Bob Haynie: Orioles Beat White Sox In Empty Camden Yards
No fans, no problem for the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon against the Chicago White Sox.
Why the fans weren't there is obviously a major problem here in the Charm City. In the wake of the rioting on Monday and the city-wide 10pm to 5am curfew imposed by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the Birds and Sox played a Major League Baseball game on a beautiful day with no fans in attendance.
As the city still simmers and seeks answers about the death of Freddie Gray, baseball resumed here in Baltimore after Monday and Tuesday night's games were postponed.
The circumstances did not prevent Ubaldo Jimenez from rolling through the Chicago lineup and helping the Orioles to an easy 8-2 victory. The veteran righty threw only 89 pitches in seven innings as the Birds won their third-straight contest. Jimenez gave up three hits and walked just one batter as he improved his record to 2-1.
The Baltimore offense backed up Jimenez in a big way by putting six runs on the board in the first inning against White Sox right-hander Jeff Samardzija. 1B Chris Davis provided the big blow of the inning by mashing a three-run homer onto Eutaw Street to give the Orioles a 4-0 advantage.
3B Manny Machado also homered and went 3-for-4 overall to raise his batting average to .254. For the game, the Orioles smacked out 11 hits, including six of the extra-base variety.
For Jimenez it was another outstanding performance as he continues to put his disastrous 2014 season behind him.
The Orioles now head to St. Petersburg to play in the Tampa Bay Rays at The Trop. The Rays have won six of their last eight games and will be the road team during this unique series.
For the Birds, they will continue to improvise and adapt and, hopefully, come back home on May 11 to a calmer and safer Baltimore.