Reflection: The Orioles brought out the broomsticks once again, now sporting a record of 33-1. The Astros have now lost nine games in a row, setting a new record and falling to 13-23, their worst start through 36 games.
Game 1: BAL 16 - HOU 9
WP: Ismael Rodriquez (1-0)
LP: Ernesto Razo (2-4)
BAL Player of the Game: Marcus Ferrell (5-6, 4 runs, 7 RBI, 2B, 2 HR)
HOU Player of the Game: George Willerton (3-5, 2 runs, 4 RBI, HR)
Homers:
BAL: Joe Miller (9), Buster Bigs (10), Marcus Ferrell 2 (8), Bobby Carmona (9)
HOU: Steve Newell (1), George Willerton (4), Tyshawn Forman (4)
Recap- My oh my, what a game that was. It was completely action-packed as the Orioles came away with the victory, 16-9. The Orioles scored 16 runs off 18 hits, with Marcus Ferrell (5-6), Buster Bigs (3-5), and Chris Throne (3-4) providing much of the firepower. The Orioles banged eight extra base hits and eight players reached base once again. It seemed like the game would be unusual from the very beginning as Houston opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first by plating two runs off Baltimore errors. However, the Orioles answered very quickly, scoring fifteen runs in the third through fifth innings. Both starters left the game early, with Ernesto Razo getting chased and Ryan Yocum leaving due to injury (strained abdominal muscle). The Orioles struck out thirteen Astros in 8.1 innings of relief.
OFFENSIVE GEM: Marcus Ferrell had only his second 5-hit performance of his career, his first one coming in 2021 against the Montreal Expos.
Game 2: BAL 8 - HOU 2
WP: Jeff Kelly (5-0)
LP: Jake Lahti (0-4)
BAL Player of the Game: Marcus Ferrell (4-5, 3 runs, 2 2B)
HOU Player of the Game: Tyshawn Forman (2-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR)
Homers:
BAL: Tom Reinhardt 2 (10), Buster Bigs (11)
HOU: Tyshawn Forman (5), Rob Ramirez (5)
Recap- The Orioles won against the Houston Astros today by a score of 8-2. Jeff Kelly pitched a fine effort today, throwing six innings of 2 run ball, allowing one walk and striking out two. His only blip was allowing two homers to Tyshawn Forman and Rob Ramirez in the second and fourth innings. The Orioles had a lot of firepower offensively, racking up 11 hits. Leading the way was Marcus Ferrell, who went 4-5 today and now has 15 hits in his last four games. Be on the lookout for a potential Player of the Week award for Ferrell. Tom Reinhardt also helped out the Orioles' cause with solo shots in the first and eighth innings.
Game 3: BAL 5 - HOU 4
WP: Luis Mata (1-0)
LP: Jayson McLean (1-2)
SV: Wilson Diaz (5)
BAL Player of the Game: Alexis Flores (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K)
HOU Player of the Game: Tyshawn Forman (2-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR)
Homers:
BAL: Ruben Calvo (1)
HOU: Rob Ramirez (6), Tyshawn Forman (6), Kyle Featherstone (4)
Recap- The Orioles eked out a close win in the series finale against the Houston Astros today, winning 5-4. Late game heroics by Tom Reinhardt (RBI single to knock in Buster Bigs) broke a tie caused by two Astros homers. Wilson Diaz was credited with his fifth save of the year. The close win overshadows Alexis Flores' quality start, in which he threw six innings of two run ball with no walks allowed and five strikeouts. Marcus Ferrell and Chris Throne also performed well for the O's, with each having two hits.
OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS: Tyshawn Forman of the Astros hit a home run in each of the three games against the Orioles, which makes it a new personal record for his longest home run streak... Orioles reserve 2B Ruben Calvo hit his first major league home run in the 6th inning.
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INJURY REPORT: SP
Ryan Yocum left game one of the series after pitching only 0.2 innings. He has been diagnosed with a strained abdominal muscle and will be out for 4 weeks.
TRANSACTIONS: Ryan Yocum was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 10th, allowing John Pavel to return to the 26-man roster after nearly a year of absence.
UP NEXT: The Orioles have a three game homestand against the red hot Kansas City Royals. The Royals have a record of 24-12 and lead the AL Central.
Ryan Yocum and statistics.