San Jose, CA. The Orioles got back on the win column and evened their record with by demolishing the Pirates 24 – 5 this past Sunday (17-May-09). The Pirates, 2008 American Division Champions, were simply unable to mount any consistent offence against solid O’s pitching led by Chris Cooper and Ed Reyes. However, even more dramatic was the Pirates’ inability to contain the extremely volatile O’s offense. Orioles hitters combined for a total of 29 hits.
After holding the Orioles to a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, the Pirates wasted no time in getting a single, a triple and taking advantage of early-game jitters by O’s starting pitcher to take an early 2 – 0 lead. That would prove to be the last time the Champs saw the lead in this game, as the O’s responded with four runs in the top of the second. Consecutive singles by Chavez and Gudahl followed by a 2-RBI Single by De La O and aggressive base running by Matsui (who got on board after being hit by a pitch) gave the O’s a 4 – 2 lead.
After holding the Pirates scoreless in their half of the second inning, the O’s erupted for another huge inning in the top of the third. During the inning the O’s sent 19 hitters to the plate, had a total of 15 hits, and scored a total of 13 runs. For the second time in the last three games Chavez drove one over the fence in deep center, bringing two other runners with him. When all was said and done the O’s lead had ballooned to 17 – 2. The O’s added 4 more runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth.
After the game team spokesman, Al Spector, addressed the media with a few comments: “It’s good to get back on track. Good things happen with you play good fundamental baseball. We need to continue to stay thirsty. Now if you’ll excuse me I must go live vicariously through myself.” Manager, Angelo Cordero, followed up by saying: “Even though this was a non-division game, we needed to come out with a win here today. This win will definitely help us gain some momentum.”
The O’s now take a week off for Memorial Day. Their next game will be a single game against the Padres on May 31st.
