The Birds were finally able to get off the schneid Thursday afternoon in Houston. In typical O’s fashion, the only game of the series they won was the one started by the American League Pitcher of the Month for both April AND May, Dallas Keuchel, a day after getting a complete game tossed against them by some guy you never heard of. The Birds are now 2-0 against Houston this year in games started by Keuchel, and 1-4 in the others.
#ThatsSoOs
They’ll head to Cleveland for a three-game set starting tonight, and Birdland can at least get excited about the return of one Matthew Richard Wieters.
Onto the links.
Will Jimmy Paredes’ Production Continue?
Spoiler: no. In all seriousness, “Hittin’ Jimmy” has been in a huge slump of late, and will need to adjust to the way pitchers are now attaching him. Whether or not he can do that remains to be seen, and with Wieters now back and likely to take up DH duties fairly often, perhaps a platoon role is more of what Paredes needs to get his swing back. Zachary Morgan of Numberfire goes a bit deeper into Paredes’ early success.
Can the Orioles win the Mediocre AL East?
As frustrating as this season has been, every time we look at the standings, we’re reminded that there are still plenty of games left and that there is still plenty of hope to win the division. Chris Booze of Camden Chat looks around at the other flawed teams in the division, and muses about how the O’s might be able to improve just enough – a la 2012 – to get to 85-90 wins yet again.
Mining Major League Talent from Maryland
In his weekly MASN guest column, Matt Taylor of Roar from 34 scours the annals of Major League Baseball to find players that hailed from The Old Line State. That MD-born All-Star Team would kick some butt. A fun little read to take your mind off the struggling Birds for a few minutes.
How Has Miguel Gonzalez Gotten So Many Whiffs?
OK, back to the O’s. Miguel Gonzalez is once again having an effective season for the O’s, going 6.0 IP or more in seven of his eleven starts, seven or more five times, and putting up a 3.54 ERA. Ryan Romano of Camden Depot also noticed that he’s getting more swings and misses than any other O’s starter, and wanted to find out why. It looks like MiGo has started burying his splitter in the dirt again, as well as improving his slider. Click over to Camden Depot for the full story.
Orioles First-Year Player Draft Preview
The MLB First-Year Player Draft will take place next Monday – Wednesday. Unlike last year, the O’s have some early picks this time around – four in the first three rounds, to be exact. Hopefully the O’s scouting department is on their game this year, as the cupboard is getting a little bare down on the farm. Jabby Burns of Baltimore Sports Report has a preview, with some players the O’s may be eyeing.
