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07-09-2006, 08:27 AM
Wow. He's been looking pretty good, and he did it again yesterday!
And Sparky lived up to his name, sparking the offense to a nice win over the Indians. :thumbsup:
Orioles 7, Indians 4
Bedard stops Indians, O's skid
Lefty wins 5th in row to improve to 10-6, quell O's frustration
By Childs Walker
Sun reporter
Originally published July 9, 2006
Cleveland // Nobody said so explicitly. But after a lopsided loss left their clubhouse uncomfortably quiet Friday, the Orioles needed catharsis.
They needed their starter to stifle a tough offense and their best hitters to string together a few big innings. They needed to end a four-game losing streak in which they'd been blown out twice.
Last night, they got all those things in a 7-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians before 28,902 at Jacobs Field.
The Orioles chased rookie Jeremy Sowers from the game with seven runs through four innings, and Erik Bedard was plenty good enough to hold that generous lead for his fifth straight win.
"We certainly needed to come out and play a little bit better tonight," Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts said. "We didn't look very good last night, and certainly our goal was to win two out of three here and leave on a good note. We have that chance now."
A wide array of Orioles contributed.
"I thought it was a real good team effort today," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said. "I thought everybody contributed."
In a season full of frustrations, Friday's 9-0 loss was an emotional low point for the Orioles.
But Perlozzo said he saw no use in castigating his players for the losing streak. He simply reminded them to concentrate and play hard instead of letting the losing streak spook them.
In his previous three starts, Bedard (10-6) had morphed into exactly the pitcher that optimistic Orioles watchers had envisioned. Suddenly looking like a contender for best left-hander in the game, his line for those games was 23 innings, one run, 26 strikeouts, nine hits and three walks.
But Perlozzo didn't want Bedard to put pressure on himself to end the team's losing streak. The pitcher said that wasn't an issue.
"We could lose 20 in a row and it wouldn't be on my mind," he said. "I don't put any pressure other than going out and pitching like I'm capable of."
Bedard didn't need to be perfect last night, with his offense giving him a comfortable cushion. He didn't seem to have his best control or his sharpest fastball, but he changed speeds and never let the Indians build a big inning.
Bedard struck out leadoff hitter Grady Sizemore three times and held Friday's grand-slam hero, Travis Hafner, to a single and a walk.
Catcher Kelly Shoppach put the Indians on the board with his first career home run in the third inning, but that was all they'd score off Bedard. He allowed five hits and two walks and struck out six in six innings. By pitching effectively when he didn't have sublime stuff, Bedard did exactly what Perlozzo has said he must do to become an elite starter.
"I didn't think he had his great stuff, but he's showing he's a good competitor each time he goes out there," Perlozzo said.
Bedard's teammates have come to love playing behind him.
"Anytime you have a guy on a roll, you always feel like he's going to keep going," Roberts said. "It's like a hot hitter. You want him up in the big situation. He's throwing the ball as well as probably anybody in the league the last month, so I think we feel pretty confident when he goes out there."
The Indians tightened the game with three runs off LaTroy Hawkins in the eighth. But Chris Ray pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save and first since June 28.
Sowers, 23, regarded as one of the best young pitchers in baseball, was starting his third big league game for the Indians. He had defeated the New York Yankees in his previous outing, overcoming an early two-run homer with six straight shutout innings.
And he's left-handed, a bad sign for an Orioles lineup that came in 7-22 against left-handed starters.
The Orioles squandered an opportunity in the first. After Roberts walked and Melvin Mora reached on an error, the next three hitters produced a soft liner, a pop-up and a routine groundout.
But after Roberts drew another walk in the third, Mora hit his 11th homer of the season to center field to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. They added another run in the inning when Ramon Hernandez reached on an infield single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and bolted home on a single to right by Javy Lopez .
Roberts started another rally in the next inning, when he singled, stole second and scored on Miguel Tejada 's single.
Jeff Conine then doubled to score Mora, extending the lead to 5-1. Hernandez brought in two more runs with a line-drive single off reliever Edward Mujica.
Mora left the game after the fifth with a strained muscle in his left side and was listed as day-to-day.
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun
And Sparky lived up to his name, sparking the offense to a nice win over the Indians. :thumbsup:
Orioles 7, Indians 4
Bedard stops Indians, O's skid
Lefty wins 5th in row to improve to 10-6, quell O's frustration
By Childs Walker
Sun reporter
Originally published July 9, 2006
Cleveland // Nobody said so explicitly. But after a lopsided loss left their clubhouse uncomfortably quiet Friday, the Orioles needed catharsis.
They needed their starter to stifle a tough offense and their best hitters to string together a few big innings. They needed to end a four-game losing streak in which they'd been blown out twice.
Last night, they got all those things in a 7-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians before 28,902 at Jacobs Field.
The Orioles chased rookie Jeremy Sowers from the game with seven runs through four innings, and Erik Bedard was plenty good enough to hold that generous lead for his fifth straight win.
"We certainly needed to come out and play a little bit better tonight," Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts said. "We didn't look very good last night, and certainly our goal was to win two out of three here and leave on a good note. We have that chance now."
A wide array of Orioles contributed.
"I thought it was a real good team effort today," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said. "I thought everybody contributed."
In a season full of frustrations, Friday's 9-0 loss was an emotional low point for the Orioles.
But Perlozzo said he saw no use in castigating his players for the losing streak. He simply reminded them to concentrate and play hard instead of letting the losing streak spook them.
In his previous three starts, Bedard (10-6) had morphed into exactly the pitcher that optimistic Orioles watchers had envisioned. Suddenly looking like a contender for best left-hander in the game, his line for those games was 23 innings, one run, 26 strikeouts, nine hits and three walks.
But Perlozzo didn't want Bedard to put pressure on himself to end the team's losing streak. The pitcher said that wasn't an issue.
"We could lose 20 in a row and it wouldn't be on my mind," he said. "I don't put any pressure other than going out and pitching like I'm capable of."
Bedard didn't need to be perfect last night, with his offense giving him a comfortable cushion. He didn't seem to have his best control or his sharpest fastball, but he changed speeds and never let the Indians build a big inning.
Bedard struck out leadoff hitter Grady Sizemore three times and held Friday's grand-slam hero, Travis Hafner, to a single and a walk.
Catcher Kelly Shoppach put the Indians on the board with his first career home run in the third inning, but that was all they'd score off Bedard. He allowed five hits and two walks and struck out six in six innings. By pitching effectively when he didn't have sublime stuff, Bedard did exactly what Perlozzo has said he must do to become an elite starter.
"I didn't think he had his great stuff, but he's showing he's a good competitor each time he goes out there," Perlozzo said.
Bedard's teammates have come to love playing behind him.
"Anytime you have a guy on a roll, you always feel like he's going to keep going," Roberts said. "It's like a hot hitter. You want him up in the big situation. He's throwing the ball as well as probably anybody in the league the last month, so I think we feel pretty confident when he goes out there."
The Indians tightened the game with three runs off LaTroy Hawkins in the eighth. But Chris Ray pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save and first since June 28.
Sowers, 23, regarded as one of the best young pitchers in baseball, was starting his third big league game for the Indians. He had defeated the New York Yankees in his previous outing, overcoming an early two-run homer with six straight shutout innings.
And he's left-handed, a bad sign for an Orioles lineup that came in 7-22 against left-handed starters.
The Orioles squandered an opportunity in the first. After Roberts walked and Melvin Mora reached on an error, the next three hitters produced a soft liner, a pop-up and a routine groundout.
But after Roberts drew another walk in the third, Mora hit his 11th homer of the season to center field to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. They added another run in the inning when Ramon Hernandez reached on an infield single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and bolted home on a single to right by Javy Lopez .
Roberts started another rally in the next inning, when he singled, stole second and scored on Miguel Tejada 's single.
Jeff Conine then doubled to score Mora, extending the lead to 5-1. Hernandez brought in two more runs with a line-drive single off reliever Edward Mujica.
Mora left the game after the fifth with a strained muscle in his left side and was listed as day-to-day.
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun