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| Photo: Scott Audette/ AP |
Well, that was fun huh? Suddenly our Baltimore Orioles find themselves 2.5 games up on the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. It's not a perfect product, but there seemingly isn't one in the whole league right now, so we've just got to dig in and enjoy the winning as it comes. And it is... Let's look back at the last week!
Record since Last Orioles Report: 5-2
Overall Record: 62-38
Last Two vs. LA
Tyler Wells hadn't been roughed up in a little bit...but Wednesday versus the Dodgers...woof. He lasted just two innings, giving up six hits and five earned before his departure. Cole Irvin and Cionel Perez each gave up two earned runs of their own en route to a 10-3 Orioles loss. Aaron Hicks contributed two empty RBI.
Thursday though, the bounce back was on! A four run bottom of the first inning erased the 2-0 deficit Dean Kremer dug the O's into, behind RBI singles from Aaron Hicks and Jordan Westburg, followed by a two run double by Ramon Urias. They would not surrender the lead. Austin Hays added a run on a sac fly, Gunnar scored on a wild pitch and a solo dinger and the good guys take game three home, 8-5.
In the process, Baltimore extended their streak to 70 straight series without being swept, a wild accomplishment.
A Monumental Four in Tampa
Biggest series of the decade thus far and we get free baseball to kick it off? Sign me up! Kyle Gibson posted a perfectly modest six+ inning, three earned line, exiting with guys on first and second in the seventh. Yennier Cano proceeded to allow his first batter to knock in both inherited runners, as Yandy Diaz ripped a game tying double.
Adam Frazier laid down a sac bunt in the top of the tenth, setting the stage for Colton Cowser to provide a go ahead sacrifice fly in the next at bat. Brandon Hyde made the wise decision to keep Felix Bautista in for a second inning, ending the game on a HBP-K-double play sequence.
Best highlight of this game was Gunnar's hustle triple on a lackadaisical play by Randy Arozarena on a grounder down the line. A more committed defensive effort could've probably held the hit to a single, let alone a three bagger. Love that energy from the Baby Bird in a 4-3 win.
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| Photo: Baltimore Orioles |
For as great as Friday's victory was, game two was equally frustrating. Kyle Bradish showed up just as he has the last two months, only allowing two earned runs in six quality innings. Shintaro Fujinami gave up a solo shot on his first pitch in an Orioles uniform in relief...not the debut we were looking for.
Regardless, the bats were completely shut down by Zach Elfin, who only allowed two hits in seven. 3-0 Rays.
Really nice showing from Grayson Rodriguez in his second start since being recalled, walking two, giving up three hits and fanning in 5.2. Unfortunately, Danny Coulombe and Fujinami combined to blow a 5-0 lead they'd built on doubles from James McCann, Jorge Mateo and Austin Hays.
Cue Ryan O'Hearn for the heroics! The journeyman-turned-cornerstone drove in Adam Frazier on an RBI single in the top of the ninth to put the good guys ahead by one. Felix Bautista needed just fifteen pitches to dispose of Tampa in the bottom half of the inning, securing a 6-5 dub.
Then came game four. Go up two games or leave Tropicana the same way we arrived: tied for first in the AL East. The offense came out hot early, as Adley knocked in Gunnar on a first inning double. In Henderson's next at bat, he delivered a 446 two-run bomb off of the cat walk; an absolute moonshot.
Tyler Wells was off again, walking four in just 4.1 of work. Michael Baumann locked it down though in relief as the O's built back up their lead on an O'Hearn long ball and Anthony Santander single. Felix Bautista slammed the door shut for a 5-3 win and his 28th save of the year, giving Baltimore 3/4 games in Tampa and a two game lead in the division. What a feeling.
First Game vs. Philly
When the pen really needed him most, Dean Kremer was dialed in once again. He gave up three hits and two walks over seven strong innings, allowing the Orioles to build a 2-1 lead behind Mountcastle and Jordan Westburg home runs-- the first of his young career!
Then Bryan Baker happened, giving up a game tying hit to Nick Castellanos after letting an 0-2 count slip to full with two outs in the eighth. Been seeing way too much of that lately from him. Statistically, he's been okay, but my eyes tell me otherwise.
Fortunately, Colton Cowser promptly delivered a two out, go-ahead double just an inning later that Kyle Schwarber predictably couldn't make a diving catch on. Had the rookie ran out of the box, he could've easily gotten to third as Schwarber unathletically writhed on the ground after missing the soft liner. It didn't matter, as Cionel Perez only needed the one run to close things out in the bottom of the ninth. 3-2 Baltimore.
Aaron Hicks hurt his wrist diving for a catch in this game too, a development to keep an eye on with Mullins on the IL too and the trade deadline rapidly approaching.
Farm Report
-Coby Mayo made a statement in his first two games against Gwinnett, going 5-10 with a home run and seven RBI. Unfortunately, he went 0-11 in the other five
-Daz Cameron knocked out two long balls for the Tides on Friday, raising his total to 14 on the year. In any other farm system...he'd be knocking on the majors' door
-Heston Kjerstad is batting a .344/5/16 line in 33 AAA games. He truly has the potential to ascend to the 40 man roster for the playoff push
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| Photo: Mike Caudill/ The Virginian-Pilot |
-Drew Rom and Garrett Stallings each gave up 0 earned runs in five inning performances, Tuesday and Friday, respectively. Rom racked up seven strikeouts during his start
-Jud Fabian isn't hitting for contact all that well at Bowie, but he's been displaying his power regularly, knocking two out this week. He also preserved a tie in the top of the ninth on this fucking laser from center field
-Connor Gillispie, Nolan Hoffman and Nick Richmond combined for a two hit shutout to kick off their series against Harrisburg
-Carlos Tavera was locked in on the bump Wednesday, surrendering two hits over five scoreless, fanning eight
-Another nice week of work for Dylan Beavers, going 8-18 with a dinger, four RBI, five walks and two stolen bases
-Cameron Weston punched out nine in five innings on Thursday, lowering his ERA on the season to a paltry 1.93
-Daniel Lloyd's scoreless streak is up to 22 innings now
-The Kyle Brnovich and Trace Bright tandem allowed one earned over nine innings, combining for a whopping sixteen strikeouts
-Check out the Instagram/Twitter to see Rolphy Cruz's first home run at Class A on Tuesday night, a no doubter to right center. Samuel Basallo hit a two run bomb of his own a few innings later in Delmarva's failed comeback attempt
-Stiven Acevedo delivered at the dish all series vs. Charleston, slashing .300 with a homer and RBI
-Luis de Leon and Moises Chace were shut down Wednesday for Shorebirds, combining for a three hit, shutout performance with eleven strikeouts
Concluding Thoughts
Wanted to give a formal Chopping Lines welcome to Shintaro Fujinami. He had been impressive lately for Athletics so I'll give him a little slack on his bumpy start here, but he needs to figure it out soon. We're too deep into the race at this point for him to be serving up seventh inning taters on the reg.
Bryan Baker ain't it either. As mentioned above, he just doesn't look the part of a guy you want in there to get high leverage outs. If we're up or down by like 6+ runs, let the kid cook and save our better guys some wear and tear. But no more appearances late in these close games, I can't handle it.
I believe two more arms needed to put this team firmly in the AL driver's seat. One needs to be a high powered bullpen arm, a la Josh Hader or David Bednar. The other can be a strong middle relief guy or a starting pitcher that's an actual upgrade on what we've been working with-- no Bud Norris or Wade Miley's...
You plug a Marcus Stroman or Blake Snell into this rotation and bump Grayson or Tyler Wells to a spot starter/long arm role, on top of an elite bullpen addition, and this could be a pretty bulletproof group here. And don't hold your breath, but reports are in that the Orioles have inquired about Ohtani.
Uncharted territory Birdland, make sure to stop every now and then to enjoy the moment. We've earned this.
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@Choppinglines
*I own no rights to any images found in this blog
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