Series Results: 2-1 Orioles
THE GOOD
If you like dramatic baseball, this was the series for you. Baltimore-area cardiologists are likely racking up some nice referrals after the Birds took this last series from the Chicago White Sox. With two walk-off wins, the O’s managed to narrowly avoid what could have been quite a demoralizing chain of events against one of the worst teams in the American League. Fortunately, lady luck was on our side, and the “good guys” (sorry, Hawk) won two of three.
The Birds wouldn’t have been able to stage their late-game heroics without some great work from the bullpen. In the wins Tuesday and Thursday night, the Orioles’ pen combined for 9.0 innings pitched while allowing just a single run. On Tuesday, Ryan Webb went 1.1, allowing a single run, and Brad Brach went 2.0 scoreless. Thursday, it was Brach (0.2), Darren O’Day (1.0), Zach Britton (1.0), Webb (1.1), Brian Matusz (1.1), and Tommy Hunter (0.1) gave the offense a chance to come back from a 4-0 deficit.
And come back they did, thanks to Nelson Cruz‘s eighth inning grand slam.
Cruz was 4-for-14 in the series, and he could not have picked a better time to connect.
Nick Markakis went 0-for-8 to start the series, but rebounded with a 4-for-6 night on Wednesday, including a key hit in the bottom of the 12th inning that pushed pinch runner David Lough to third base, where he scored on a wild pitch for the win.
Nick Hundley got a rare start on Wednesday, and provided two hits and a key walk that ended up supplying the aforementioned Lough as the winning run.
Steve Pearce has solidified himself as a must-start for Buck Showalter, and went 3-for-7 in the series’ first two games, including his 7th home run, before going 0-for-5 in the finale. Still, Pearce has a good AB pretty much every time he steps to the dish.
Chris Davis was 3-for-7, including a pretty big pinch hit.
THE BAD
While the Birds’ starters weren’t awful, none of Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, or Ubaldo Jimenez did enough to qualify for the “good” category either, as there was nary a quality start to be found against Chicago. The three combined to allow 10 ER in just 17.0 IP (5.29 ERA) on 23 hits and seven walks. That’s 30 baserunners allowed in 17.0 innings.
The O’s disturbing penchant to live and die by the home run was on full display in this series. Of the 13 runs they scored, 11 came on long balls. On Monday, they were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, stranding 10. Tuesday, 1-for-9, stranding seven, and Wednesday, 2-for-7 leaving eight. That’s a combined 5-for-27 (.185), with 25 runners stranded in three games.
Ryan Flaherty was 0-for-6.
LOOKING AHEAD
The O’s get a day off on Thursday before a day/night double header on Friday kicks off a four-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman returns to the hill in Game 1 to take on Alex Colome (1 appearance in 2014) and in the nightcap it’s Chris Tillman against Jake Odorizzi. Saturday the Rays trot out Erik Bedard, while the O’s may or may not go with Bud Norris, who was scheduled to have an MRI on his groin Thursday morning. The Rays are starting to even out their ship a bit, going 5-5 over their last 10. Hopefully the O’s can win their fourth series in the row.
