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06-15-2002, 09:45 AM
7-3, Baltimore
Well, this is odd. They first scored in the 6th, and the scoring started off with Sidney Ponson leading off with a stand-up double!!! :biggrin: Excellent!!! :thumbsup: Plus he pitched another good game. But got a no decision.
Jeff Conine may go on the DL after pulling a hammy. :ohno: That sucks. O's need him.
Well, here's the skinny from the Baltimore Sun. Sounds like a good game! :thumbsup:
HEAL, JEFF!!!
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O's score 4 in 8th to beat Phils, 7-3
Conine pulls hamstring after his two-run triple; Batista has two close calls; Ponson goes 6, gets no-decision
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By Roch Kubatko
Sun Staff
Originally published June 15, 2002
PHILADELPHIA - On baseball's strange meter, last night's game at Veterans Stadium had the needle bouncing into the red.
Pitcher Sidney Ponson morphed into an offensive catalyst but lost a decision. The Orioles lost Jeff Conine to a hamstring injury, and almost lost Tony Batista in the batter's box and in foul territory. And two fielders lost their better judgment.
With everything unraveling around them, they somehow managed to win a game, using a tie-breaking, four-run eighth inning to post a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies before 16,888.
Conine's two-run triple in the eighth off reliever Ricky Bottalico (0-3) moved the Orioles ahead and made forgivable the defensive gaffes that robbed Ponson of a much-deserved win. It also forced Conine out of the game with a strained right hamstring after he stumbled past second base, and could put him on the disabled list today.
"You don't want to have him out for 15 days if he can come back in five or six or three or seven or 12. It's a tough call," said manager Mike Hargrove, who also could send down a pitcher and recall a position player from the minors.
"We'll reevaluate and see how the swelling is and go from there," Conine said. "It's a little sore, but I'm a fast healer."
He's not the only one. Batista was hit near the front of the helmet by a Robert Person fastball leading off the seventh but rose with a smirk on his face. He collapsed to the ground in the eighth after chasing a pop-up and crashing into the fence, causing both trainers to rush to his aid, but again took his position.
Soon after, the Orioles took the first game of this interleague series, with six straight batters reaching to begin the eighth. Melvin Mora led off with a double, and Jay Gibbons and Marty Cordova had run-scoring singles.
Mora's indecision on a bouncer from Marlon Anderson kept alive a Phillies rally in the seventh, and Bobby Abreu followed with a two-run double to left off B.J. Ryan (1-0) that tied the score at 3-3. Cordova dived for the ball rather than playing it on one hop and preventing the second runner from crossing the plate.
With Brian Roberts slow to cover second during a miscommunication on Anderson's ball, Mora took a few steps toward the bag before throwing late to first. Rick Bauer should have been out of the inning with no runs allowed.
The Orioles should have been devastated, but they almost hit for the cycle in the eighth.
"Somewhere behind all those clouds," Hargrove said, "a full moon was shining."
The Orioles' bats had gone nearly silent since Batista's walk-off homer in Tuesday's 6-5 victory over the San Diego Padres. The Padres' Brian Lawrence shut them out the next day, and their only run in Thursday's 2-1, 10-inning loss in Cleveland to the Indians came on a bases-loaded walk to Mike Bordick.
Blanked through the fifth last night, the Orioles were sparked by Ponson, who hit his first career double leading off the sixth, advanced on a wild pitch and scored the tying run on a one-out double by Chris Singleton. Mora, who walked before Singleton stepped up, raced home on a Conine bouncer to Scott Rolen and beat the throw from first baseman Travis Lee.
Mora held up as Rolen fielded the ball, then took off the moment it left the third baseman's hand. He slid across the plate before catcher Mike Lieberthal could apply the tag.
Ponson's double eluded the leaping attempt of Anderson at second base and rolled to the fence. The ball gained speed on the artificial surface, but Ponson didn't as he chugged into second base.
"We'll be in trouble if I have to get hits to get runs in," Ponson said.
Coming off a complete-game loss Sunday, Ponson left after six innings with the Orioles leading 3-1. He allowed only four hits while turning in his ninth quality start in 11 outings, but already had thrown 104 pitches.
Hargrove sent up a pinch hitter for him with a runner on third base and one out in the seventh, after a Cordova double gave the Orioles their third run.
Mora's heads-up base running came after Hargrove dropped him to second in the order and made Roberts the leadoff hitter. Roberts had stood atop the order twice this season, both opportunities coming this month with Mora on the bench. He went 5-for-9 with three runs scored.
Hargrove wanted to elevate Roberts sooner, but Mora went on an offensive tear with his first career two-homer game on June 7, and a three-run double and two-run homer Monday.
"Melvin's on-base percentage has been slowly but steadily declining, and Brian has probably exhibited a little more patience in his at-bats than anyone else we've had in the lineup the last week or 10 days. It's something I've been toying with. We may do this one day, two days. We may end up doing it for a week," Hargrove said.
Roberts began the game by drawing a four-pitch walk off Person, but Mora grounded into his first double play this season. Mora had gone 221 at-bats without one, second to Kenny Lofton of the Chicago White Sox.
The game remained scoreless until the fourth. The Phillies loaded the bases with one out, and Lee dropped a single in front of Cordova, who again gambled with a diving attempt and fielded the ball on one hop.
Ponson escaped with only one run scoring.
Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun
Well, this is odd. They first scored in the 6th, and the scoring started off with Sidney Ponson leading off with a stand-up double!!! :biggrin: Excellent!!! :thumbsup: Plus he pitched another good game. But got a no decision.
Jeff Conine may go on the DL after pulling a hammy. :ohno: That sucks. O's need him.
Well, here's the skinny from the Baltimore Sun. Sounds like a good game! :thumbsup:
HEAL, JEFF!!!
--------------------------------------------------------
O's score 4 in 8th to beat Phils, 7-3
Conine pulls hamstring after his two-run triple; Batista has two close calls; Ponson goes 6, gets no-decision
----------------------------------------------------------
By Roch Kubatko
Sun Staff
Originally published June 15, 2002
PHILADELPHIA - On baseball's strange meter, last night's game at Veterans Stadium had the needle bouncing into the red.
Pitcher Sidney Ponson morphed into an offensive catalyst but lost a decision. The Orioles lost Jeff Conine to a hamstring injury, and almost lost Tony Batista in the batter's box and in foul territory. And two fielders lost their better judgment.
With everything unraveling around them, they somehow managed to win a game, using a tie-breaking, four-run eighth inning to post a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies before 16,888.
Conine's two-run triple in the eighth off reliever Ricky Bottalico (0-3) moved the Orioles ahead and made forgivable the defensive gaffes that robbed Ponson of a much-deserved win. It also forced Conine out of the game with a strained right hamstring after he stumbled past second base, and could put him on the disabled list today.
"You don't want to have him out for 15 days if he can come back in five or six or three or seven or 12. It's a tough call," said manager Mike Hargrove, who also could send down a pitcher and recall a position player from the minors.
"We'll reevaluate and see how the swelling is and go from there," Conine said. "It's a little sore, but I'm a fast healer."
He's not the only one. Batista was hit near the front of the helmet by a Robert Person fastball leading off the seventh but rose with a smirk on his face. He collapsed to the ground in the eighth after chasing a pop-up and crashing into the fence, causing both trainers to rush to his aid, but again took his position.
Soon after, the Orioles took the first game of this interleague series, with six straight batters reaching to begin the eighth. Melvin Mora led off with a double, and Jay Gibbons and Marty Cordova had run-scoring singles.
Mora's indecision on a bouncer from Marlon Anderson kept alive a Phillies rally in the seventh, and Bobby Abreu followed with a two-run double to left off B.J. Ryan (1-0) that tied the score at 3-3. Cordova dived for the ball rather than playing it on one hop and preventing the second runner from crossing the plate.
With Brian Roberts slow to cover second during a miscommunication on Anderson's ball, Mora took a few steps toward the bag before throwing late to first. Rick Bauer should have been out of the inning with no runs allowed.
The Orioles should have been devastated, but they almost hit for the cycle in the eighth.
"Somewhere behind all those clouds," Hargrove said, "a full moon was shining."
The Orioles' bats had gone nearly silent since Batista's walk-off homer in Tuesday's 6-5 victory over the San Diego Padres. The Padres' Brian Lawrence shut them out the next day, and their only run in Thursday's 2-1, 10-inning loss in Cleveland to the Indians came on a bases-loaded walk to Mike Bordick.
Blanked through the fifth last night, the Orioles were sparked by Ponson, who hit his first career double leading off the sixth, advanced on a wild pitch and scored the tying run on a one-out double by Chris Singleton. Mora, who walked before Singleton stepped up, raced home on a Conine bouncer to Scott Rolen and beat the throw from first baseman Travis Lee.
Mora held up as Rolen fielded the ball, then took off the moment it left the third baseman's hand. He slid across the plate before catcher Mike Lieberthal could apply the tag.
Ponson's double eluded the leaping attempt of Anderson at second base and rolled to the fence. The ball gained speed on the artificial surface, but Ponson didn't as he chugged into second base.
"We'll be in trouble if I have to get hits to get runs in," Ponson said.
Coming off a complete-game loss Sunday, Ponson left after six innings with the Orioles leading 3-1. He allowed only four hits while turning in his ninth quality start in 11 outings, but already had thrown 104 pitches.
Hargrove sent up a pinch hitter for him with a runner on third base and one out in the seventh, after a Cordova double gave the Orioles their third run.
Mora's heads-up base running came after Hargrove dropped him to second in the order and made Roberts the leadoff hitter. Roberts had stood atop the order twice this season, both opportunities coming this month with Mora on the bench. He went 5-for-9 with three runs scored.
Hargrove wanted to elevate Roberts sooner, but Mora went on an offensive tear with his first career two-homer game on June 7, and a three-run double and two-run homer Monday.
"Melvin's on-base percentage has been slowly but steadily declining, and Brian has probably exhibited a little more patience in his at-bats than anyone else we've had in the lineup the last week or 10 days. It's something I've been toying with. We may do this one day, two days. We may end up doing it for a week," Hargrove said.
Roberts began the game by drawing a four-pitch walk off Person, but Mora grounded into his first double play this season. Mora had gone 221 at-bats without one, second to Kenny Lofton of the Chicago White Sox.
The game remained scoreless until the fourth. The Phillies loaded the bases with one out, and Lee dropped a single in front of Cordova, who again gambled with a diving attempt and fielded the ball on one hop.
Ponson escaped with only one run scoring.
Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun