The O's came out swinging on Monday afternoon, defeating the New York Yankees 10-5 in front of the largest Opening Day crowd in the history of Camden Yards.
Jeremy Guthrie earned the win, pitching six innings and allowing just three runs off seven hits. Guthrie (1-0) walked three and struck out three in his first-ever Opening Day victory.
The Yankees' CC Sabathia took the loss and never looked comfortable on the mound. Sabathia lasted just 4 and 1/3 innings, and was charged with six runs off eight hits...he walked five, struck out none and threw two wild pitches...and I loved every minute of it!
The Yankees took an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning, but the O's answered right back, scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning and adding another three in the fifth. The Birds finished with 14 hits on the day.
Beside the win, the highlight of the day had to be Yankees' first baseman Mark Teixeira's "homecoming" debut. Each time Teixeira came to the plate he was greeted with a monstrous "BOO!" from the sellout crowd (which had to be at least 90 percent Orange and Black). Honestly, I'm surprised I still have a voice left...but it was worth it! Teixeira went hitless in his first game as a Yankee (0-for-4 with a walk), and the crowd let him know just how much they appreciated his decision to sign with the hated division rival. I hope he's ready for another eight years of this, because it was apparent that the boos won't be stopping anytime soon...good career decision, Mark...
The Birds were in complete control until the seventh inning, when Chris Ray came on to relieve Guthrie. Ray managed to get just one out, and allowed two runs on two hits (one a homer) while walking a batter. No worries, though...as I said before Ray should be our closer, not a middle-relief pitcher, and I believe he'll be the man in the ninth soon enough. The Yankees made it a 1-run game in the seventh, but the Birds used a 4-run eighth to seal the deal. New O's shortstop Cesar Izturis (I'll be calling him Izzy from now on) smashed a 2-run shot to left field, giving the Birds an 8-5 lead. Izzy was signed for his defensive abilities, but he was the only Oriole to homer on Monday.
The rest of the lineup had a pretty good day as well...leadoff man Brian Roberts went 3-for-4, Adam Jones had a perfect day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs, Nick Markakis went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Aubrey Huff had just one hit but leads the team with three RBIs.
Closer (for now) George Sherrill faced just four batters in the ninth and didn't allow a hit. In the non-save situation, he walked one and struck out one...
The O's were off today but resume the series tomorrow evening...Koji Uehara makes his Major League debut for the Birds...he opposes Chien-Ming Wang. I'll be back after the game with the news...Go O's!
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