notes
Bourn's power provides ‘real lift' for the O's
OF has two homers in two starts; Brach, Givens switch order in relief
Bourn homered to open the Orioles' scoring in their 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, and now has two home runs in two starts since joining the club Aug. 31. He's batting .333 (4-for-12) with three RBIs in eight games, and has appeared as a defensive replacement in six of the seven games he didn't start.
Bourn's third-inning home run gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish, and gave the 33-year-old outfielder reason to smile in the final month of a season during which he has played in three organizations and struggled to find his footing.
“It's a talented team, so I'm just happy to be a part of it,” Bourn said. “I like being a part of it. You know, I'm just trying to make the most of it, have fun while I'm doing [it] and enjoy the moment.”
Showalter said the decision was matchup-based, with Brach, whose second-half swoon continued Friday, when he allowed the winning home run in the eighth inning, a better fit for the seventh inning Sunday, and nothing more.
“It was a good spot for him,” Showalter said. “I liked Mike at the top of the order there, and I liked Brad where they were with the left-handed hitters coming off the bench, potentially. You're picking your poison this time of year.”
Essentially, Showalter bet on the Tigers' pinch-hitting left-handers at the bottom of their right-hander-dominant order against Givens, but not Brach. It paid off. Brach pitched a perfect seventh, and Givens ended up pitching himself into and out of a jam. He hit leadoff man
“I know that is probably the best hitter out there in our generation,” Givens said of Cabrera. “I just went out there to compete and try to get us out of the inning.”
“It's just a confidence boost,” said Givens, who lowered his ERA to 3.49.
“That was big,” closer
“Sometimes we need to take a look at maybe the world sometimes and see how good we have it here and see how lucky we all are to be born into the situation we've been born into compared to some other people,” Showalter said. “It's just a reminder how fleeting it can be.”