OK so first things first, I don't actually think it's a new season, same S. But when the game ended my friend Andrew sent me a text message and that's all it said. So your headline is a shout out to him. Hi Andrew! Anyway, on to the game.
The entire Orioles offense tonight was made up of three solo home runs. Luke Scott, Adam Jones, and Matt Wieters took James Shields deep to account for the three Oriole runs. Adam Jones in particular had a great night, falling just a triple short of the cycle. Wieters and Izturis also had two hits. Nick Markakis also reached base three times with a double and two walks. Didja hear that, O'sFan21? Two walks!
Kevin Millwood....well he pitched five decent innings. He gave up 1 run through five and he didn't look too bad. He didn't look too bad, that is, until the sixth inning. Evan Longoria greeted Millwood in that inning by absolutely crushing a solo home run to left field. Back to back singles by Carlos Pena and Longoria and that was it for Millwood. He left a mess for Matt Albers, but Phat Albers induced a GIDP by Pat Burrell and struck out Sean Rodriguez to save Millwood's hide. Will Ohman and Jim Johnson both had perfect outings, and then came Mike Gonzalez.
Mike Gonzalez, you might remember, was the biggest FA acquisition of the off-season. Two years, $12M . I'm not saying Gonzalez is a bust, far from it, but he didn't exactly make a great first impression. Coming into the inning with a one run lead, Gonzalez struck out Pat Burrell before giving up a single to Sean Rodriguez and a double to pinch hitter Kelly Shoppach. With one out and the winning run on second, the Orioles opted to walk Jason Bartlett to create a force out at home. Not a bad idea in theory, but Carl Crawford was at the plate and didn't care much for the Orioles plans. He lined a ball to right field to score both Pena and Crawford and give the Rays their first win of the year on a walk off.
What a letdown. I thought the O's had this one in the bag.
Not a letdown, however, was getting to watch the game with a few Camden Chatters. PhilR8, UH-60, Gregory O, Eat More Esskay, Andrew @ TLC, and Jobe all joined me in scenic Dundalk for the game. It was a really fun time and we should definitely plan more get togethers in the future.
The O's do it all again tomorrow with Jeremy Guthrie taking the mound against Matt Garza (gulp). Game time is 7:10 p.m.