I gotta be honest this game revolved around 2 events for me: Shohei Ohtani at bats and Albert Pujols at bats. One disappointed and the other didn’t. Although I was happy to see the Orioles highest paid pitcher in club history perform better and get his ERA under 10, the game revolved around Ohtani and his ankle and Pujols’ chase for 3000.
It was a pitching duel through 8 innings as the only runs came on a Manny Machado errant throw and a Valbuena solo shot in the sixth. The bats weren’t there to help Cobb’s cause as the O’s only managed one hit through the first 8 innings. The return of DH Mark Trumbo did nothing to energize the O’s against his former club either.
It was fun to see Shohei Ohtani lace a double into the left field gap in the 4th. The dude is fast, shockingly fast. I really wish I had gotten to see him pitch because I was impressed by the way he hit and ran. Pujols however was not impressive. He is in the twilight of his career but he is a shell of his former self at the plate. I was a bit shocked at the utter indifference of the hometown fans to cheer on this first ballot hall of famer to get a revered milestone. Only 31 players have ever achieved the distinction before and it seemed few cared. I now wonder if I’ll get to see him hit 3k live.
I got a hot dog, which were still bland and boiled, and a “local” brew, Modelo, before game really got interesting in the 9th. O’s Mancini, Machado and Jones all had hits to tie up the game at 2 going into the bottom of the 9th. Much to my chagrin, the O’s interim closer Brad Brach didn’t get an out while loading the bases. The Angels expensive offseason addition, left fielder Justin Upton looped a single to left field to win the game, 3-2. The Orioles wretched season continued and Pujols is stuck on 2996.
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