I tend to be pretty optimistic about the Birds these days, but given that SkyDome (I’m not calling it anything else) has always been a house of horrors for the O’s and considering that the Jays had beaten them six of the nine times they’d met this season coming into the weekend, plus the fact that Toronto was one of the few teams in baseball hotter than the Orioles, and I wasn’t feeling very good. All I really wanted was to avoid getting swept.
The series started ominously enough, with Mike Wright failing to get though two innings on Friday night as he put his team behind early (thanks in part to a bit of an Ump Show). I’m very impressed that the Birds rebounded to not only make Friday night’s game close, but to take two of three. If I’d told you that two of the three starters in the series wouldn’t make it out of the second inning, but they’d still win the series, you’d probably think I was crazy, but that’s exactly how it went down.
Onto the links:
O’s at Jays as Good as it Gets
In Monday’s Section 336 Daily, Matt says this weekend’s series was as good as it gets as a baseball fan. Late scoring, huge comebacks, clutch hits, home runs, and more.
Why Chris Tillman has Struggled in 2015: Part 1
Of all qualified MLB starters, only Kyle Lohse's 6.30 ERA is worse than Tillman's 6.22. Tillman's 4.48 BB/9 is the worst.
— Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer) June 22, 2015
Chris Tillman…WOOF. His team staked him to a 7-0 lead on Sunday and he managed to get ONE OUT before being removed from the game. His final line had him giving up six runs in just 1.1 IP. What’s been the issue this year? Matt Perez of Camden Depot takes a look (and he wrote this BEFORE Sunday’s start).
O’s Extend Unique Streak, End Jays’ Unique Streak
Roar from 34’s Matt Taylor has another great/odd stat for us this week, this time involving the Orioles’ and Blue Jays’ winning streaks when they put up a bunch of runs – nine or more to be exact. With the score tied at 9-9 Sunday, somebody’s streak was bound to end. Thankfully, it was Toronto’s. Click over to Roar to read more.
Orioles Pitching Talent Creates Unexpected Predicament
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before – the O’s have a bit of a roster crunch problem upcoming. This time, though, it involves pitchers. After Kevin Gausman‘s solid outing Saturday, he was of course quickly demoted to Norfolk, with no real timeframe for a return (UGH). It’s not just Gas Man though – with Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, and Wesley Wright all coming back soon, Buck and Dan will yet again have their hands full trying to squeeze everybody in. CSN Baltimore’s Rich Dubroff has more.
Markakis is Having a Decent Season, but O’s Don’t Miss Him
Nick Markakis is having a decent season in Atlanta as far as getting on base, though he still has no power (16 doubles, no triples, no home runs – and did you know that the Braves are batting him CLEANUP?? LULZ). Mark Brown of Camden Chat looks at the peripherals and says that Nick may be due for some regression though, and even if that regression never comes, the Birds are better off without him. Agree?
