News
O's big day ends with an extra-inning win
By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com
07/30/10 1:30 AM ET
KANSAS CITY -- In spite of, or perhaps because of, an emotional series of events leading up to Thursday's game, the Orioles did what they could to push a lopsided record in the right direction.Buoyed by Corey Patterson's game-tying homer in the eighth, Ty Wigginton's sacrifice fly scored Brian Roberts in the top of the 11th inning as the O's edged the Royals, 6-5, in front of a crowd of 17,220 at Kauffman Stadium.
With the news, first of Buck Showalter's hiring as the O's new manager -- meaning interim manager Juan Samuel's days at the helm were numbered -- followed by an early evening trade that saw teammate Miguel Tejada pack his bags for San Diego, the O's extra-innings win put the spotlight back on the field.
But it didn't shine on Brian Matusz, as the highly touted 23-year-old turned in another abbreviated outing, ballooning his post All-Star break ERA to 12.60 in three starts, and causing Samuel to make a pitching change in the fourth inning.
"It's a major concern for me," Samuel said of Matusz, who has been unable to complete four innings in three of his past four starts. "That's why we decided to remove him earlier rather than late. We saw him in his last start at home. It looked like he was laboring through that first inning. He did get everything under control [in that outing], but we just didn't want to take a chance tonight."
Thursday's outing was particularly puzzling given that Matusz was dominant early on, taking a no-hitter into that fateful fourth inning. After a leadoff walk to Jason Kendall, Billy Butler's double ended the no-no bid and Matusz's outing got ugly quick, with two more walks -- one with the bases loaded -- a sacrifice fly and Rick Ankiel's single bringing Samuel out to remove an astonished Matusz.
"I still felt pretty good at that point [in the fourth inning], I was a little upset," Matusz said of Samuel's decision to end his night. "Obviously nobody likes coming out of the game, especially when you have good stuff and that's how I felt.
"[Samuel] obviously felt that it was a game that we had, we had the lead [3-0] at the time, and I wasn't capable of finishing the job ... obviously I wanted to stay in there and keep going, but if I don't like it, I need to stop walking guys and pitch better."
Samuel -- who has taken the stance of trying to avoid overexposing the Orioles' young arms -- had seen enough, and promptly inserted reliever Mark Hendrickson, who allowed two straight singles -- with three more runs scoring -- to hand Matusz an ugly line.
"I don't feel like I got completely out of the zone," said Matusz, who is 3-11 with a 5.46 ERA, and has walked three batters in a single inning in each of his past two starts. "I was missing by just a little bit here and there, was just trying to nibble too much. A couple things don't go my way and it ends up being a not-so-good outing."
Fortunately for the Orioles, it got better. Following a steady trickle of runs to take an early lead, including Nick Markakis' leadoff homer in the third, the O's closed the deficit to one with Patterson's sixth-inning fielder's choice, which scored Felix Pie, after the Royals took the lead during the five-run fourth.
Two innings later, Patterson -- a last-minute addition to the lineup after the Tejada trade -- delivered his sixth homer of the season off reliever Robinson Tejeda to tie the game.
"Really, I just try to tell myself to see a good ball. If I'm seeing it well, everything else takes care of itself," said Patterson, who has tied the game with four of his six homers this year.
While any win is a good feeling for a Major League-worst 32-70 Orioles squad, Patterson acknowledged that getting Samuel off in winning fashion in what will be his final weekend as manager is something the O's are striving for.
"Every game is important and Juan has been great," Patterson said. "We definitely want to play hard these next few games. Whatever happens after that, I hope he stays in this organization. He's been great, and I know we've enjoyed playing for him."
Added Wigginton: "Every player in here ought to appreciate everything [Samuel has] brought, not just to the games, but to the clubhouse as well, in the way he goes about his business. He's a true pro. He's done a lot of things in the game and it would be nice to send him off on a roll."
Brittany Ghiroli is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
