Insane that Baltimore can win five out of seven, be 21 games over .500 and still trail the Yankees for first place in the AL East by 2.5 games. What a heavyweight battle we have on our hands for the next couple of months.
As mentioned though, 5-2 on the week, knocking some divisional rivals even further down the ladder while priming ourselves for one of the biggest prove-it weeks of regular season baseball you could ever experience. Braves, Phillies and Bombers...buckle up Birdland.
First though, lets look back at this fine week
Three More in Toronto
There's the Ryan Mountcastle we've come to expect north of the border! After two scoreless innings from both teams, Adley Rutschman broke the tie with an RBI single to center, setting the stage for Mounty to deliver some damage.
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| Photo: Christopher Katsarov/ Canadian Press |
And deliver he did, with a three-run dong to bust things open in the third. Two innings later, we'd encounter deja vu, except Mountcastle's second home run was only a two-run shot. Regardless, it was 7-0 by the halfway point, and it was going to stay that way with how Corbin Burnes was pitching. Seven innings, four hits, one walks and just one earned run-- that's an ace, that's what we paid for. Not the last time in this article you'll see his name.
Anthony Santander delivered an RBI double in the seventh before Connor Norby took his first career ball out of the park, sneaking a line drive over the left field fence in inning number eight. Such an exciting moment for a prospect we've been intently watching. 10-1 Orioles to secure a split of the four game series.
Unfortunately, a split would be all they'd manage. Jose Berrios maneuvered the Baltimore lineup effectively, only giving up two over six innings of work-- courtesy of a Santander home run and Ramon Urias RBI double in the second. Albert Suarez allowed the Blue Jays to match in the bottom of the frame, which is where the score remained until the bottom of the ninth.
Justin Turner hit a leadoff single off of Craig Kimbrel before scampering to second on a botched pickoff attempt. He'd advance to third on a flyout and score on an Isaiah Kiner-Falefa single to hand the O's an L. A gross finish to a solid pitching duel, 3-2 Toronto.
The series wrapped up with a Cade Povich debut! A look at the stat line implies a pretty shaky start: six earned in 5.1 innings off of five hits and four walks. Per the eye test though, one could see that Cade definitely has big league stuff, it just was a matter of finding his spots more routinely. He'll figure it out.
Too bad Baltimore's bats couldn't figure out Yusei Kikuchi, who dominated the lineup on his two times through. Adley provided some late game hope by homering from both sides of the plate in the sixth and eighth before Ryan O'Hearn made it even sweatier for the Jays with a two-run shot in the ninth. Kyle Stowers couldn't add to the heroics, striking out to end the game. 6-5 Toronto.
Down to Tampa for Four
After a frustrating final two in Toronto, the boys went down to St. Petersburg motivated to take it to a lesser opponent. Boy, did they ever.
Anthony Santander stayed hot at the plate, hitting two home runs on the series-- which Gunnar conveniently decided to match. Adley Rutschman's tear continued, collecting four hits while driving in six. O'Hearn and Jordan Westburg continued to be hit machines, racking up six plus three RBI each in their four appearances. This series was a perfect display of how effective the offense can be once everyone locks in, even modestly.
The real story of this foursome may have been the Orioles' pitching though. The starters combined to allow just four earned runs over the 24.1 innings they went, good for a 1.50 ERA. Kyle Bradish struck out nine while throwing six frames of one-hit ball. Grayson Rodriguez took a perfect game into the sixth inning, before an announcer jinx predictably derailed him. Yennier Cano and Cionel Perez looked dominant, while Craig Kimbrel added two saves to his season totals.
This was as complete of a series as we've seen from the Birds this season, sweeping Tampa in four by the scores of:
Game 1: 6-3
Game 2: 5-0
Game 3: 9-2
Game 4: 5-2
Concluding Thoughts
-It's still incredible to reflect on the acquisition of Ryan O'Hearn from Kansas City virtually for free. The man cannot hit lefties, but provides plenty of production against righties-- about 75% of the league's pitchers, mind you. The Royals could sure use an upgrade from Vinnie Pasquantino right about now, who's currently posting a .243/7/43 line-- including a .229 average versus RHP. Perhaps Cash Considerations will be promoted soon to help the cause?
-One has to wonder how healthy Kyle Bradish's arm is. When he's on the mound, he's been incredible. A legit Cy Young candidate, despite uncertainty that he'd even be able to pitch this year just a few weeks ago. The rest of the time, it feels like a time bomb, at least per my anxiety. Talk of a six-man rotation, bringing up Povich, Suarez getting back in the mix...just doesn't feel like as settled a situation as it should be. But for now, let's enjoy the ride, because the dude's been a dog
AL East Standings
1. New York Yankees (47-21)
2. Baltimore Orioles (43-22)
3. Boston Red Sox (33-33)
4. Tampa Bay Rays (32-34)
5. Toronto Blue Jays (31-35)
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@Choppinglines
*I own no rights to any images found in this blog
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