Another week of O's action in the books, along with a slew of injury news, inconsistent offense, errors, etc. This team's still competing, but by the skin of their teeth at this point. They're gritty, we have to give them that, but that might not be enough come October.
Gotta get there first though!
Four vs. Houston
Didn't expect Spencer Arrighetti to outduel Corbin Burnes like that, but sheesh. A tough fourth and sixth inning had the Orioles ace on the ropes for a second consecutive start, ultimately giving up 5 earned on 8 hits over 5.2 innings.
It didn't matter much with how Arrighetti was throwing the ball, allowing just 3 hits over 6 shutout frames. Another hapless effort by this damningly inconsistent lineup. 6-0 Astros win.
Game two was better though, almost fully due to the efforts of Mr. Anthony Santander. Ramon Urias put the boys on the board early with a productive out before a third-inning hit fest off of Cade Povich dug a three run hole. Colton Cowser and Jeremy Pena would match each other with solo dingers, maintaining the lead for Houston until the bottom of the eighth.
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| Photo: Nick Wass/ AP |
Cue the Taters. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Santander took a high 2-1 fastball deep to right center-- an absolute no doubter of a grand slam. The crowd went nuts as the long ball put the O's up by one. Urias would add an insurance run on an RBI triple to increase the lead to two, which was surprisingly enough for Craig Kimbrel and Seranthony Dominguez to secure the save.
7-5 Baltimore, in a wild one.
As much grief as Mike Elias has taken this year for the pitching situation, discovering Albert Suarez was truly a masterful play. The right hander surrendered two solo homers to Houston over 5.2 strong on Saturday, maneuvering through a challenging lineup with minimal difficulty. Can you imagine this rotation right now without Big Al holding it down? And who thought we'd be asking that a few months ago?
He wouldn't find himself in line for a decision though, as the bats were quiet through five. Then Jackson Holliday had a moment. The rookie pinch hit for Emmanuel Rivera with the bases loaded and two outs in the frame, looking cool as a cucumber in the box as he awaited Tayler Scott's delivery.
And bang! A rip to the right center gap, easily plating two before a botched relay throw allowed Cowser to score the go-ahead run. The deficit was gone, leaving just the bullpen to finish the job. And against the odds, that's exactly what Keegan Akin, Yennier Cano and Seranthony did, allowing just two base runners over the final 3.1.
3-2 Baltimore win, guaranteeing a series split.
Unfortunately, that'd be all they'd manage. Dean Kremer had a decent evening, scattering 7 hits and 3 runs over his 6 innings of action. He'd exit the game with things knotted up, thanks to a Urias three-run shot, handing over the rock to the quickly regressing Burch Smith.
And the free fall continued. Back to back jacks by Alex Bregman and Yanier Diaz put Houston up for good, before Jake Meyers added one more run in the eighth for good measure, salvaging a split for the surging 'Stros.
6-3 Orioles loss-- a disappointing Sunday.
First Two in LA
After an off day Monday, the Birds found themselves in Los Angeles for a set against the NL West leaders. Cole Irvin took the bump in game one, once again pitching adequately, to set a realistic bar-- allowing just 2 earned runs through 4.2 frames.
Ryan O'Hearn took one out in the second to give Baltimore an early 1-0 lead. After falling behind by one in the third, Ramon Urias continued his hot week with a go-ahead two-run shot off of former teammate Jack Flaherty. Cionel Perez, Cano and Dominguez took it from there, earning Matt Bowman his first victory in Birdland.
3-2 Orioles.
Last night though, back to the bullshit. Corbin Burnes pitched much better than his previous two starts, but it was the defense that let him down. Two errors led to a four-run surge in the third by the Dodgers. Gunnar would botch a play two innings, his twentieth error of the season, to allow another run to score. Five unearned runs by Burnes on the day, no way you win that game.
Not completely for lack of effort however. It was Urias once again starting the scoring with a two-RBI double in the second, touching home two batters later on a James McCann single. Ryan O'Hearn drove in Santander on a double later on to cut the O's deficit to just one. But when you shoot yourself in the foot so many times it looks like Swiss cheese, those usually go down as losses.
Case in point: 6-4 Dodgers.
Concluding Thoughts
With news of Ryan Mountcastle hitting the IL and Jorge Mateo undergoing UCL repair, it really does feel like this team may be snake bitten. The day-to-day lineups compared to where we were in like May and June are substantially different. Offensive production and consistency has completely disappeared. The rotation is hanging on by a thread, thanks in large to some really unexpected contributors. Just a wild ride for a season with championship aspirations.
Perhaps an infusion of returning talent this September will help, spark a little something in this team. The injury bug has to leave town soon, right?
AL East Standings
1. New York Yankees (78-56)
2. Baltimore Orioles (77-57)
3. Boston Red Sox (69-64)
4. Tampa Bay Rays (66-67)
5. Toronto Blue Jays (65-70)
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@Choppinglines
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