Dempster And Bard Touched Up In Slugfest Vs O’s

Ryan Dempster gave up three runs on six hits in five innings of work in the Red Sox eventual 8-7 loss to the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon. Junichi Tazawa would have the best pitching outing for the afternoon, pitching a perfect sixth inning while striking out one. Daniel Bardwould also have his worst outing so far this spring. In one inning he allowed three earned runs via two hits and a walk.

Mar 8, 2012; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Ryan Dempster (46) pitches against the Minnesota Twins during the game at JetBlue Park. The Twins shut out the Red Sox 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The lineup went 16 for 40 (.400 average) with two walks (.429 OBP) but would also leave 19 runners on base.

A few familiar faces were in the O’s lineup today. Luis Exposito saw some game action behind the plate late in the game and struck out in one at-bat. Yamaico Navarro (who was traded for Mike Aviles who was later traded for John Farrell) had an RBI single in one at-bat. Danny Valencia would hit a solo home run late in the game.

Despite the overall subpar pitching in today’s game, the staff has been rather good. It’s inevitable that even the best pitchers and players have a bad day every now and then. In his career, Dempster has been pretty good at putting bad outings behind him. Hopefully that trend continues.

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