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05-05-2003, 09:23 AM
Wow Eric DuBose pitched a great game!!!! Good for him! :thumbsup: I love that the crowd gave him a Standing O!!! Nice people down there in Bal'mer! :D He only allows 1 run in 6 1/3 innings!! Too bad the bullpen didn't seem to have it yesterday. And props to KC's pitching.
DuBose's rise cushions blow of fall to K.C.
Lefty allows three hits in first start, but Royals silence Orioles bats, 4-0; He returns to Ottawa with smile; Hot prospect nearly quit after 4 teams, arm surgery
By Joe Christensen
Sun Staff
Originally published May 5, 2003
Sometimes the brightest moments for a baseball franchise come in the dim light of defeat, and the Orioles felt like they had one of those yesterday at Camden Yards.
In the seventh inning of a 4-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals, Orioles manager Mike Hargrove went to the mound and patted starting pitcher Eric DuBose on the back five times.
DuBose, a former first-round draft pick who thought about retiring last season, had just turned in a dazzling performance in his first major league start. With a crowd of 26,890 giving him a standing ovation, he walked off the field without tipping his cap.
"I was trying not to smile," DuBose said. "We were getting beat [1-0], and I had no idea what to do. It meant a lot to me."
After splitting their first two games against the AL Central-leading Royals, the Orioles missed a chance to win another series before meeting the lowly Detroit Tigers again tonight.
DuBose helped temper the disappointment.
Making the most of a one-day audition, the left-hander allowed three hits in 6 1/3 innings. Mike DiFelice broke a scoreless tie with a bases-empty home run in the third, and that was the only time the Royals scored while DuBose was pitching.
The Orioles suffered their third shutout loss of the season and managed just seven hits against Royals pitchers Chris George (4-2), Jason Grimsley and D.J. Carrasco. They went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, with that lone hit coming when right fielder Desi Relaford lost Jeff Conine's sixth-inning single in the sun.
DuBose took the loss, but everything else about his day seemed like a gain. "He was absolutely outstanding," Hargrove said. "The key with Eric now is just staying healthy and waiting until a spot opens."
The Orioles sent DuBose back to Triple-A Ottawa after the game, as Hargrove had told him beforehand. With Rodrigo Lopez on the disabled list, the Orioles picked DuBose to make a spot start, but they will replace him on the roster today with Travis Driskill.
DuBose, who will turn 27 on May 15, has emerged as the organization's top starting pitching prospect. The Orioles want to give him regular work in Ottawa, and they believe Driskill is better suited for a long-relief role until Lopez returns.
"I wanted to make it a tough decision for them," DuBose said. "That was my goal."
To calm his pre-game jitters, DuBose made an early stroll to the bullpen and found an old friend waiting in the stands. Keith Dilgard was DuBose's teammate at Mississippi State in 1997, when they went to the College World Series, and the two hadn't seen each other since.
They talked before DuBose started warming up, but it would have been impossible to sum up the past six years in those brief moments.
After the Oakland Athletics selected him with the 21st overall pick in the 1997 draft, DuBose never made it past Double-A. The A's waived him, and so did the Cleveland Indians. He signed with Detroit, but in April 2001, he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff.
Some pitchers never recover from those injuries, and DuBose almost quit last May, when he was struggling for the Orioles at Double-A Bowie.
"I had like a 12.00 ERA," DuBose said. "I was doing a good job backing up third [base]. It crossed my mind [to quit] early in the year."
His wife, Emily, talked him out of it. He righted himself and made four appearances in relief with the Orioles last September. After pitching exclusively in relief since 1999, DuBose got another chance to start at Ottawa and went 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA before this one-day promotion.
Yesterday, DuBose made 108 pitches, 73 for strikes.
He threw his fastball from 86 to 92 mph, and kept hitters off-balance with a 77-mph changeup and 73-mph curve.
"He had an idea how to pitch," Royals third baseman Joe Randa said after going hitless in three at-bats against DuBose. "I'm sure we'll see him again."
With one out in the seventh, Relaford worked a 10-pitch walk, and Brandon Berger followed with an eight-pitch walk to load the bases. DuBose had five strikeouts, and those were the only two free passes he allowed.
Hargrove replaced him with Willis Roberts, who promptly drilled Angel Berroa with a fastball, forcing in the second run. Roberts has inherited eight runners from other pitchers this season, and five have scored.
Kansas City padded its lead in the ninth, when Carlos Febles flared a two-run double down the right-field line off reliever Kerry Ligtenberg. Both of those runs were charged to B.J. Ryan, who walked two batters to start the inning.
Afterward, DuBose packed his bags for Ottawa, feeling fairly confident he would be back.
"It has been a long road," he said. "To make it up here as a starter is very fulfilling."
Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun
DuBose's rise cushions blow of fall to K.C.
Lefty allows three hits in first start, but Royals silence Orioles bats, 4-0; He returns to Ottawa with smile; Hot prospect nearly quit after 4 teams, arm surgery
By Joe Christensen
Sun Staff
Originally published May 5, 2003
Sometimes the brightest moments for a baseball franchise come in the dim light of defeat, and the Orioles felt like they had one of those yesterday at Camden Yards.
In the seventh inning of a 4-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals, Orioles manager Mike Hargrove went to the mound and patted starting pitcher Eric DuBose on the back five times.
DuBose, a former first-round draft pick who thought about retiring last season, had just turned in a dazzling performance in his first major league start. With a crowd of 26,890 giving him a standing ovation, he walked off the field without tipping his cap.
"I was trying not to smile," DuBose said. "We were getting beat [1-0], and I had no idea what to do. It meant a lot to me."
After splitting their first two games against the AL Central-leading Royals, the Orioles missed a chance to win another series before meeting the lowly Detroit Tigers again tonight.
DuBose helped temper the disappointment.
Making the most of a one-day audition, the left-hander allowed three hits in 6 1/3 innings. Mike DiFelice broke a scoreless tie with a bases-empty home run in the third, and that was the only time the Royals scored while DuBose was pitching.
The Orioles suffered their third shutout loss of the season and managed just seven hits against Royals pitchers Chris George (4-2), Jason Grimsley and D.J. Carrasco. They went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, with that lone hit coming when right fielder Desi Relaford lost Jeff Conine's sixth-inning single in the sun.
DuBose took the loss, but everything else about his day seemed like a gain. "He was absolutely outstanding," Hargrove said. "The key with Eric now is just staying healthy and waiting until a spot opens."
The Orioles sent DuBose back to Triple-A Ottawa after the game, as Hargrove had told him beforehand. With Rodrigo Lopez on the disabled list, the Orioles picked DuBose to make a spot start, but they will replace him on the roster today with Travis Driskill.
DuBose, who will turn 27 on May 15, has emerged as the organization's top starting pitching prospect. The Orioles want to give him regular work in Ottawa, and they believe Driskill is better suited for a long-relief role until Lopez returns.
"I wanted to make it a tough decision for them," DuBose said. "That was my goal."
To calm his pre-game jitters, DuBose made an early stroll to the bullpen and found an old friend waiting in the stands. Keith Dilgard was DuBose's teammate at Mississippi State in 1997, when they went to the College World Series, and the two hadn't seen each other since.
They talked before DuBose started warming up, but it would have been impossible to sum up the past six years in those brief moments.
After the Oakland Athletics selected him with the 21st overall pick in the 1997 draft, DuBose never made it past Double-A. The A's waived him, and so did the Cleveland Indians. He signed with Detroit, but in April 2001, he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff.
Some pitchers never recover from those injuries, and DuBose almost quit last May, when he was struggling for the Orioles at Double-A Bowie.
"I had like a 12.00 ERA," DuBose said. "I was doing a good job backing up third [base]. It crossed my mind [to quit] early in the year."
His wife, Emily, talked him out of it. He righted himself and made four appearances in relief with the Orioles last September. After pitching exclusively in relief since 1999, DuBose got another chance to start at Ottawa and went 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA before this one-day promotion.
Yesterday, DuBose made 108 pitches, 73 for strikes.
He threw his fastball from 86 to 92 mph, and kept hitters off-balance with a 77-mph changeup and 73-mph curve.
"He had an idea how to pitch," Royals third baseman Joe Randa said after going hitless in three at-bats against DuBose. "I'm sure we'll see him again."
With one out in the seventh, Relaford worked a 10-pitch walk, and Brandon Berger followed with an eight-pitch walk to load the bases. DuBose had five strikeouts, and those were the only two free passes he allowed.
Hargrove replaced him with Willis Roberts, who promptly drilled Angel Berroa with a fastball, forcing in the second run. Roberts has inherited eight runners from other pitchers this season, and five have scored.
Kansas City padded its lead in the ninth, when Carlos Febles flared a two-run double down the right-field line off reliever Kerry Ligtenberg. Both of those runs were charged to B.J. Ryan, who walked two batters to start the inning.
Afterward, DuBose packed his bags for Ottawa, feeling fairly confident he would be back.
"It has been a long road," he said. "To make it up here as a starter is very fulfilling."
Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun