Guthrie, Palmer Winners in Chicago

June 24, 11:44 PMBaltimore Orioles ExaminerJay Trucker

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Tuesday night’s series opener at Wrigley field is the Orioles’ first trip to Chicago’s north side.  The historic park features one-hundred dollar bleacher seats, stomach-churning Old Style beer, and no video screen, meaning no replays, no smiling hitters, and worst of all, no clapping bird hands.  But at least they haven't suffered through a decade of losing.

Orioles fans had deja vu in the first inning, when Corey’s little brother Eric Patterson followed in his sibling’s footsteps, first pitch swinging to Luke Scott in left field for an easy out. 

Good Company

Announcing games with a first ballot Hall of Famer by your side must be tough, but Jim Hunter may be overcompensating just a little.  In the top of the third, Hunter placed his announcing partner, Oriole great Jim Palmer, in some pretty rare company.  Apparently, Hunter saw a signed picture of the Pope just below an autographed photo of Palmer at a Chicago steakhouse Sunday night.  When he told his protege about this, the always modest Palmer’s only response was to disclose that he had turned down an invitation to dine with Hunter that evening, thereby missing an opportunity to see a photograph of his younger self partially obscured by a fading signature.

 This is what these guys talk about when the game is close.  You can only imagine what the conversations are like during blowouts in late August.

Middle Relief

Guthrie induced a rare bunt attempt double play to keep the game scoreless through three.

Luke Scott hit a two RBI triple in the fourth, scoring Millar and Hernandez.  The O’s stranded Scott on third.  The Cubs responded in the bottom of the same inning, with a Kosuke Fukudome leadoff homerun.  Eric Patterson then does something very un-Corey like, drawing a no out walk; however, the heart of the Cubs lineup is unable to capitalize, leaving it 2-1 Orioles through four.

The Orioles chased Cubs starter Sean Marshall out of the game in the fifth, scoring two more runs and increasing their lead to 4-1 by the middle of the fifth.  They then added three more runs in the sixth, when Luke Scott reached second on a Patterson error, Alex Cintron hit a double, Brian Roberts hit a triple (for his 1,000^th career hit), and Nick Markakis blooped a single. 

Guthrie was pulled in the seventh, after giving up a three run homer to Jim Edmonds.

Flat Breezy

Closer George Sherrill came in with two outs in the eighth after middle relievers Jim Johnson and Chad Bradford struggled to find the strike zone.  Sherrill induced a Matt Murton pop up with two on, quelling a Cubs rally. 

Melvin Mora, momentarily forgetting that he is pushing 40, was caught stealing with one out in the ninth, and the Orioles hitters left it to Sherrill to preserve the win.

The flat-billed lefty got the job done, but not before making it interesting, loading the bases with no outs in the ninth.  The Wrigley faithful got to their feet in time to see Sherrill strike out the next three batters, earning him the save.  Guthrie got the win and the Orioles ended the Cubs’ fourteen game win streak at home. 

Fun Facts

Though the Orioles held a six run lead at one point, the Cubs battled back and seemed to have the momentum in the last two innings.  It was a pretty big win for the birds, who suffered two tough losses in Milwaukee.  The team had its best pitching matchup of the three game series today, and it will be telling to see how they perform behind starters Brian Burres and Radhamas Liz in their last two games before heading back to the East Coast.  A series win is still unlikely, but it would be a huge confidence booster for an often overachieving Baltimore club.      

At press time, Jim Palmer has still never surrendered a grand slam.

Score: 7-5

Next Game: Burres (6-5, 5.24 ERA vs. Lilly (7-5, 4.71 ERA)

Record:  39-36, 6.5 GB