Frustrating ending had Birdland ornery Saturday night

It was a tough crowd on the blogs and Twitter around Birdland late last night. Blowing a late lead to the Red Sox had fans stirred up. I guess I can understand. But jumping on César Valdez because he suffered a blown save seemed a bit harsh to me.

The Orioles have four wins this year. He had two saves and win in those games. His ERA was 0.00 and his WHIP was 0.923 when he took the mound last night. In his first 12 games with the Orioles, dating to last year, he was 5-for-5 in saves with an ERA of 0.96 and 0.750 WHIP.

Call me crazy, but those are quality results.

Jumping on Valdez because he doesn't throw 95 mph is misplaced blame, in my book. The guy has been outstanding since he arrived and is a great story. Yes, a great story that also is a player producing great stats.

He might be miscast in a role that usually features flamethrowers, but sorry, one misstep doesn't make me rush someone else into the next save situation. Closer on a rebuilding team is not a position to waste worry over.

Valdez elevated some of his changeups last night and they got hit. That doesn't mean he won't throw great the next time out. He almost got a game-ending double play in the ninth with runners on first and third and one out.

We have to keep in mind the Orioles last night allowed one run on a botched rundown and another on a wild pitch. They went 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position. They scored two runs after the first inning.

The frustration, no doubt, stems from turning a 4-3 lead and possible win in the ninth into a 6-4 loss in 10 innings. The Orioles have not looked good in either game of this series. They need cleaner and crisper play. They need to start scoring more runs.

But having a ninth-inning pitcher who doesn't throw 95 is not among their biggest issues. Or an issue at all. Adam Ottavino was throwing 97 last night and allowed the two runs that put the Orioles ahead 4-3. How did that velocity work out for him in that game?

Blame Valdez? Go ahead, but I think you then overlook a lot of other things that happened in that game.

For a while it looked like shortstop Freddy Galvis might have produced the hit that would lead to a win. His RBI single to left on an 0-2 pitch for a 4-3 lead in the eighth was a nice piece of hitting and much needed for him. He was batting .103 as he made his way to the plate, but he served a 94 mph fastball into left for the lead.

Galvis entered that at-bat 1-for-22 on the year versus right-handed pitchers and 0-for-7 when batting with runners in scoring position.

The Orioles are continuing to struggle to score runs. Since they put up 11 a week ago today, they have not scored more than four in any of the last five games, going 1-4. They've scored just 13 runs in those games and are 2-for-31 with runners in scoring position in that span.

Baltimorean Bruce Zimmermann gave the Orioles his second quality start in two outings. He allowed seven hits and three runs over six innings. O's pitchers have gone six or more innings three times in 2021 - once by John Means and twice by Zimmermann. Time for others to join that party.

So the Orioles are 4-4 after Saturday's loss. For the first time this year they are not in first place, unless you count them being behind a 2-0 Rays club when they began the year 1-0. Which counts, I guess, technically. But they've spent a lot of time this year in first place.

But Birdland was ornery last night. Blowing a lead and losing for the fourth time in five games left a few nerves a bit frayed.

Freddy was ready in a big spot. pic.twitter.com/SW3BBJLOeH

-- Baltimore Orioles 😷 (@Orioles) April 11, 2021