Put one in the W column

by Scott Christ on Apr 3, 2006 8:37 PM EDT in News & Rumors

Opening Day win for the O's, 9-6 over the Devil Rays with four homers, one each from Tejader, Mora, Matos and Niner.

Some notables:

After eight straight losing seasons, it took the Orioles exactly eight minutes into this game to start losing in the top of the first.

Roddy Lopez didn't look very good, but he got help. Over seven innings, he scattered seven hits and gave up six runs, five earned.

Chris Ray got his first major league save.

The lineup was interesting. Roberts on top, Matos in the two-hole, followed by Melvin, Miggy, Gibby, Millar, Conine, Javy and Ramon. I like the top four. I'm not wild about Millar and Conine back-to-back. Reeks of Sosa/Palmeiro last year.

That said, Millar was 2-for-4 with an RBI double in his Oriole debut. Ramon was 3-for-3 with two RBI and a walk.

I love Opening Day, and wins.

Alright, I'm heading out tonight, and Zachary Knower will be taking over from here until next week. Enjoy the opening week!

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Comments

I smell a sweep!

Watch out D-Rays, fourth place belongs to the O's!

"We're so bad right now that for us back-to-back home runs means one today and another one tomorrow" Earl Weaver

by Larry Bigbie3 on Apr 3, 2006 9:59 PM EDT reply actions

that's four straight against the d-rays...

dating back to last season.

by zknower on Apr 3, 2006 10:07 PM EDT reply actions

Homers

Matos' and Mora's homers were the first back to back home runs on opening day since 1973. They showed who did it on the jumbo-tron, but I got too drunk to remember who. Anybody?

That was a hell of a game to attend! And the rain held off long enough for us to have perfect weather. All is well with the world.

Except when I got home I found that my dog shat EVERYWHERE. And I've got wall to wall. Anybody want a slightly used dog? Or a backup outfielder?

by BleedingOrange on Apr 3, 2006 11:29 PM EDT reply actions

Patterson

is scaring Matos into hitting

PLay like you want it, Live like you need it

by merdon1332000 on Apr 4, 2006 3:33 AM EDT up reply actions

Back-to-back

1973 was Brooks-Baylor. Interesting tidbit.

by punkrawka on Apr 4, 2006 6:16 AM EDT up reply actions

Mora...

also hit a homer on opening day last year, making him one of only two Orioles (the other being Frank Robinson) to homer on consecutive opening days. Nice.

by rebop on Apr 4, 2006 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Matos, not Mora..

According to AP.

Chuck Norris sleeps with a night light, not because Chuck Norris is afraid of the dark, but because the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris.

by CStoneNo37 on Apr 4, 2006 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Doh!

I meant Matos, not Mora.

by rebop on Apr 4, 2006 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Thoughts

I was at the game last night, so here were a few thoughts from the stands....

Rodrigo Lopez looked like junk yesterday. But he got the W (which he seems to be remarkably good at).
Even though Conine hit that late homer, he looked completely foolish on those first two at-bats. If we're really going to give this guy everyday at-bats, we need to put him in the 8-hole and move Javy up a spot.
Putting in Markakis as a defensive replacement for his MLB debut was lame. Perlozzo should've just waited and started him tomorrow. The kid got a good ovation, though.
LaTroy Hawkins and Chris Ray sure looked good. Hopefully that part of our bullpen (the important part) will be sturdy this year.
Someone needs to tell Kevin Millar that he can't run the bases like that anymore.

I think that's about it. It was good to see our bats going so crazy, but here's hoping that our pithing improves so that we can win with less than 9 runs/game. Otherwise it's gonna be a long season.

by punkrawka on Apr 4, 2006 7:46 AM EDT reply actions

My thoughts...

The outcome terrific, the early part of the game looked remarkably like any game from July to the end of the year last year.
I thought the most impressive part of the day was the new found patience that the hitters..Gibby in particular..showed against Kazmir. He had thrown 60 pitches thru 2 innings, and ended up over 100 in 4 innings plus. No way that happened last year.
All four homers were hit with 2 strikes on the batter..and Matos' was on a 0-2 mcount!
Matos so-called throw to home in the first on the sac fly was HORRIBLE!
LaTroy was dominating, and Ray looked nervous..until that first fly ball died in front of the warning track..then he settled down.
Roddy was a battler..as usual...and got lazy on the Lee homer. He was ok on the corners, but everything seemed to be up up up. Mazzone needs to work on his mechanics.
All in all, a good game to see, lots of fireworks..and a W for the sixth strait year.

"What's my secret for winning? That's easy. Pitching, defense, and three run homers" Earl Weaver

by elktonfan on Apr 4, 2006 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Opening Days are great

Unfortunately, it's the other 161 games the Orioles typically have trouble with.

Orioles' Rebuilding Plan: Phase 1: Steal Underwear. Phase 3: Win the World Series.

by BrianS on Apr 4, 2006 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Conine

Conine really did look confused in his first two at bats. And Millar should never ever make that turn for second unless it's a home run. Speed is not his gift. I like him on the team though.

by Mike Boehm on Apr 4, 2006 9:15 AM EDT reply actions

Matos

Hit a homer on opening day last year. We should just play him on opening day every year then bench him for the next 161 games.

Chuck Norris sleeps with a night light, not because Chuck Norris is afraid of the dark, but because the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris.

by CStoneNo37 on Apr 4, 2006 9:31 AM EDT reply actions

I think...

he actually went like another 100 games last year before he hit his 2nd!

"What's my secret for winning? That's easy. Pitching, defense, and three run homers" Earl Weaver

by elktonfan on Apr 4, 2006 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Millar

If Millar saw the third-base umpire signal fan interference, he knew he didn't have to hustle into second -- though when the Rays made a play on it anyway, he did pick up the pace just in case.

by jds1339 on Apr 4, 2006 2:21 PM EDT reply actions