Series Results: 2-1 Brewers
THE GOOD
With 19 home runs so far this season, outfielder/designated hitter Nelson Cruz has been a mainstay on the “Good” side. Cruz hit three HR in the series, and went 5/10 with four RBI, and even added three walks. Cruz has been the best one-year deal in baseball this season, and is actually ahead of the HR pace set by first baseman Chris Davis from last year when Davis finished the year with the most long balls in baseball. Cruz NEEDS to move up from the 5-hole in this lineup.
Second baseman Jonathan Schoop enjoyed a productive series against the Brewers as well, going 4/13 and mashing two home runs while collecting four RBI. For the season on a whole, Schoop has struggled, hitting only .223 with an on base percentage of .261. Luckily for Schoop, Ryan Flaherty and Jemile Weeks have been no better, and the rookie appears to have a stranglehold on the starting second base job. Schoop’s second HR in the ninth inning of the first game of the series started a rally of three consecutive hits that allowed the Orioles to tie the brewers in the ninth inning.
Right fielder Nick Markakis is heating up again as well, as the Orioles’ leadoff hitter recorded multiple hits in all three games to go 6/14 in the series while also drawing a walk. Markakis also added two RBIs and scored three runs in the series, with the big blow being his opposite field double with two out in the ninth inning of the first game when the Orioles’ trailed by one run. Pinch runner David Lough came around to score on the play and the Orioles went to extra innings, where they eventually won the game. Despite not having great speed or power, Markakis has been productive for the Orioles, and is hitting .301 on the season with an OBP over .350.
THE BAD
Starting pitcher Bud Norris scuffled on Wednesday, continuing the trend of Orioles’ pitchers failing to put the team in a good position to win. Norris allowed four runs in six innings but pitched even worse than his line indicates, as he walked three batters and had as many strikeouts as hit batters (1), needing 111 pitches. Norris has arguably been the Orioles’ most consistent starter this year, but struggled all night to get ahead of the Brewers hitters, throwing first pitch strikes to only 14/26 hitters he faced. Norris is only the most recent Orioles’ starter to perform poorly however, as nether Chris Tillman or Wei-Yin Chen pitched well in the first two games of the series either.
The bullpen was not especially strong in the series either, lowlighted by left handed reliever Brian Matusz who allowed a three-run home run to Brewers’ outfielder Khris Davis that was essentially the nail in the coffin for the Orioles late in the game. Matusz has always struggled to get out right handed hitters, which has previously stopped him from becoming a productive starting pitcher, and has really made him most effective as a matchup left hander out of the bullpen more than anything else throughout his career.
It was a rough series for first base slugger Chris Davis at the plate, as he went hitless in eight at bats against Milwaukee pitching. Davis is now hitting only .244 on the season, and while he did miss time with an injury earlier this season and then missed two games in this series due to the birth of daughter, it has been rough for the MVP candidate from a year ago to recreate last season’s success when he led all of baseball in home runs and RBI. To Davis’ credit however, he made a spectacular diving catch in the second inning of Wednesday’s game that robbed Jean Segura of a double, and made this nifty diving catch as well.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Orioles simply have to find a way to get utility man Steve Pearce more at bats. Pearce was used exclusively as a pinch hitter in the series, but came through in a big way in the second game with a three run home run that gave the Orioles the lead at the time. With the Birds returning to American League play, the best course of action would be to put Pearce in left field, and to allow Nelson Cruz to serve as the team’s designated hitter. Closer Zach Britton did blow a save in the second game of the series, but he got a little unlucky as the hit that broke the tie was a weak ground ball to third base where third baseman Manny Machado made a bad throw on a close play. Britton will be fine.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Orioles now travel to Houston, where they will play a four game series against the Astros, who the Birds took two of three from in Baltimore. However, the Astros have been hot lately, and have won ten out of their last fifteen games, led by red-hot rookie outfielder George Springer, who has six home runs in his last six games. Friday night’s game is the featured Civil Rights Game. A loss in the first game of the series would drop the Orioles to .500, and the Orioles will send right handed pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez to the mound to face off against Astros’ righty Brad Peacock.
