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06-24-2006, 04:16 PM
Wow! Whodathunkit?
Good for him!!! :hail:
And I love this picture of Chris Ray. He's pumped, showing excitement, the way I'd like to think all of them feel about winning. :thumbsup. (Plus, he's got a hot pair of arms. :D )
Lopez carries Orioles to victory
Right-hander strikes out seven in seven innings
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2006/06/23/HQ77r52C.jpg
Chris Ray reacts after Marlon Byrd popped out in the ninth inning Friday. (Gail Burton/AP)
BALTIMORE -- Rodrigo Lopez pitched with passion and the desire to prove a point on Friday night, a lethal combination that dwarfed the normal motivation he carries to the mound. Lopez wasn't happy about being pushed back three days from his last scheduled start, and he spoke his piece by pitching the Orioles to a 2-1 win over the Nationals.
"Since the last game I pitched -- since they told me in New York -- I wasn't happy. Once I got here, I had that on my mind," said Lopez. "But when I walked into the bullpen, I was just trying to concentrate on the game. ... It's just like I said in New York. I don't agree with it, but all things happen for some reason. Things worked for me tonight."
Lopez reacted angrily in New York when he was informed of the decision, which switched his start from Tuesday to Friday. He asked the traveling media corps what the team gave as its reason, and he bristled when told it was to keep the rest of the rotation on track. "Everyone else but me," he said, making it clear that he didn't agree with the move.
Four days later, that conversation is forgotten. Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo acknowledged that Lopez wasn't thrilled with his place in the revamped rotation, but he also said it wasn't as big a story as it seemed.
"He wasn't [out] of the good graces, quite honestly. We were just trying to set things up," Perlozzo said. "It was only [three] days out of the entire time he's been pitching. I felt like we were putting the whole entire rotation together, with him in mind to be one of the top guys -- which he is. As long as he pitches like that, we won't have any problems."
Truth be told, Perlozzo's decision has gained traction from the results. Erik Bedard and Kris Benson worked eight innings for Baltimore on Wednesday and Thursday, and Lopez treated the O's to more of the same. The Nationals didn't get more than one baserunner in any inning until the seventh, when their only run scored on a sacrifice fly.
Lopez (5-8) let the leadoff hitter reach base safely in three of his seven innings -- but every time, he rallied for three straight outs. He allowed seven hits, but only three went for extra bases. Washington (32-43) only pushed three runners into scoring position against Baltimore's starter, and the Nationals didn't score until the top of the seventh inning.
"Not only was he hitting his spots, but he was moving the ball very well," said Javy Lopez, who has caught every Lopez start since the last week of May. "Cutters and sinkers pretty much the whole game. Every once in a while, he'd throw a slider, and the slider was pretty sharp. It was one of the best starts he's had so far."
"I told Javy he did a great job calling the game, and he said it was easy with Rodrigo. He threw it every place he told him to throw it," Perlozzo said. "I thought he stayed very well composed. I thought he worked on it one hitter at a time. He stayed within himself and he pitched. It's obvious, when he pitches, what he can do for us."
Baltimore (34-41), by contrast, had multiple baserunners in two of the first three innings. Washington's John Patterson got out of the first rally and allowed a run in the third, courtesy of a sacrifice fly by Melvin Mora. Patterson (1-1) also gave up an unearned run in the sixth, when Mora reached on an error, stole second and scored on a two-out single.
Chris Ray came on to close out the ninth inning, seeking redemption after a rough night at the office Thursday. Ray allowed two pinch-hit homers in that game, sinking the Orioles to a late loss and his stat-line to its first blown save of the season. Ray was up to the task Friday, retiring three straight Nationals to earn his 19th save in 20 opportunities.
"I think there might have been a little adrenaline, a little more focus trying to nail this one down," said Ray. "I wasn't going to blow this one. That's for sure."
"I was hoping, beyond all hopes, that he was going to get in tonight," Perlozzo said. "I wanted him back in there. I wanted that outing erased, and I had total confidence that he would step up."
Baltimore and Washington will play twice more in this series, and Adam Loewen will be matched against Michael O'Connor on Saturday.
Loewen has been consistently dogged by questions about his long-term place in the rotation, and Perlozzo's counsel regarding Lopez may apply to the left-handed rookie. Any potential decision is about more than the player it impacts the most. It's all about putting the team on its best footing, and Perlozzo amplified that after Friday's game.
"You always do what you think is best for the ballclub and for your players," Perlozzo said. "I'll reiterate again. It was not a dig on Rodrigo. He had pitched four good games out of his last five. It was just a matter of getting things in line. And sometimes, like I said before the game, it's good to freshen up a guy.
"It works in your favor, where you give a guy an extra day or so of rest. ... I thought he was pretty strong tonight, myself. They make it work. You do the best you can to put them in the right spots, and they make it work."
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Good for him!!! :hail:
And I love this picture of Chris Ray. He's pumped, showing excitement, the way I'd like to think all of them feel about winning. :thumbsup. (Plus, he's got a hot pair of arms. :D )
Lopez carries Orioles to victory
Right-hander strikes out seven in seven innings
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2006/06/23/HQ77r52C.jpg
Chris Ray reacts after Marlon Byrd popped out in the ninth inning Friday. (Gail Burton/AP)
BALTIMORE -- Rodrigo Lopez pitched with passion and the desire to prove a point on Friday night, a lethal combination that dwarfed the normal motivation he carries to the mound. Lopez wasn't happy about being pushed back three days from his last scheduled start, and he spoke his piece by pitching the Orioles to a 2-1 win over the Nationals.
"Since the last game I pitched -- since they told me in New York -- I wasn't happy. Once I got here, I had that on my mind," said Lopez. "But when I walked into the bullpen, I was just trying to concentrate on the game. ... It's just like I said in New York. I don't agree with it, but all things happen for some reason. Things worked for me tonight."
Lopez reacted angrily in New York when he was informed of the decision, which switched his start from Tuesday to Friday. He asked the traveling media corps what the team gave as its reason, and he bristled when told it was to keep the rest of the rotation on track. "Everyone else but me," he said, making it clear that he didn't agree with the move.
Four days later, that conversation is forgotten. Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo acknowledged that Lopez wasn't thrilled with his place in the revamped rotation, but he also said it wasn't as big a story as it seemed.
"He wasn't [out] of the good graces, quite honestly. We were just trying to set things up," Perlozzo said. "It was only [three] days out of the entire time he's been pitching. I felt like we were putting the whole entire rotation together, with him in mind to be one of the top guys -- which he is. As long as he pitches like that, we won't have any problems."
Truth be told, Perlozzo's decision has gained traction from the results. Erik Bedard and Kris Benson worked eight innings for Baltimore on Wednesday and Thursday, and Lopez treated the O's to more of the same. The Nationals didn't get more than one baserunner in any inning until the seventh, when their only run scored on a sacrifice fly.
Lopez (5-8) let the leadoff hitter reach base safely in three of his seven innings -- but every time, he rallied for three straight outs. He allowed seven hits, but only three went for extra bases. Washington (32-43) only pushed three runners into scoring position against Baltimore's starter, and the Nationals didn't score until the top of the seventh inning.
"Not only was he hitting his spots, but he was moving the ball very well," said Javy Lopez, who has caught every Lopez start since the last week of May. "Cutters and sinkers pretty much the whole game. Every once in a while, he'd throw a slider, and the slider was pretty sharp. It was one of the best starts he's had so far."
"I told Javy he did a great job calling the game, and he said it was easy with Rodrigo. He threw it every place he told him to throw it," Perlozzo said. "I thought he stayed very well composed. I thought he worked on it one hitter at a time. He stayed within himself and he pitched. It's obvious, when he pitches, what he can do for us."
Baltimore (34-41), by contrast, had multiple baserunners in two of the first three innings. Washington's John Patterson got out of the first rally and allowed a run in the third, courtesy of a sacrifice fly by Melvin Mora. Patterson (1-1) also gave up an unearned run in the sixth, when Mora reached on an error, stole second and scored on a two-out single.
Chris Ray came on to close out the ninth inning, seeking redemption after a rough night at the office Thursday. Ray allowed two pinch-hit homers in that game, sinking the Orioles to a late loss and his stat-line to its first blown save of the season. Ray was up to the task Friday, retiring three straight Nationals to earn his 19th save in 20 opportunities.
"I think there might have been a little adrenaline, a little more focus trying to nail this one down," said Ray. "I wasn't going to blow this one. That's for sure."
"I was hoping, beyond all hopes, that he was going to get in tonight," Perlozzo said. "I wanted him back in there. I wanted that outing erased, and I had total confidence that he would step up."
Baltimore and Washington will play twice more in this series, and Adam Loewen will be matched against Michael O'Connor on Saturday.
Loewen has been consistently dogged by questions about his long-term place in the rotation, and Perlozzo's counsel regarding Lopez may apply to the left-handed rookie. Any potential decision is about more than the player it impacts the most. It's all about putting the team on its best footing, and Perlozzo amplified that after Friday's game.
"You always do what you think is best for the ballclub and for your players," Perlozzo said. "I'll reiterate again. It was not a dig on Rodrigo. He had pitched four good games out of his last five. It was just a matter of getting things in line. And sometimes, like I said before the game, it's good to freshen up a guy.
"It works in your favor, where you give a guy an extra day or so of rest. ... I thought he was pretty strong tonight, myself. They make it work. You do the best you can to put them in the right spots, and they make it work."
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.