Baltimore 6, Tampa 0
Box Score / Play-By-Play / AP Recap
Baltimore climbed back in the win column off the strength of Brad Bergesen's best start of the year. Bergie went the distance, using just 105 pitches and facing just five over the minimum while shutting-out the divisional leaders. His two-seamer was at its best, and the Rays hitters struggled all day to square-up the pitch. Offensively, the O's got all they needed in the first when Vlad Guerrero doubled home Derek Lee with two outs. Adding some cushion in the mid-innings were Jake Fox and Mark Reynolds, who found the left and right field stands, respectively, prompting me to immediately switch to the weather channel to confirm my suspicions. In all seriousness, it was an enjoyable game and the Birds put together nine solid innings of baseball.
Stat of the game
23.1%
That's Adam Jones's linedrive percentage through the first two weeks of May. He was 2-4 in Saturday's action, including a walk and his sixth double of the year, raising his triple-slash line to .285/.331/.453 on the year.
Orioles Game ball
Bradley Bergesen (9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, W (1))
MiLB game balls
Norfolk (Box) - Ryan Adams, 2b (1-3, 2B (9), 2 BB)
Bowie (Box) - Ronnie Welty, RF (2-4, HR (7))
Frederick (Box) - Tyler Kolodny, DH (1-4, 2B (9))
Delmarva (Box) - Jonathan Schoop (2-4, 3B (3), HR (5))
Three Morning Links - Draft Edition
DiamondScape Scouting thinks Baltimore should take Dylan Bundy (Owasso HS, Owasso, Okla.) in the first round of next month's draft.
Baseball America projects Jed Bradley (rhp, Georgia Tech) to be Baltimore's pick at 1:4.
Keith Law weighs-in, claiming Trevor Bauer (rhp, UCLA) lands with the Birds (ESPN Insider content).
Up Next
Jake Arrieta (3.81 xFIP, 96 ERA+) takes the hill for Baltimore in the rubber match against Tampa and Andy Sonnanstine (5.06 xFIP, 132 ERA+).
I think what is especially of interest in the draft links is that even with the first four picks, there is basically little idea of who is taking who less than a month from the draft. Mock drafts are interesting in how they discuss what teams typically look for and what the top prospects are as players, but are limited beyond that.
ReplyDeleteI do think the best case scenario is the Pirates taking Rendon, Mariners taking Starling, Dbacks bypassing Cole, and the Orioles taking Cole. I would give that a minimal chance from occurring. I don't see much of a situation where even an injured Rendon slips past the Dbacks with them having a pick a few selections later and an abundance of pitching available.