Orioles, Cardinals Tie Things Up Against Yanks, Nats

AL Playoffs

Game 2: Baltimore Orioles Defeat New York Yankees 3-2

On Monday night, the Baltimore Orioles tied up their series against the heavily favored New York Yankees in Camden Yards, taking the game 3-2. Here are some mind-boggling Baltimore statistics for you: the Orioles were 29-9 in one run games this year, and 74-0 when leading after seven innings. The O’s got two runs from Chris Davis, and Major League saves leader Jim Johnson came in and pitched a perfect ninth inning to preserve the series-tying win for the Orioles. “It’s real easy, like I said last night, to trust Jim Johnson,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said after the game. “He’s done it a few times for us. He’s having a special year, a special year.”

It’s been a long, hard road for the Baltimore Orioles, who have suffered a decade-plus of hardships in the basement of the AL East, always looking up at the Yankees, Red Sox and even Tampa Bay Rays in recent years. It’s no wonder Baltimore’s fan base, and ownership, is taking such joy in the team’s sudden success. Owner Peter Angelos was in the clubhouse after the game, shaking every player’s hand. “It is great that he was in here,” Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said. “Obviously it meant a lot to him as much as it did us and the fans. He doesn’t come in here a lot. He takes care of business up there and we take care of it on the field. Hopefully, the next time I see him he will be holding a trophy.”

Baltimore has won all three series in Yankee Stadium this year, but the team still knows that they’ve got a tough road ahead of them. “You definitely don’t want to go into New York in a five-game series down two games. This is big — having the day off tomorrow, hopefully building some momentum, and we can take that into New York,” Davis said. Still, the O’s have to like what they saw out of their bullpen on Monday. Perhaps these scrappy O’s can keep the train rolling and take down the heavily favored (not just in this series, but to even go to the World Series itself) New York Yankees after all.

NL Playoffs

Game 2: St. Louis Cardinals Defeat Washington Nationals 12-4

This St. Louis team is tough to figure out. Indeed, the defending World Champs have had an up and down season, but this game displayed what they do best: hitting, and hitting in bunches. The team hit four home runs in this blowout win over the Nats, two of them coming from Carlos Beltran.

“We know this offense has the potential to do this,” Cardinals rookie manager Mike Matheny said. “It was nice to see this, and hopefully it becomes contagious and the guys just keep going.”

In Game 1 of the series, St. Louis could not have looked more different. The Cards were 0-8 with runners in scoring position and only picked up three hits. Things went a little bit differently in Game 2, when the team picked up five hits and four runs in the second inning alone, chasing Nats pitcher Jordan Zimmermann from the game early. Allen Craig hit one of four homers for the Cards in the game, his fifth ever in the postseason.

“If we get things going, we feel like we can carry the team,” Craig said. “As you saw tonight, we put a lot of good swings on the ball and really drove the ball. It was a lot of fun.”

While the Nationals are favored in this series, the Cardinals illustrated last season just how devastating they can be in a small sample size. They’re the ultimate “scary playoff team” team. They may not look like much in the regular season, but they’ve practically been designed to deliver upsets. I would be leery about the Nats the rest of the way in this one.