After starting out by dropping the first two games of the series against the first place Red Sox, the last thing one could imagine was the Orioles lighting up the Baltimore skyline with a 25-run outburst in the last two games, but that’s exactly what happened.
And man, was it an awesome fireworks display to watch. Hopefully the O’s can bring that type of lumber into their next three game set against the Yanks.
The Orioles battled back to tie the game 2-2 in the fifth inning in the series opener on Monday before Jackie Bradley Jr. put the Sox up 3-2 with a solo home run in the sixth, a lead Boston wouldn’t relinquish and would later add onto with a solo shot from David Ortiz and a knockout three-run bomb from Marco Hernandez (His 1st MLB HR) in the eight inning to clinch a 7-2 Red Sox victory.
The Red Sox picked up right where they left off on Tuesday with back-to-back home runs from Mookie Betts (3-for-5, 3 HR, 5 RBI) and Dustin Pedroia to lead off the first inning, and it was ‘’ The Mookie Betts Show” from that point on, as the 23-year-old phenom would launch a three-run shot in the fifth and another solo blast in the seventh to propel the ‘Sox to a 6-2 triumph.
It looked as if the O’s were going to slide further away from the Red Sox and the top of the division before Boston headed out of town, but the Orioles hard-hitting sluggers had other plans.
After Betts became the first player in MLB history to lead off two consecutive games with a homer on Wednesday night, the Orioles responded immediately with a four-run first inning highlighted by a two-RBI single from Mark Trumbo and a two-RBI double from Pedro Alvarez.
After a two-run blast by Chris Young, Betts would astonishingly club his second homer of the game and his fifth in two games to equalize at 4-4 in the second inning. Betts became just the third Red Sox to hit 5 HR’s in two games and just the 32nd player in MLB history to do so. So yeah, I guess you could say he was having a blast out there! What’s even more astonishing is the fact that the O’s were still pitching to the guy.
Ryan Hanigan would put the Sox up 7-5 with a two-run single in the top of the third, but the O’s would regain the lead after an RBI double from Jonathan Schoop and RBI single’s from Ryan Flaherty and Manny Machado in the bottom frame of the third before Dustin Pedroia equalized with an RBI double in the sixth.
It was all Baltimore from this point on, however. The Orioles would unleash a five-run outburst in the sixth and seventh innings, capitalized by a two-RBI single from Matt Wieters and an RBI single by Jonathan Schoop to boost the O’s to a 13-8 lead. Chris Young’s second homer of the game in the eight was the last whimper put up by the ‘Sox en route to a wild 13-9 O’s victory.
In the series finale on Thursday night the teams were locked in a 0-0 deadlock through three innings, a night after 15 runs were scored in the first three innings. To say it was strange would be an understatement.
But the fireworks would resume shortly after, and it would be the Orioles that put on a show. After scoring 13 runs without a homer the previous night, the O’s hit seven dingers en route to scoring 12 runs over the last six innings. Mark Trumbo and Adam Jones kicked off the party with two-run blasts in the fourth to give Ubaldo Jimenez (Who was stellar in the first five innings) a 4-0 lead, but the wheels came off for Jimenez in the sixth and Boston would take the 5-4 lead after Xander Bogaerts’s two-RBI single and a three-run blast by David Ortiz.
Then, let’s just say it was bombs away Baltimore after that. Mark Trumbo became the joint-MLB HR king after hitting his 17th of the season to equalize in the sixth before Manny Machado rocketed his 14th homer of the campaign with a three-run blast in the seventh to give the O’s an 8-5 lead. Pedro Alvarez would tack on a run with a solo blast before Francisco Pena’s two-run blast (first game as an Oriole, first MLB HR) extended the O’s advantage to 11-5, followed by Adam Jones going yard again to make it 12-5 before the eighth inning was over. The ‘Sox would pull two desperation runs back in the ninth but to no avail in the 12-7 O’s victory.
Just when it seemed as if this would be a series to forget quickly, the O’s erupted to come back and take a draw in the four-game set that lacked nothing in the explosiveness category and most importantly, they also pulled back to just one game behind the ‘Sox for first place in the division. Simply O’Mazing!
Now, let’s glance at a few takeaways from this wild clash versus the Red Sox:
– I’ll end this on a high note, so let’s start with the bad news: The Orioles have allowed 99 runs over the past 17 games, a clip of 5.8 runs per game. The bullpen hasn’t been in total top form as of late, but just as the starting rotation seemed to be jelling, they’ve tumbled the other way all of a sudden. Case in point? The Orioles rotation ERA versus Boston was 8.50. The bullpen wasn’t much better (5.91), but I guess that’s what allowing 29 combined runs over four games will do to you. They also allowed 13 homers versus the ‘Sox. Let’s keep the ball in the park versus the Yanks, ok?
That’s all for the bad stuff folks, I promise. Now let’s take a look at some awesome stuff!
– What a two-day stretch for the O’s dynamite offense: After scoring a season-high 13 runs on Wednesday, they put up a season-high 7 HR’s on Thursday en route to scoring two massive wins for the ball club. Talk about coming through in the clutch!
– The O’s racked up 25 runs over the last two games, which means they almost scored as many as they had scored over the previous ten games before Wednesday’s fireworks (32) and almost doubled their total amount in their previous four games (16) before Wednesday’s 13-9 slugfest.
The heart of the O’s line-up is alive and well, if you didn’t know.
– Adam Jones went 6-for-18 with four runs, two home runs and five RBI versus the ‘Sox, and has been outstanding over his past seven games, going 10-for-29 (.344) with seven runs, two doubles, two homers and seven RBI. The O’s All-Star centerfielder is now hitting .242 with eight doubles, seven homers and 26 RBI on the year.
– Manny Machado stayed in fine form versus Boston, going 5-for-17 with one double, one homer and 5 RBI. The 23-year-old stud is now hitting .359 with six runs, five doubles, one home run and eight RBI over his last ten games. On the year, Machado is hitting a stellar .318 with 21 2B, 14 HR and 34 RBI.
– After homering twice in Thursday’s 12-7 slugfest win, Mark Trumbo continues to lead the club in HR (17) and RBI (42) along with eight doubles and a .288 batting average. Is it extension time yet?
– Jonathan Schoop has recorded 18 RBI over his past 20 games, and is hitting .265 with ten doubles, eight homers and 30 RBI on the campaign.
– Matt Wieters continued his excellent run of form versus Boston on Wednesday night, and is hitting a phenomenal .368 with six runs, three doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI over his last 15 games. On the year, the O’s star catcher is hitting .281 with seven doubles, four homers and 20 RBI.
– Congratulations, Francisco Pena! Not only did he get his first call-up to the show with the O’s organization on Thursday, he also hit his first career HR and threw out Hanley Ramirez at 2nd base from behind the plate. A great O’s debut for the 26-year-old.
But the biggest thing to take from this series is the fact that the O’s got production from hitters one through nine versus the Red Sox. Hyun-Soo Kim stayed in excellent form, going 4-for-13. Pedro Alvarez went 4-for-9 with a homer and two RBI. Even Ryan Flaherty went 3-for-10 with four runs and three RBI. You have to love it when an entire line-up is locked in.
Here’s to continuing the power surge against the Yankees!
