Orioles crush White Sox at empty Camden Yards
Camden Yards was quiet. The Baltimore Orioles' bats were not.
Baltimore scored six times in the first, Ubaldo Jimenez pitched seven strong innings and the Orioles hammered the Chicago White Sox, 8-2, in the first game in MLB history played without fans in attendance.
The league made the unprecedented decision to close Wednesday's game to the public due to violent rioting in Baltimore over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. The unrest resulted in postponing two games, rescheduling Wednesday's contest five hours early and moving the Orioles' home games this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays to St. Petersburg.
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
The empty ballpark at Camden Yards did little to throw off the Orioles, who spotted Jimenez a 6-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a six-hit attack and three-run homer by Chris Davis. It marked White Sox starter Jeff Samardzija's worst outing of the season, even if only a couple scouts and members of the media were there to see it.
"It’s quiet, there's nothing going on," White Sox rookie Micah Johnson told reporters after the game. "You hear everything. Obviously it was better for the Orioles than us today. The atmosphere, it's not how baseball is supposed to be played."
PHOTOS: Orioles host White Sox in game closed to public
Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, who went 1-for-3 with a double, had strong words prior to the game regarding the demonstrations being held in Baltimore and the Maryland area.
"This is their cry. This isn't a cry that is acceptable, but this is their cry and, therefore, we have to understand it," Jones said. "They need hugs. They need love. They need support. As much as I can give, as much as I know people on the opposition can give, I'm going to try and give as much as I can, because the city needs it."
Both teams still lined up for the national anthem, and the ballpark played the traditional John Denver song during the seventh-inning stretch. But aside from some fans pining for a view behind locked gates in the outfield, very few people enjoyed what will surely go down as one of the strangest games in history.
"For record-keeping purposes," the Orioles public relations person announced during the game, "the official paid attendance is zero."