Orioles’ dependable bullpen falters late in ALCS Game 1 loss to Royals
The Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles rewrote the narrative in ALCS Game 1, as the usually speed dependent Royals continued their postseason power surge to defeat the usually homer-happy O’s 8-6 in 10 innings.
Kansas City connected for three home runs in the game, including Alex Gordon’s lead-off and Mike Moustaka’s two-run shot in the 10th, which ultimately provided the difference. To cement the flip, Baltimore swiped the only two bases in the game and did not hit a ball over the fence.
While most of the game was bizarre and went against the expected script, what wasn’t unexpected was the game coming down to a battle of the bullpens. In a close game, as Game 1 was, that’s typically a recipe for success for both teams as both are considered to have top flight bullpens. However, it was Buck Showalter’s bunch that blinked in Game 1. In fact, they blinked a few times in the later innings, which provided two golden opportunities for Kansas City.
Showalter, who’s rightfully drawn praise for his terrific bullpen management, was forced to be on his game a little earlier than he’d hoped in Game 1. Starter Chris Tillman was knocked out in the fifth inning, having allowed five earned runs on seven hits and two walks. Showalter turned to Tommy Hunter to escape the fifth, which he did, and then rode Kevin Gausman and Andrew Miller to the ninth as Baltimore chipped away and eventually tied the game.
It was another job well done by Showalter, because at that point he entered the ninth inning with his two best relievers, Zach Britton and Darren O’Day, still available. However, ideal set ups and good results haven’t exactly meshed so far this postseason.
Britton, who had yet to walk more than one batter in any of his 74 appearances this season (including three in the postseason), took over in the ninth and promptly melted down, walking the first three batters of the inning in succession. That included consecutive walks to Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain, both of whom were intent on laying down a sacrifice bunt to advance the go-ahead run.
Britton was granted a reprieve by Eric Hosmer, who snapped a string of 12 straight pitches outside the zone by swinging at a 1-0 slider that was well off the plate. Somehat surprisingly, Hosmer remained aggressive in the at-bat and eventually grounded into a fielder’s choice. First baseman Steve Pearce fired home to get the lead runner, which catcher Nick Hundley did an incredible job to catch while keeping a toe on the plate.
With one bullet dodged, Showalter played the matchups again, calling on right-handed submariner Darren O’Day to face Billy Butler.
Bada bing, bada boom. O’Day made his pitch and escaped on a 6-4-3 double play.
Had the Orioles’ rallied for one against Wade Davis in the ninth inning, O’Day would have been the hero. They did not, of course, because Davis was simply brilliant again, retiring six batters on 18 pitches. So after bailing out Britton, O’Day returned to the mound for a less appealing matchup against the left-handed swinging Alex Gordon.
On the 1-1 pitch, he made a mistake, and all he could do was throw his hat in frustration as Gordon sent it flying to the right-center field seats for a go-ahead homer.
”I made a mistake and he got it,” the right-hander said. ”You go up there and roll the dice. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”
The matchup itself was a dice-roll for Showalter. He had another left-hander, Brian Matusz, warming at the time, but elected to stick with his dependable right-hander. Three batters later, Matusz served up a two-run homer to left-handed swinging Mike Moustakas, which essentially confirmed Showalter had the right idea. O’Day just made a mistake, though it turns out Matusz’s mistake was even more costly. The Orioles rallied for one against Royals’ closer Greg Holland in their half, but fell short.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, we’re at the time of year where there isn’t much margin for error, but there’s still a long way to go in this series.
“We’ve got to win four, and it doesn’t matter what four you win,” Britton said. “So we’ll bounce back tomorrow. We’ve done it before. … It’s win at all costs. You kind of throw out what you did in the regular season out the window and you try to find a way to win.”
While Britton is right about throwing numbers out the window, Showalter’s confidence isn’t going with it. He’s sticking behind his guys, and won’t hesitate to use either reliever again on Saturday.
“Those guys that pitched tonight and played in the reason we’re sitting here playing a seven-game series for the American League Championship.”
Chances are they’ll be the difference between flying to Kansas City tied 1-1 or down 0-2.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
