Bergesen's Solid Start Wasted in Loss to Sox
The Birds came oh-so-close to taking out the Red Sox at Fenway Park, but fell 3-2 on Friday night.
O’s starter Brad Bergesen was magnificent, going 7 2/3 innings and allowing just three runs off five hits while walking none and fanning seven. Bergesen left with two outs in the eighth after allowing a double to Marco Scutaro…Will Ohman came on in relief and allowed a bloop single that gave the Sox a 3-2 lead and eventually the win.
Two of the five hits the Sox collected off Bergesen were solo home runs off the bat of J.D. Drew…Drew homered in the second inning to give Boston a 1-0 lead, and again in the fifth to knot the game at 2 (of course, replays showed that Drew’s first “home run” never actually cleared the fence, but the O’s never challenged the call).
Nick Markakis hit his fourth homer of the season in the fourth inning to put the O’s on the board, and Corey Patterson’s RBI single in the fifth gave the Birds a brief lead before the Sox came back to tie and eventually win the game.
Most fans (myself included) are wondering why Bergesen was pulled in favor of Ohman…Bergesen was at 100 pitches and had completely dominated Boston’s lineup (with Drew as the lone exception). Juan Samuel reasoned that with two leftys coming to bat, Ohman was the best fit. Of course, Terry Francona countered with a righty off the bench, and moments later the Sox took the lead…
It was definitely a hard loss for Bergesen and the Birds, but it was quite a game to watch. The Orioles send Jeremy Guthrie to the mound on Saturday night…hopefully he can even the series…Go O’s!