The calendars have flipped to August and, thankfully, July is now in the rearview mirror for the Baltimore Orioles. The Birds finished July with a 12-13 record, their first full month of baseball under .500 since – ironically – last July, when they were 13-14.
Record aside (one game below .500 isn’t terrible by any means) the month wasn’t totally worth forgetting. Adam Jones, J.J. Hardy, and Chris Davis were in the American League’s starting lineup for the All-Star Game. Manny Machado and Chris Tillman joined them at Citi Field as reserves. Despite failing to fulfill the wishes of just about every Orioles fan by winning the Home Run Derby, Davis still put on a solid display and having a member of the team in the national spotlight was certainly enjoyable. Then there was the arrival Henry Urrutia, who was hitting nearly everything in sight in the minors.
Outside of that, July was a struggle at times for the Orioles during games that mattered in the standings.
The offense looked a shell of what we had come to expect based on results earlier in the season. For the first time in 2013 the team scored less than 100 runs, finishing with 94 in the month. That was on the heels of 138 in April, 142 in May, and 130 in June. Contributing to the decrease were season lows in hits (202), doubles (31), and home runs (27). As a unit the bats produced a slash line of .242/.294/.390, occupying a spot in the bottom third of the American League in batting average and on-base percentage.
After essentially making a mockery of opposing pitching from April through June, Davis’ bat cooled considerably. The seven home runs and 19 RBI were good. The .211 average and 41 strikeouts (including at least one in all but one game – July 2) were anything but. Hardy scuffled a bit as well. The doubles machine also known as Manny Machado hit just one during the month and posted a near inconceivable .196 average.
Adam Jones was Adam Jones (.286/.333/.551) and Nick Markakis hit .305 with a .374 OBP. Urrutia totaled nine hits in his first 29 at-bats (.310 avg) so they sky didn’t completely fall, although it may have felt like it was at times.
On the mound results were mixed as well. The starters posted a 4.30 ERA in 155 innings, their lowest mark of the season thus far, although allowing base runners was a problem. A 1.41 WHIP represented the highest so far this year. The bullpen was good for the second consecutive month, generating a 3.09 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in a season low 64 innings, which looks like a misprint compared to 86.2, 91.1, and 94 through the first three months. Overall, batters hit .273/.329/.400 versus Oriole pitchers in July.
Wei-Yin Chen returned from the disabled list and looked like he never missed a start, posting a 2.57 ERA and 1.11 WHIP across 28 innings (four games). Chris Tillman finished the month with a bang, allowing just two runs over 15 innings against the Red Sox and Rangers. Jason Hammel’s struggles continued and newly acquired Scott Feldman’s ERA was over 5.00 in five starts. In the “all good things must come to an end” category, Miguel Gonzalez’s streak of quality starts ended at eight against the Royals.
It was pretty much business as usual for Darren O’Day, Brian Matusz, and Troy Patton. Oh, and Jim Johnson notched eight saves (one blown save) with a 1.04 ERA in ten games. Just don’t look at the 1.50 WHIP and the fact that the opposition had a .314 average against him.
Next up is an all-important August. Here, our Eric Arditti takes a detailed look at the Birds’ next 18 games. #BUCKleUp
