2010 06 11 & 12 Phungo Road Trip Mets @ Orioles

2010 06 12 Brian Matusz v Jose Reyes (click to enlarge)

The Phils are in Boston this weekend, so team Phungo took part in a boys weekend. I headed down to Baltimore to meet some of my friends from college and watch the Orioles pound on those stinkin Mets.

Unfortunately things didn't go as planned.

The Mets junkball tandem of R A Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi held the Orioles to 2 runs in 2 game Friday and Saturday Night. Despite the games not going my way It was a great to get out to some games with some old friends and enjoy a couple of nights at the yard.

Shots:



Nick Markakis (4-7 w/ 3 doubles between the 2 games - had the O's only RBI)


Francisco Rodriquez (2 saves, 2 ip, 1 Hi, 3ks - struck out the side on Friday Night)



Poe

The Orioles had Ravens night on Saturday - Which featured the Ravens Mascot Poe. There were also several other Baltimore Ravens attractions at the park. Head Coach (and former Philadelphia Eagles Assistant) John Harbaugh threw out the first pitch. The Baltimore Ravens band was present and played "Take Me out to the Ball Game" during the 7th inning stretch.

Note - Celebrating the cities football team at a baseball game is something I doubt could happen in Philadelphia.



Ravens Cheerleaders!!

And there was one other Attraction from the Football team.

As you can see the Fans in Baltimore are very much looking forward to turning the page and moving on to Football season for more than one reason.

The Ballgames
Friday Mets 5 @ Orioles 1
Saturday Mets 3 @ Orioles 1

Basically the O's looked like the Phillies team I have been watching the last couple of weeks. They simply cannot score. Friday night they left 10 runners on base, plating only one and that was on an RA Dickey Wild Pitch.

The four starters we saw this weekend all pitched well - The Mets were able to win both games by getting a couple of homers and clutch hits.

Quick Hits - Mets Rookie Prospect Ike Davis didn't do anything noteworthy at the plate but he did have his first career stolen base. I am not sure if he is still considered a rookie, but Chris Carter had his first career Home Run on Friday night. Jose Reyes and Jeff Francoeur both recorded Homers on Saturday. Miguel Tejada played a fine 3rd base for the O's on Saturday night making several nice place behind Orioles Starter Brian Matusz. The Orioles young phenom Matt Wieters did not start Saturday - he was 1-4 on Friday night.

RA Dickey is now 4-0 in 5 starts with the Mets.

Phungo Game Report - 2009 09 07 Rangers 4 @ Orioles 5

Saturday was a great day for a game and the Phils were on the road so I ventured down to Camden Yards in Baltimore to catch the Orioles hosting the Rangers.

The O's are fielding what one would think is a pretty forgettable team and are attempting to not suffer a hundred losses. As dreadful as this sounds they are not awful to watch - in fact since there is no one at the stadium, it is a good opportunity to catch some of their young talent which will hopefully help the O's compete in the future.

Three of the O's Baseball America Top 5 Prospects were in action Saturday - Catcher Matt Weiters (#1), Left Fielder Nolan Reimold (5) and 2008 #4 overall pick Brian Matusz got the start.

The Texas Rangers are potentially playoff bound and feature a good mix of young talent and some veterans. Sadly Josh Hamilton is on the shelf and was out of the lineup.

After a rough start Matusz settled down and managed to pitch 6 good innings after a shaky 3 run first highlighted by a David Murphy home run. For the game Matusz gave up 4 runs over 7 innings on 6 hits and only 1 walk. It was good enough to give the O's a 5-4 Win. Former Phil Kevin Millwood did not pitch nearly as well - first he could not hold the 3 run lead that the O's spotted. Millwood would leave after only completing 5 innings and giving up 5 runs.

The Offensive highlights were provided by long time Oriole Melvin Mora who was 3 for 4 with a Homer and 3 RBIs. It may be Mora's last great game with the O's.

Some Snapshots:
Good Guy Awards go out to the Rangers Derek Holland, Julio Borbon, and I think this is Michael Young who were all spotted signing autographs. Robert Andino signed a few Autos on the home side.

It was Negro League Recognition Day at Camden Yards and the Widow Hall of Famer Leon Day (foreground) threw out one of the ceremonial first pitches.

2009 09 05 Mrs Leon Day

2009 09 05 Melvin Mora
Melvin Mora was the offensive hero of the day. As part of the Negro League Celebration the Orioles wore the uniforms of the 1949 Baltimore Elite Giants (Pronounced E-Light)



2009 0905 Brian Matusz v Ian Kinsler

Good seats for everyone. The payed attendence was a shade under 18,000 but I am not sure that half that many actually showed up.