Walker Homers Twice, Ohlendorf Continues Rough Spring In Loss To Orioles

By Zane Heiple

Photo Credit: Derick E. Hingle

The Baltimore Orioles completed a five game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates this spring with an 11-7 win tonight.  The Pirates struck early with three runs in the first inning.  Lyle Overbay hit a two-run homerun to give the Bucs a 2-0 lead.  Neil Walker came up next and hit a solo shot to make it 3-0.

The O’s answered in the second off of Pittsburgh starter Ross Ohlendorf.  The first batter of the inning, Luke Scott, hit a solo shot, followed by a solo homer by Mark Reynolds.  The Orioles tied the game in the third inning with a Felix Pie sacrifice fly that scored Derrick Lee.

The fifth inning saw the end of Ohlendorf’s day as three more runs would score for Baltimore.  His final stat line looked like this:  4.2 innings pitched, five earned runs on nine hits, four K’s, two walks, and three homeruns.  He also picked up the loss, dropping his Spring Training record to 0-4 with a 10.05 ERA.

Pittsburgh gained a run back when Walker hit his second solo homerun on the day to cut the lead to 6-4.  The Orioles pulled away in the sixth and seventh innings, scoring a combined five runs.  Three of these five runs were earned, coming off newly acquired pitcher Garret Olson in the seventh inning.

The Buccos got a run in the eighth inning with Pedro Alvarez singled to right field, scoring Overbay.  The final scoring of the night came in the top of the ninth when Josh Rodriguez blasted a two-run homerun to trip the lead to 11-7, which would be the final.

It has been a tough road for Ohlendorf this spring as he had another bad start tonight.  It looks like he will get one more start this spring to figure out what he is doing wrong.  It was nice to see the Pirates collect four home runs tonight, especially since they are not known for their long-ball capabilities.  Hopefully the Bucs will have more success in the regular season against Baltimore as the two teams will meet in Pittsburgh on June 20-22 for an interleague series.

In an non-game note, manager Clint Hurdle named Kevin Correia his Opening Day starter for the Buccos.  The Pirates will return to action tomorrow when they take on the Rays for the next to last time this spring.

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!