Yanks Spank O's

Hey...two out of three ain't bad. The O's fell to the Yankees 11-2 Thursday afternoon, but they still won the series...and that's a good thing.

O's starter Alfredo Simon pitched a good game, and although he took the loss, he should be proud of his effort. Simon allowed four runs off four hits in five innings of work (unfortunately two of those hits were home runs, one off the bat of Mark Teixeira).

The Birds were only down by one run before the bullpen unraveled and let the Yankees run away with the game...

Turning point of the game: O's reliever Brian Bass induced a grounder to the mound with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. Bass was so close to home he probably could have stepped on the plate to get the force-out, but instead hurried a throw to the catcher, wide right, and two runs scored. The Yanks scored four times in the inning, and pretty much had total control from that point on.

The offense never caught on to A.J. Burnett, and the Yankees' pen held the Birds scoreless. Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff combined for no hits and 6 of the O's 12 strikeouts during the game...

Chris Ray started the ninth and gave up two runs on three hits...again, I believe the man is a closer, so bringing him in to start the ninth in a blow-out proves nothing...yet.

The Birds host the reigning A.L champs...the Tampa Bay Rays...later tonight. I'll be back soon...