The Orioles chose not to think about what may have happened had starter Brian Matusz failed to get out of the first inning last night, and for a couple of anxious minutes, that appeared to be a realistic possibility.
Instead, they focused on the three innings that followed Matusz's rocky first, and preceded Delmon Young's go-ahead homer off the southpaw in the fifth. Though the end result was a listless 7-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins, the Orioles took some solace in how their struggling pitcher steadied himself to stay in a game in which he appeared headed for a premature shower.
"I think he made the adjustments for a young pitcher," said interim manager Juan Samuel. "I think he showed a lot after what we saw in that first inning. It didn't look like he was going to make it there."
On a night where the game time temperature was 99 degrees, Matusz walked three of the first four hitters that he faced and went to three-ball counts with five of the first eight, forcing long man Mark Hendrickson up in the bullpen before many of the 22,299 at sultry and sweaty Camden Yards had even taken their seat.
Fourteen of Matusz's first 20 pitches were balls, and only 10 of his 26 pitches in the first inning found the strike zone. Yet amazingly, Matusz walked off the mound after the first having given up just one run on Delmon Young's sacrifice fly.
"Warming up before the game, I felt good, I felt locked in and in that first inning, I was trying to do too much," said Matusz. "I got ahead of myself and I was trying to win the game in the first inning. I came out really excited and felt good. I had a lot of confidence. I was overdoing it. After that first inning, I just relaxed myself and I felt really good from that second inning on. You take away that first inning where I walked three guys and drove my pitch count up, then I'm pretty happy about it."
Said catcher Craig Tatum who was later forced out of the game with a bruised hand: "I thought in the first inning, he was just pressing and trying to aim the ball. I just told him to quit worrying about all the other stuff and throw the ball through me and throw strikes and he did."
Perhaps just as his improbable as his tidy damage control in the first inning, Matusz, even if it was just for a couple of minutes, had a 2-1 lead to protect after the surging Luke Scott connected for a two-run homer off Twins starter Scott Baker in the fourth inning.
The lead lasted just two batters as Michael Cuddyer hit a one-out single in the fifth and Young popped a first-pitch curveball into the left-field seats. The two-run shot gave the Twins a 3-2 lead and was the highlight of Young's 4-for-4 and three RBI night. In the first three games of the series, Young is 7-for-11 with six RBIs.
"He has a hot bat right now and I have no regrets on that pitch," Matusz said. "It was one of those things where I wanted the backdoor curveball there to get ahead because I had been doing that well all game and … it wasn't a bad curveball. It had good break to it. It just dropped down right to the sweet spot of his bat and that's going to happen. But I had no regrets there. I threw the pitch I wanted to."
The Twins piled on after the Young homer and scored once more in the sixth and three more in the seventh against three different Orioles' relievers. Matusz's line was three runs on six hits, three walks and five strikeouts over five innings. The one-time Rookie of the Year candidate has just one win since April 18, a span of 17 outings, and his 11 losses lead the American League.
The defeat was the Orioles' seventh in nine games since the All-Star break. They are just 2-7 on this season-long home stand, which ends Sunday afternoon.
Along with some inconsistent starting pitching on this home stand, the Orioles have also continued their ineptitude with runners in scoring position. They went 0-for-5 last night and are just 12-for-79 (.152) over the nine games on this home stand.
Last night, they managed just two runs in seven innings off Baker, who came in with a 5.15 ERA and having allowed five earned runs or more in five of his last seven starts. Perhaps the mere sight of the Orioles was all he needed to break from his struggles as he's now 5-0 with a 2.53 ERA against them in seven career starts.
The only hitter that Baker had much trouble with was Scott, who was robbed of a homer in the second inning when center fielder Denard Span extended well over the center-field wall to make the catch. But Scott got some redemption in the fourth when he lined Baker's 1-1 pitch into the right-field seats. The two-run shot was his 16th of the season, tying Ty Wigginton for the team lead, and his fourth in six games since coming off the disabled list.
"Right now, I'm in one of those zones where I'm just real comfortable at the dish," said Scott. "I know where my hands are, know where the barrel's going to be. When I get a pitch to hit, I'm not missing it too often."
Matusz is trying to find the same comfort level and he feels that his effort after the first inning is a step in that direction. Coming into the start, Matusz had allowed 10 earned runs and lasted just 4 2/3 innings in his previous two starts, prompting Samuel to confront questions about whether the club has considered sending their prized rookie to the minor leagues.
That question hung over the first inning last night, but the Orioles got the answer they apparently were looking for, though they didn't get a victory.
"I'm really happy how I came through that outing," Matusz said. "The confidence I have and the momentum I have coming into my next outing, I feel like I made a big stride today. I learned a lot about myself and I'm really looking forward to my next start."