SERIES RESULTS: 3-0 Orioles
THE GOOD
Outfielder Nick Markakis will continue to find himself on this list as long as he continues his impressive hit streak. The rock solid outfielder is hitting over .300 on the year and while he had only three hits in the series, he had one in each game which brings his hit streak total to 15 games, which would be bigger news if Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado wasn’t on a 28-game streak as well. Markakis also contributed with his gold glove defense, robbing Matt Joyce on Tuesday.
Don’t look now, but fellow O’s outfielder Adam Jones might be starting to heat up, registering multiple hits in each of the final two games of the series to finish 5/12 including a two-home run game Wednesday. Jones has scuffled early this season, but if he can get hot, this lineup becomes very scary for opposing pitchers, as Cesar Ramos learned on Wednesday night.
Don’t look now, but starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is suddenly starting to look like the pitcher the Orioles thought they were getting when they gave him a four-year deal in the offseason, as he allowed only one run in 5 1/3 innings to register his second consecutive win after starting the year 0-4. Jimenez still needs to work on going deep in games consistently, as he has gotten past six innings only once all season, but over his last two starts he has lowered his season ERA from 6.59 to 4.73.
THE BAD
Designated hitter/outfielder Nelson Cruz has been amazing for the Orioles’ this season, but struggled against the Ray’s pitching hitting only .231 in the series while managing to strike out multiple times in all three games. Cruz was also caught stealing in the series, but if his 0/2 in stolen bases mark is the worst part of his season, O’s fans can hardly complain.
Third baseman Manny Machado is still playing strong defense, but the O’s team leader in doubles from last season has had a rough time at the plate early in his return this season. Machado had only one hit in the series, and although he contributed three walks, he has yet to find his groove offensively. The good news is that Machado hit several balls hard in the series; unfortunately, they all seemed to be right at defenders. The bet here is that the hits start coming very soon.
Shortstop JJ Hardy struggled offensively in the series as well, and is surprisingly without a home run over a month into the season. While Hardy did miss time on the disabled list, he had led all of baseball in home runs from the shortstop position the previous two seasons so the power outage is surprising.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The most impressive part of the series win in Tampa was the performance of the bullpen that allowed only one earned run in 10 innings pitched, as not a single Orioles starter got past the sixth inning. The best news from the entire series was off the field, as catcher Matt Wieters was declared to not be a candidate for season-ending surgery after visiting with Dr. James Andrews. The Orioles are now a season-high four games above .500 and are ½ of a game ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the parity-driven AL East. The Orioles also are now 5-0 this season vs the Rays after winning only six games against them all of last season.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Orioles now return home to the comfy confines of Camden Yards to face the lowly Houston Astros in a three-game series over the weekend. The Astros are last in the AL West standings after losing over 100 games last year, and this looks to be one of the few opportunities the Orioles have this season to try to beat inferior opponents. The Astros will pitch former Oriole Scott Feldman on Friday, and he will be followed by Collin McHugh and Jarred Cosart. Houston has struggled this season, especially on offense where they do not have a regular player with a batting average over .271 or with more than five home runs.
