San Jose, CA. After a convincing win over the 2008 Champion Pirates, the last thing the O’s wanted was to take a week off. However, any concerns about the O’s cooling off during the holiday weekend were quickly put to rest as the O’s faced a red-hot and undefeated Padres team this past Sunday. Unlike in their previous two wins, the Orioles did not have the big inning as they were not able to score more than two runs in any single inning. However, the O’s were able to apply constant pressure and had multiple runners on base virtually the entire game on their way to an 11 – 6 win.
The Orioles wasted little time in getting on the board as Chris Cooper drove a 3-2 pitch over the fence in left field with Frandsen on board after having reached on an error in the top of the first. Unfortunately for the O's the inning ended with a strong pick-off throw from Padres’ catcher that caught Zach Gudahl by surprise at second base. The pick-off proved costly to the O’s as Skipton (Skip), who was at bat when the first inning ended, led off the second inning by driving the inning’s first pitch over the center field wall. The solo HR gave the O’s a 3 – 0 lead after two innings. By the time the Padres were able to score their first run, the O’s enjoyed a 5 – 0 lead.
On the mound the O’s were able to keep the Padres’ hitter in check virtually the entire game. Chris Cooper pitched four innings of no-hit baseball striking out four. Skipton entered the game in the fifth inning in relief of Cooper and pitched the final five innings, striking out 3, and allowing no earned runs.
With a comfortable 9 – 1 lead in the sixth inning, the O’s defense got somewhat sloppy and the Padres were ready to jump on the opportunities the O’s gave them. A total of six errors in the inning allowed the Padres to mount a 5-run rally and close to within 9 – 6. Afterwards O’s spokesman, Al Spector, commented: “…that’s the sign of a good team, my friend. When things start getting loose in your machine you have to stiffen up the old rod, and tighten your nuts.”
After being held scoreless in the 7th inning, the O’s were able to provide themselves some breathing room by adding two additional insurance runs in the 8th.
Orioles’ skipper, Angelo Cordero, was relieved with the win. “This win was huge for us. We needed to come out here and come out with a win against a very tough opponent. The Padres have added a lot of new players in the off-season and are a very dangerous team. These are the games when you need to see your leaders step up, and that’s what we got today from guys like Coop (Cooper: 5-6, 7RBI 5R, 2 2B, HR), Skip (Skipton: 2-5, R, HR, RBI), Matt (Frandsen: 1-1, 5R, 2HBP, 2RoE), and Justin (Matsui: 3-5, R). “
The Orioles will now travel north to Fremont for two games against the Yankees next Sunday (7-June). These two rivals know each other very well, as they’ve fought some epic battles over the past few years. However, last year it was the Yankees that got the best of the series, as they ended the O’s season in the playoffs before getting swept themselves by the eventual champions, Pirates.
