Royals vs. Orioles -- 6/28/04

[Dark_Angel]

Tonight's game in Kansas City was much better than the O's last game against the Braves. 10-1 was the final score. :clap:

They were actually able to maintain their lead this time! :D

David Newhan is just awesome. :thumbsup: He had three hits this evening, including a two-run home run. :smokin: He's definitely a great addition to the Orioles. :cool:

[Nanner]

........David Newhan is just awesome. :thumbsup: He had three hits this evening, including a two-run home run. :smokin: He's definitely a great addition to the Orioles. :cool:

I think I love him. :love2:

He's just totally scrappy! :eek: :hail:

Starting pitching seems to (dare I say it?) be coming around. :eek: Could it be Ray Miller, or have they finally sort of hit a groove? Eric last night, Matt Riley the night before......... it's looking good.

Last night, Javy finally hit with runners on. He's been having such problems with that...... it must have been frustrating.

Nice win!!! I'd like a few of these, please!!!! :clap:

[Nanner]

Here's more from the Baltimore Sun.

:rock:

Royals bow to Bedard, 10-1
Rookie lefty blanks K.C. for 6 1/3 , hot Newhan hits 2-run shot as O's breeze
By Joe Christensen
Sun Staff
Originally published June 29, 2004

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - As terrible as the Orioles were feeling about their season when they arrived at Kauffman Stadium yesterday, all they had to do was look across the hallway between clubhouses to find a team doing worse.

The Kansas City Royals aren't even pretending anymore. They began dismantling again last week when they traded reliever Jason Grimsley to the Orioles and center fielder Carlos Beltran to the Houston Astros.

For the good fans of Kansas City, 2005 can't come soon enough. And while the Orioles can certainly relate, they got a feel-good effort from rookie pitcher Erik Bedard last night and coasted to a 10-1 victory.

Bedard tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings, continuing a rare stretch of solid starting pitching for the Orioles, who pounded Royals starting pitcher Darrell May (5-9) for six earned runs in six innings.

The Orioles grabbed the lead on Miguel Tejada's first-inning sacrifice fly, stretched it to 4-0 on David Newhan's two-run homer in the fifth, and extended the Royals' losing streak to five games.

It might not have been enough to remove the disappointment from Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Atlanta Braves, but it helped. The seven-run lead they blew in that game matched the second largest in franchise history.

"You never want to get used to that," said Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli, whose team won for just the fourth time in 15 games. "[Sunday] was a tough one to swallow. ... Baseball is a funny game. They're all like one-game seasons."

So the Orioles allowed themselves to enjoy this one a little.

They came in with the American League's worst batting average with runners in scoring position, at .243, but went 7-for-11 in those situations last night.

Tejada had a two-out, run-scoring single in the third inning. Jay Gibbons singled home Luis Matos in the seventh inning, and Brian Roberts added a two-run double.

Newhan finished 3-for-4. After being stuck in Triple-A with the Texas Rangers organization all season, he has reinvented himself over the past 10 games with the Orioles, batting .485 with three homers and 10 RBIs. :eek:

Even Javy Lopez got into the fun.

He had been a picture of the Orioles' frustration Sunday, when he struck out with one out and a runner on third in the ninth inning against former teammate John Smoltz. But his run-scoring single in the seventh off Royals reliever Scott Sullivan stretched the Orioles' lead to 8-0 and raised his average with runners in scoring position to .188.

"You have games like [Sunday] over a 162-game season," Newhan said. "It was a rough loss, but we did a good job of keeping our heads up and battling back."

The Orioles entered the day sitting further out of first place (16 games) than any team in baseball, but their recent stretch of starting pitching has given them a tiny sliver of hope.

Over their past six games, their starters have allowed four earned runs in 40 1/3 innings, which equates to an 0.89 ERA. :eek: Ray Miller, who replaced Mark Wiley as pitching coach on Saturday, must be sitting there saying, "What problems?"

With a fastball that consistently hit 93 mph, a nice change-up and a sharp breaking curve, Bedard offered a reminder that not everyone's season has been a disaster. He has allowed one earned run or less in each of his past four starts, lowering his ERA to 3.69.

The main critique with Bedard has been his inability to finish at least six innings, something he's failed to do in 10 of his 13 starts. This time, he was still standing there in the seventh inning, getting good results.

"When the team gets on a roll [with good starting pitching]," Bedard said, "everyone gets on a roll."

The Royals' only big threat against Bedard came in the second inning, when they put runners at the corners with no outs. It wound up being the type of frustrating inning the Orioles know all-too-well.

Angel Berroa hit a weak fly to right field, not deep enough to score the slow-footed Ken Harvey from third, and Bedard used a perfectly placed 93-mph fastball to get Desi Relaford to ground into a rally-killing 4-6-3 double play.

"I thought [Bedard] had good composure out there," Mazzilli said.

Throughout the game, there were scattered boos from the crowd of 14,521, and when Tony Graffanino spoiled the Orioles' shutout bid with a run-scoring groundout in the eighth inning, the fans offered mock applause.

"We're taking right hook after right hook," said Royals first baseman Mike Sweeney. "That's how it feels."



Copyright © 2004, The Baltimore Sun

[Dark_Angel]

Over their past six games, their starters have allowed four earned runs in 40 1/3 innings, which equates to an 0.89 ERA.
Wow! :clap: