Orioles win 11-4, full sweep of Phillies

How sweep it is! The Orioles completed their second straight sweep against an enemy NL East by beating the Phillies 11-4 at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday night.

A rain delay pushed the start time of this match back about an hour and 40 minutes. But even when things were going on, the two crimes were slowly out the gate. Due to the first three innings, none of the club managed a runner past second base.

That changed in the bottom of the fourth inning, however, when Phillies catcher JT Realmuto smashed a two-run homer into the right field bleachers, scoring Bryce Harper, who had doubled for him.

As usual for these O’s, they did not stay long.

Renato Nunez led Baltimore halfway through the fifth inning with a single. He moved to second place on a Pedro Severino-based hit, and an Austin Hays clock loaded the bases for Pat Valaika.

The blonde-haired handyman hit a hard ground ball up in the middle and between the legs of Phillies starter Jake Arrieta, but it would not cut very much in the outside field. Second baseman Jean Segura snared the grounder and clapped it after shortstop Didi Gregorius for the power out on the second base. Gregorious then turned to the first for a shot at the second, but Valaika knocked it out when Nunez crossed the plate for the first Orioles run of the evening.

A walk to Hanser Alberto would reload the bases. A moment later Anthony Santander fired them out with a laser beam double to the right center gap, allowing Severino, Valaika and Alberto to score to give the Birds a 4-2 lead.

Santander’s double knocked Arrieta out of the game. The former Cy Young winner crossed to the fifth inning, but was rounded out in his second and third time by the Orioles Order. He would have to settle for a final line of 4.2 innings, seven hits, four runs, one walk and four strikeouts against his former club.

Orioles starter Thomas Eshelman would end his workday later this time as well. Over five innings, the soft-tossing right gave just the two runs on four hits, no walks and two strikeouts. It was an impressive outing for the 26-year-old. He kept the Phillies out of balance and forced them to put the ball in play. Good stuff, Tom!

Jose Iglesias, who serves as Orioles DH as he continues with a sore quad, added two insurance chances with a double in the top of the seventh inning. The two runners who scored on the two-dredger were Valaika, who ran, and Alberto, who had one (of course). It was now a 6-2 advantage for the O’s.

Things would not stop there. Nunez led the eighth inning with a walk. Dwight Smith Jr. followed with a single. At that point, Phillies manager Joe Girardi pulled relief Austin Davis in favor of rookie hurler Connor Brogdon. On Brogdon’s first major league pitch, Severino took him deep to make it 9-2 and put the game out of reach for the home team.

After Paul Fry threw a perfect seventh inning, it was David Hess’ turn from the Orioles bull. His exit did not go as well as his predecessor. Over two innings, he allowed two runs, both of which came on Realmuto’s second round tripper of the night.

But before the game was in the books, the Orioles added a cherry to the top. And who better to do that than the mohawk-mullet-donating third baseman Rio Ruiz. He blew a Brogdon Fastball high into the Philadelphia skies and hit it just hard enough to cut it over the right field goal, scoring himself and Bryan Holaday, who had a string for Iglesias.

The Ruiz-dong forced Girardi to leave his pitching staff completely and opt for a position player on the mound. In this case, he turned to first baseman Neil Walker. The 34-year-old would end up with the best pitching line of anyone who put the Phillies up the hill. In two-thirds of an inning, he allowed only one baserunner on a walk, but did not give up any runes.

It was still an impressive team win for the Orioles. The offender collected 15 hits and ran five times. Eshelman did a fun job on a night when the bullpen needed a rest. And the pitching staff did not take any walks at all. That’s a winning combination.

The Orioles now sit at 10-7 on the season and remain in possession of a playoff spot. As profits pile up, they start to look less and less unpredictable. Are the Orioles really good? It’s still early, but it’s also starting to feel like they might be.

A big series against the Nationals this weekend could provide further insight. They have a chance of two wins on Friday, as the two clubs will play the stoppage game from Sunday and then play a regular nine-inning game. Initial refund rate is set for 5 pm from Camden Yards.