Lost in Chris Tillman‘s stellar start during the Orioles walkoff win over the Blue Jays on Monday was the work of Baltimore’s bullpen. Darren O’Day relieved Tillman with J.P. Arencibia on third in the seventh inning. O’Day walked Brett Lawrie, but struckout Emilio Bonifacio to end the inning.
In the eighth, O’Day handed Munenori Kawasaki a free pass, but recorded three quick outs including a strikeout of Jose Bautista on a nasty breaking ball outside of the zone. GIF after the bump.
MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko points out that O’Day has allowed just one extra-base hit since Stephen Drew‘s home run on September 16, 2012 (James Loney‘s home run on Thursday). In 17 innings since Drew’s homer, teams are batting .140 (8-for-57) against him.
His effectiveness in the eight inning combined with Jim Johnson‘s consistency in the ninth make for one of the best setup man-closer duos in the game.
