O's Shut Out Rays And Take Series

I turned the game on late, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the O's with a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the third inning. Melvin Mora hit a grandslam in the first inning, and Jeremy Guthrie took it from there (6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K). With the 6-0 win, the O's move to 4-1 on the season and have won their second straight series. Putting up wins against AL East rivals is something the team needs to do to be competitive.

Some random thoughts:

• One doesn't really have an appreciation for a quality shortstop until after seeing what the O's threw out there last year. It doesn't even matter that Izturis can't hit.
• I'm glad that the team signed Gregg Zaun, which is a move I advocated for early in the off-season. And he's getting rave reviews from the broadcast booth for his work behind the plate.
• Every Orioles but Felix Pie reached base via hit, walk, or HBP. Again. A deep line-up and a plus defense will go a long way towards keeping this team in games.
• The O's pitchers have actually shown decent control this year, but they have the worst strike-out rate in baseball. I guess they're going all-in on the gloves.
• It was nice to see Chris Ray pitch without giving up two runs (which he did in each of his previous two appearances). I much prefer it when he strikes out the side, even with the walk (on a 3-2 pitch at the knees that will be called more often than not) and the double (on a flyball blown away from Pie down the left-field line). He really looked fantastic.