Terry Ford: ALDS Orioles - Tigers Game 1
Wow… what a Game One of the ALDS. One minute, it's a tense 4-3 game going into the bottom of the 8th inning and the next minute you blink… a real long blink… and it's a 12-3 Orioles laugher after the O's piled it on with an eight run 8th inning.
It's time to give thanks to the baseball gods for the following:
1) Letting Nick Markakis play. Markakis was injured in 2012 and in his first post-season game he had two hits, scored the first run and knocked in the go ahead run.
2) Letting Nelson Cruz not get any better offers than the one year, eight million that the O's threw at him. Not only did Cruz lead the league in homers, but he went yard in his first ALDS at bat for the Birds and drove in a run in the 8th.
3) Letting Brad Ausmus manage the Tigers. Ausmus decided, for some odd reason, to hit and run in the top of the 8th down 4-2 with nobody out, Ian Kinsler on first and Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez coming to the plate. With Kinsler running, Hunter lined into a double play. The next batter Cabrera homered and thanks to Ausmus fantastic piece of strategy… it was only a solo blast. Instead of the game being tied, the Orioles were up 4-3. Awesome job Brad, the Birds should give you a game ball for helping them win Game One.
4) Letting the Tiger bullpen enter the game. Joba Chamberlin (Insert Joba Chamberlin Joke Here), Joakim Soria and Phil Coke combined to give up six earned runs in two-thirds of an inning. In the immortal words of Eddie Murphy, "Now that's a fire!"
5) Letting the Orioles bullpen enter the game. The Baltimore relievers threw four innings and gave up only one earned run.
Now, onto Game Two. O's manager Buck Showalter needs go over to the Tigers hotel this morning and personally chauffeur the entire Detroit bullpen to Camden Yards to make sure they get to the ballpark safely. We don't anything to happen to them. They are one of the keys to a Baltimore victory.
