The Orioles took two out of three from the Detroit Tigers over the weekend and head to Boston for another huge showdown. More importantly, they are one more win away from having a winning road trip on this crucial nine-game stretch away from Oriole Park. The Orioles have given themselves a little breathing room in the Wild Card by winning the series against the Tigers and are now a series win away against the Red Sox to really making the division race a heated one in the last three weeks.
Orioles Rotation
It was great to see Chris Tillman come back and pitch well in his first start since landing on the disabled list. The key will be how he feels today and I’m sure that will be one of the first topics discussed when Buck Showalter meets with the media. As of now, Showalter is rolling with a six-man rotation and will be giving a starter an extra day of rest or playing the match-ups. Obviously, this can’t continue so it will be interesting to see what happens after another turn through the rotation.
Ubaldo Jimenez has pitched so well that even one hiccup shouldn’t make him the odd man out. Wade Miley, Yovani Gallardo (who is being skipped in Boston) and yes, even Dylan Bundy are probably pitching for their right to stay in the rotation. We all love Bundy and know he is going to be a rock in the rotation and for years to come, but the bottom line is he has only completed six innings once in his last six starts while also giving up five earned runs three times in that span. We’re at a point in the season that results are all that matters so Showalter has to go with the pitchers that are on top of their game. Whoever falters the most in their next start may be on the outside looking in down the final weeks of the season.
Kim’s Lack of Playing Time
Hyun Soo Kim’s playing time in the month of September has been very sporadic and when he does play, he has found himself hitting lower in the lineup than his accustomed spot behind Adam Jones. This is a tough one to pin down. The team has faced more lefties so it makes sense in that regard, but the drop in the order when he does play is a head-scratcher. Kim is coming off an August that saw him bat .286 with a .355 on-base percentage so it’s not like he was struggling. He will never be a great outfielder, but he isn’t a liability either.
I think it comes down to Showalter preferring to play Steve Pearce (and we can debate who the better player is0. Also, it’s difficult to fit the newly-acquired Michael Bourn, Kim and Pedro Alvarez all in the same lineup. Even with all that said, where Kim hits when he is in the lineup is the bigger issue as Jonathan Schoop has usually been the guy hitting second and he has struggled this month.
This is just another storyline to follow over the remainder of the season. With Boston sending out left-handed starters in the first two games, we won’t have our latest answer until at least Wednesday.
Showalter the Game Manager
It will always amaze me how prepared Buck Showalter is. I hope O’s fans never take that for granted. Not every move works, but there’s always a reason for what Showalter is doing. It’s difficult sometimes to gauge how great a manager is in the American League with the lack of small ball and substitutions you see in the National League, but moves like yesterday’sd handling of the seventh an eighth inning show just how prepared Showalter is.
Brad Brach has struggled since the All-Star break so seeing him pitch in the seventh and Mychal Givens in the eighth, it was easy to come to the conclusion that Brach lost his set-up man job.
However, as Showalter explained in his postgame press conference, the Tigers would never pinch hit for their big boys – who all happen to be right-handed, playing to Givens’ strength. Brach would face the bottom of the order so even if the Tigers did pinch hit a left-handed hitter, Brach could have gotten those guys out effectively.
It was just another example of many of Showalter’s decisions impacting a game. With Darren O’Day returning this week, along with Givens, Brach, Zach Britton and Donnie Hart the bullpen will be locked and loaded in the last couple of weeks. We all know how great Showalter is at handling a bullpen.
