|
 Gonzalez blanked the Cincinnati Reds up to that point, and
Wallace asked how he felt.
Gonzalez said he felt just great, and Wallace told him to go finish
the job. The 30-year-old Mexico native then did just that.
Throwing his first major league complete game, a four-hitter,
Gonzalez led the Orioles to a 6-0 victory Wednesday. Second baseman
Jonathan Schoop helped out with a homer and three RBIs.
Everything went right for Gonzalez as the Orioles (81-57) maintained
their 9 1/2-game lead over the New York Yankees in the American
League East. Gonzalez (7-7) finished with a season-high eight
strikeouts and walked just one.
The Reds (66-73) didn't get a hit until the fifth, and they had only
two baserunners until the eighth.
"It's an awesome feeling," said Gonzalez, who threw one complete
game in the minors. "It was great. They were swinging first, second
pitch (early). I think that helped. That got me through nine
innings."
His main problem came in the eighth thanks to two hits and an error,
which loaded the bases with two outs. Gonzalez then got first
baseman Todd Frazier to ground out, had his talk with Wallace and
finished it in the ninth.
"Miggy is such a team guy, he's such a professional, and that was a
professional outing," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "A lot of
late life to the fastball, pitched up when he needed to, split was
there, breaking ball. He had a lot of things working tonight,
obviously."
Gonzalez, who threw 117 pitches, received a standing ovation from
the crowd when he came out for the ninth inning and another when the
game ended.
Both Gonzalez, who turned in his fourth consecutive quality start,
and Showalter gave catcher Caleb Joseph a lot of credit for his
pitch-calling and the way they changed speeds and locations to
befuddle the Cincinnati hitters.
Cincinnati starter Dylan Axelrod (1-1) matched Gonzalez early. The
right-hander retired the first eight hitters, just like Gonzalez,
but three of the next six Orioles hit home runs to give Baltimore a
4-0 lead.
Schoop homered for the second night in a row. His solo shot gave
Baltimore the lead for good in the third inning. Schoop added a
two-run double off right-hander Carlos Contreras in the seventh
inning.
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Center fielder David Lough added a solo shot in the fourth inning, and
first baseman Chris Davis hit a two-run homer later in the inning to
give the Orioles a four-run advantage.
"(Axelrod) made a couple mistakes, and they got hit out of the
ballpark," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He competed in the strike
zone. Unfortunately, we didn't do anything offensively at all to give
him any support."
Axelrod gave up only five hits in his six-inning stint, but three of
them were homers.
Thanks to the early lead and Gonzalez's pitching, the Orioles recorded
their eighth win in 10 games.
"It feels really good," Schoop said. "This team is together. Everybody
is together and everybody tries to help everybody, and we (want to) keep
winning until Sept. 28. And then there's more to go (in) October."
NOTES: Orioles manager Buck Showalter gave starting CF Adam Jones a bit
of a breather in the second game of the Cincinnati series by moving him
to designated hitter. David Lough stepped in to play center field. It
was the fourth time this season Jones served as the designated hitter,
and he went 2-for-4. ... SS J.J. Hardy returned to the Baltimore lineup
after leaving early Monday and sitting out Tuesday because of lower back
spasms that have bothered him a few times this season. ... Reds CF Billy
Hamilton stole his 55th base of the season Tuesday. That set a team
record for steals by a rookie. It is the highest total by a Cincinnati
player since Deion Sanders swiped 56 in 1997. ... Reds SS Zack Cozart
missed the first two games of the series after the birth of his first
child, a son. The baby was born Tuesday afternoon.
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