O's Take Down Rays

O's starter Mark Hendrickson silenced the Rays for five innings, and the bullpen held on as the Birds defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4.

Melvin Mora put the O's on the board in the first inning, and the Birds never trailed after that. Mora went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Adam Jones slapped two doubles and scored twice.

Hendrickson, in his Orioles debut, went 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on six hits. He walked two and struck out two. It looked like trouble in the first inning, when Carl Crawford slapped a double down the right field line. Crawford tried to turn it into a triple, and was gunned down at third courtesy of Nick Markakis' first outfield assist of the season. The next batter, Evan Longoria, hit a solo shot over the wall in center. That was all Hendrickson allowed, and the Rays didn't score again until the eighth inning.

Just curious: was that Danys Baez on the mound tonight? He's been perfect in two relief appearances so far...Baez struck out four of five batters he faced on Friday without allowing a hit...I gotta say I'm impressed so far.

The rest of the bullpen still scares me...Jim Johnson pitched the eighth and allowed two runs on two hits (including Longoria's second dinger of the night). Closer George Sherrill allowed a solo home run in the ninth before striking out the side...

Regardless, the Birds are 3-1 and have a chance to win another series on the homestand. The O's had lost 12 straight to the Rays, so this was an important win...Jeremy Guthrie (1-0) is scheduled to start Saturday's game...Go O's!