Holliday Comes Through In A Pinch
For a second day in a row the Baltimore Orioles came from behind to defeat the Houston Astros. Trailing 2-0 after five and a half innings on Saturday, the Orioles scored 3 runs in the home half of the sixth to take a one run lead. The bullpen made that lead hold up for the win.
In the sixth the Orioles loaded the bases with two outs on singles by Adley Rutschman (2 for 3, 2B, BB), Eloy Jimenez (1 for 4, R) and Colton Cowser (1 for 4, R). Cowser reached base by sliding headfirst on a groundball to first, beating Framber Valdez to the bag. Pinch hitting for Emmanuel Rivera (0 for 1, BB), Jackson Holliday (1 for 1, 3 RBI) hit the first pitch he saw to center field for a 3-RBI double.
Gunnar Henderson went 1 for 4 with a run scored and Ramon Urias went 1 for 3.
Albert Suarez started on the mound and brought with him a 17.2 scoreless inning streak. The streak ended with a Jose Altuve leadoff homerun. Suarez then retired 16 of the next 20 batters he faced before exiting after allowing a Jeremy Pena homerun. His final line was 5.2 IP, 2 R, 4 H (2 HR), 2 BB, 3 K.
The bullpen took it from there and held the Astros scoreless over the final 3.1 innings. Keegan Akin (3-0) allowed 1 hit and struck out 1 in 1.0 inning and was the pitcher of record. Yennier Cano allowed 1 hit and struck out 3 in 1.1 innings. Finally, Seranthony Dominguez struck out 1 batter in the ninth to earn his 6th save for the Orioles.
2024 Record: 76-55
Next Game: Sun. 8/25 vs. Houston @ 7:10 pm