The Orioles were playing catch up all afternoon against the A’s. And every time they scratched a run or two across the board, Oakland would answer respond with a couple more. Ultimately, the Birds couldn’t close the gap.
Athletics starting pitcher Paul Blackburn is a ground ball machine. He played to his strength with a sinker in the low 90s, inducing ground balls for two of the three outs in the first. The right-hander put the Orioles down in order in the second, and got a key ground ball double play to speed up his third inning of work.