That was a big win, the first one [of the series], especially against a team like that."
It’s a good start by the Baltimore Orioles against the Toronto Blue Jays. They have so far had a decent amount of success both in home games as well as in away games.
The most important part though is that the team has been performing well as a unit. Should they continue in this manner, they can surely replicate last year’s success as well as improve upon it.
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