WASHINGTON – Left-hander MacKenzie Gore presented a huge challenge for an Orioles lineup that has struggled to hit lefties all season.
How could the Orioles lineup hope to find its rhythm against a lefty that led Major League Baseball in strikeouts per nine innings entering the night? That's all anyone was talking about entering tonight’s game.
As it turns out, Gore wasn’t the story. Cade Povich was. And on the back of their young left-hander, the Orioles avoided a sweep and left D.C. with a 2-1 win, their first victory scoring fewer than five runs this season.
Tomoyuki Sugano had been the only O’s starter to put up consistent numbers in recent weeks. The veteran right-hander, in his first major league season, did so again last night, tossing an admirable seven innings.
Povich was even better.