Game 1. Rays 1, Orioles 2
Record: 53-40
Attendance: 22,596. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Game 2. Rays 12, Orioles 4
Record: 54-40
Attendance: 24,810. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Payback was indeed a bitch in the first game of Saturday's day-night double header against the Orioles as the Rays went from Friday night's 16-run, 20-hit assault to one run on three hits. They got another good performance from prized rookie Brendan McKay, but it was wasted when the Rays couldn't get their bats in motion. He left with a 1-0 lead after five innings and 86 pitches. Colin Poche looked good in his inning and a third until he gave up a two-run homer to Stevie Wilkerson, and suddenly he had a blown save and a loss to add to his resume.
The Orioles had made a statement. The Rays went into the three-hour between-game break with a lot to think about.
But then game 2 began, and suddenly it was Friday night all over again: 12 runs, 15 hits, including six homers. Michael Brosseau hit two of them, as did the smokin' hot Nate Lowe. The other homers came from Yandy Diaz and Tommy Pham. And the recipient of this long-ball largesse was All Star pitcher Charlie Morton, who improved his record to 11-2 (six innings, two runs, six hits, one walk, and six K's). His ERA is a sweet 2.35.
As bad as the Orioles are this year, they still drew 47,406 fans split between the two games. St. Pete and Tampa have too many retirees and snowbirds to support the team at this level. The retirees and snowbirds have their own lifetime habit of rooting for their former hometown teams. The Rays haven't been able to crack that mentality, though they came close once upon a time when Joe Madden was beloved by the senior population--and then left them in the lurch when he abandoned the area and earned his nickname, Traitor Joe. And now we have Montreal breathing down our necks.
No comments:
Post a Comment