News
Hernandez delivers stellar outing
Rookie starter puts an end to Orioles' 11-game Fenway skid
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
07/26/09 6:23 PM ET
BOSTON -- It took a marathon to reach this milestone. The Orioles snapped one of the most bizarre streaks in baseball on Sunday when they beat the Red Sox at Fenway Park for the first time in 12 tries. Baltimore took a 6-2 win over Boston, marking the road team's first win at Fenway since July 11 of last season.And it wasn't as if the games had been close. The Sox had outhit the Orioles, 123-79, and outscored them, 80-29, over the life of the streak, pounding the point home emphatically. Six of the 11 straight losses had taken place this season, but Baltimore starter David Hernandez helped render all of those stats ancient history.
"I don't have to talk about [the streak] anymore. People don't have to write about it anymore," said manager Dave Trembley. "It's one more negative thing that people can cross off, because what we're all about is being positive [and] understanding we have young players showing a lot of perserverance. I think it would've been very easy for us to just come in here today and fold our tent and let them pound on us, but we weren't going to let that happen."
Perhaps most importantly, the hard-fought victory means the Orioles won't go home with a six-game losing streak. Baltimore had lost four of its past five games by two or fewer runs and had fallen to a season-worst winning percentage in the process. Now, the Orioles (42-55) will head home with a different perspective entirely.
"It's definitely a big win for us, as far as kind of putting the wind back in our sails after a tough road trip," said veteran catcher Gregg Zaun. "We knew going into the break [that] we had a tough one ahead of us. It was like three of the best teams in baseball, three great lineups. And we didn't have such a great trip. But those are the lumps you take when you're a young, inexperienced team. And those are the lessons that you learn."
Hernandez, who has now thrown four consecutive quality starts, was able to apply those lessons from the top of the mound. The right-hander came off a strong outing at Yankee Stadium to hold the Red Sox hitless for the first three innings on Sunday and scoreless through the fourth. By that point, the Orioles held a five-run lead.
Hernandez wound up working seven innings, allowing one run and five hits while recording 11 flyouts and just two groundouts. He dominated the Red Sox (57-40) by refusing to fall behind or give in to a pitch that wouldn't suit him. Hernandez (3-2) wore out the power alley in center and right-center field over the course of the afternoon.
"Hernandez is special," said Trembley. "I think for him to come in here after the [way] he pitched in Yankee Stadium shows a lot about how far he's come and what he means to our future. You've got a guy who came in here and used his fastball. He pitched with confidence and he pitched with poise and he didn't get rattled one bit."
Zaun, who was pushed into a backup role by the emergence of rookie Matt Wieters, said on Sunday that he takes pride in watching the younger pitchers progress. The backstop said that Hernandez had good stuff in the bullpen and carried it into the game, but even more than that, Zaun lauded the rookie for having a good approach.
"I'm playing once every three or four days, but the kids are starting to respond," Zaun said. "They're talking to me between starts and asking me questions about this or that -- even sometimes during their starts -- asking me what I'm seeing and talking about hitters, pitching mechanics, the whole gamut. It's pretty rewarding. I know my role's not what it once was on a baseball team, but it's pretty gratifying to me to see the light bulb go on in their head. And when they carry things out on the field we've talked about and have some success, it's almost like I'm a coach at this point."
The Orioles took their first lead on a sacrifice fly in the first inning and used four hits in the third to race out to a four-run advantage. Felix Pie doubled in another run in the fourth to provide some insurance.
Right fielder Nick Markakis, who was moved into the cleanup slot on Sunday, didn't disappoint. The left-handed hitter drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning and another on a double in the second. Markakis came back to launch a solo homer in the fifth, a shot that helped chase Boston starter John Smoltz.
"I was just making [Smoltz] get the ball up over the plate," Markakis said. "He doesn't leave much over the plate. He hits his spots well. He's one of the better pitchers out there in the game -- and of all time. To come out here and get on him early and get his pitch count up -- we had some big hits in two-out situations -- was definitely good."
Trembley, who had slotted Markakis as his No. 4 hitter due to a day off for regular cleanup man Aubrey Huff, said he's not certain what he'll do with his lineup on Monday. One thing he does know, said Trembley, is that Markakis is one of the key players on his team and perhaps even an underrrated hitter by his standards.
"The other day I said about Markakis, 'People have to be living in a dream world if they don't think he's one of the best right fielders in the American League,'" said Trembley, repeating a claim he made after Friday's series opener in Boston. "I'd take it a step further and say that I think he's one of the best players in baseball. I went up to him today and said, 'I'm putting you in the four-slot because you're our best guy.' Look how he played."
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
