When your team starts to spiral into a losing streak, it is up to the manager to try and shake things up to get the team rolling again. Buck Showalter’s response was moving red-hot J.J. Hardy up to the three hole tonight against the New York Yankees.
J.J. has not batted at top of the line-up since last year when he finished with a .238/.282/.389 batting line in the two hole. He didn’t produce the way you would like your number two hitter to, so moving Hardy down in the line-up seemed ideal.
This year, Hardy got off to a slow start at the beginning of the season (as he always does), batting a measly .202. It was concerning for some, but when you look at J.J.’s career it seems like he always starts off dismally – His April averages: .184 in 2012, .200 in 2011, .220 in 2010.
Though once May rolls around, so does a new Hardy!
J.J. is batting .290 so far in the month of May and has hit five home runs. It seems like Hardy’s April woes precluded a monstrous month of May. It was only the Cy Young-worthy pitching of Matt Moore that could stymie Hardy’s May production, ending his 13-game hitting streak.
Another reason for J.J.’s move might be that he is a career .412 hitter against CC Sabathia, with five RBI. Sabathia has always been a thorn in the O’s side, so hopefully moving J.J. up top will give him more opportunities to knock in some runs.
During this 5 game losing steak, the O’s are 12-44 (.273) with runners in scoring position. Overall, the Orioles rank 6th in batting average in the MLB (.288) with RISP.
A .273 average w/ RISP over those five games isn’t horrible, but when your pitching staff lets up 10, 12, and 8 runs those 32 other opportunities cannot be wasted.
Buck has also made sure to start CC’s kryptonite, having Alexi Casilla, a career .583 hitter against Sabathia, start at second base. Alexi will bat in the nin hole, hopefully getting on base for Markakis, Machado, Hardy, and Jones to knock him in.
Defeating Sabathia is a never an easy feat, but the Orioles are due and know how to grind and fight to pull out of a slump.
The Orioles and Yankees will go at it for the second series of the year at 7 pm tonight. It’s sure to be a battle, and I am looking forward to watching the boys in orange and black come out on top!
