Orioles decide to start Bud Norris for game two against the Royals’ Yordano Ventura
Yordano Ventura goes for the Royals today in game two of the American League Championship Series. Manager Ned Yost made that known Tuesday.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter kept his probable pitcher to himself on Friday before it was announced it would be Bud Norris after the Royals won game one 8-6 in 10 innings.
Gamesmanship? Perhaps some.
From a competitive standpoint, there was no real edge in keeping the starter a secret.
It meant the Royals went into Friday’s opening game knowing Ventura would not be available in the bullpen.
The Orioles, who had narrowed their option to Norris or Wei-Yin Chen, seemingly had one available for long relief. To Norris, those were marching orders.
“It’s a little different, but it goes with the times,” Norris said Friday. “You understand that you’re still a solider, you’re working for a team.”
To Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, as hot a hitter as anybody in the postseason, concerning himself with the game-two starter’s identity before playing the first game was a waste of time.
“Against a team like this, you can’t think too far ahead,” Hosmer said. “As soon as (Friday’s) game is done then you worry about what’s going on in game two.”
Ventura started game two of the American League Division Series last week in Anaheim, Calif., and delivered one of his finest performances this season, scattering five hits in seven innings. He struck out five, walked one and turned over a 1-1 game to the bullpen. The Royals won 4-1 in 11 innings, with Hosmer’s two-run homer the big blast.
It didn’t hurt that Ventura also threw a gem against the Orioles this season, although it happened early in the season. On April 25, his fourth start of the season and seventh of his career, Ventura tied up Orioles bats, striking out eight in eight innings. The Royals won 5-0.
Still, this is a lineup that led the majors in home runs, and the cozy dimensions of Camden Yards are friendly to sluggers.
“I can’t worry about that,” Ventura said through interpreter Christian Colon. “I don’t think about that. I worry about myself, my pitches. They’re a great hitting team. But I trust my stuff.”
Chen and Norris were the starters for the second and third games of the Orioles’ ALDS sweep of the Tigers.
Chen was touched for five runs in 3 2/3 innings, and the Orioles trailed by three runs entering their half of the eighth. They scored four and took Chen off the hook.
Norris was the Orioles’ most impressive starter in the playoffs, throwing 6 1/3 innings of scoreless ball in a 2-1 series-clinching victory.
But Showalter said he doesn’t put as much stock in a recent start as he does a season’s worth of work, and Norris came up big this season, at 15-8 with a 3.65 ERA.
Who should start?
“Whoever goes, he’ll be ready,” Norris said Friday.
It looks like he’ll get the chance to prove it.
To reach Blair Kerkhoff, call 816-234-4730 or send email to bkerkhoff@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BlairKerkhoff.
This story was originally published October 10, 2014 at 9:14 PM with the headline "Orioles decide to start Bud Norris for game two against the Royals’ Yordano Ventura."