Monday, April 1, 2019

Game #5 Baltimore Orioles (3-1) @Toronto Blue Jays (2-3) - game recap

David Hess threw 6.1 no-hit innings as the Orioles hung on (barely) to edge the Blue Jays 6-5

The Blue opened opened their second series of the season, facing their punching bag of 2018, the Baltimore Orioles. This start was originally supposed to go to lefty Clayton Richard, but he was unavailable due to a stress reaction in his knee that will see him miss a couple of weeks at minimum. Sean Reid-Foley got the spot start today and was looking to keep the early shutout streak by the starters going. Could the Blue Jays prevail? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:
  • The Orioles opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Jonathan Villar smacked an opposite field HR to right, also scoring ex-Blue Jay Dwight Smith Jr.
  • Four batters later, Chris Davis drew a bases loaded walk that forced in Trey Mancini
  • A batter later, Rio Ruiz scored on a wild pitch on a third strike that Danny Jansen couldn't handle
  • The Orioles added a run in the top of the 2nd as Cedric Mullins scored on a sac fly by Mancini
  • Sean Reid-Foley pitching line: 2IP 4H 5R (3 earned) 2BB 3K 52 pitches (32 for strikes)
  • The Orioles added a run as Mancini launched a solo shot to left-center
  • David Hess pitching line: 6.1IP 0H 0R 1BB 8K 82 pitches (50 for strikes)
  • The Blue Jays got on the board and broke the no-hit bid on a Randal Grichuk 2-run shot to left-center that also scored Justin Smoak
  • The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 8th on a Freddy Galvis solo shot to right
  • The Blue Jays got another run back in the bottom of the 9th on a Kevin Pillar sac fly that scored Brandon Drury
  • The next batter Teoscar Hernandez tripled home Grichuk
  • Final score: Orioles 6 Blue Jays 5
My Take:
  •  Sean Reid-Foley had a rough outing, allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits, a pair of walks. Reid-Foley struggled with his command from the get-go today, bouncing several pitches and throwing 2 wild pitches. He may or may not get another spot start. Thomas Pannone and Sam Gaviglio, the other two long relievers who would be considered in a pinch, were sharper today.
  • The most perplexing decision of the day occurred in the bottom of the 7th with one out. Orioles starter David Hess was cruising and had a no-hitter going. Hess reaches 82 pitches, gets the first batter of the inning (Billy McKinney) on a soft liner to shortstop. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde comes jogging out of the dugout and removes Hess after reaching a perceived pitching limit. Did I want to see Hess throw a no-hitter against the Blue Jays? Of course not. The point is, pitching counts are BS nowadays and if managers keep removing pitchers after throwing 90 pitches or so (average of 10/9 innings, there may be whole seasons where fans are denied seeing a perfect game or no-hitter. And another thing, how is it that pitchers of the 90's and early threw 125+ pitches and avoided injuries. I'll touch more on this in my random thoughts post. As a baseball fan, I feel bad for David Hess because the relievers were a swing away from blowing the entire 6 run lead. He can count his lucky stars that Teoscar Hernandez swing at a bad pitch to end the game
  • On a related note, the trend of poor approaches at the plate continued. The team struck out 10 times today, 4 of which were caught looking. If the pitch is close with two strikes against, you must swing at close pitches. You can't rely on the umpire to call a third strike. Several of the swinging strikes were obvious balls.
  • Danny Jansen had a rough day behind the plate with three wild pitches against. He was also 0-3 at the plate. On a positive note, he threw out a base runner.
  • Up next, the Blue Jays look to even the series and their record. Marcus Stroman takes the mound after a dominating opening day start of 7 shutout innings. The Orioles counter with veteran righty Andrew Cashner.