Jeff Ballard, 1991 Bowman #98

This Day in Orioles History: August 13, 1988

Orioles 5, Brewers 0 at County Stadium

Young Jeff Ballard provided a rare glimpse of promise in a bleak 1988 season, tossing his first career shutout and holding the host Brewers to three hits. The southpaw from Stanford had a fascinating pitching line, walking seven batters and striking out just one in his nine innings. It took him 140 pitches (only 74 of which were strikes) to complete the game, but he was helped out by two double plays which were turned in by the law firm of Rene Gonzales, Billy Ripken, and Eddie Murray. Terry Kennedy also chipped in, gunning down Rob Deer at second base on a steal attempt.

The O's got RBIs from Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken, Jr. to take a 2-0 lead after three innings. That would be all that Ballard needed, but outfielder Joe Orsulak wanted a piece of the action. His three-run home run off of Milwaukee's Bill Wegman boosted the Baltimore advantage to 5-0. In all, the Orioles mustered only six hits off of the three Brew Crew arms, but they made every hit count. This game is also notable as the fourteenth of Brady Anderson's tenure in orange and black. He would eventually total 1,759 games in fourteen seasons; only five Orioles have topped that mark. With the win, the Birds closed to within thirty games of first-place Detroit. Hey, I told you it was a rough year.