If your nerves are still shaking after Sunday’s thrilling 6-4 win, I don’t blame you. There’s nothing I love to watch more than a May game with an October atmosphere.
As long as it ends in an Orioles victory, of course!
All in all, the Orioles shook off their humbling three-game sweep by the Houston Astros in impressive fashion while in the Forest City, taking two games out of three against the Cleveland Indians over the weekend.
Let’s just wash away the memory of Saturday’s contest however (that’s been becoming an alarming trend any time Ubaldo Jimenez takes the mound this season). It’s 2014 all over again, but so much worse.
Fresh off of their gut-wrenching trip to Houston, the Orioles came out on Friday with the guns blazing and put up three runs in the first inning by way of a Manny Machado RBI single and a two-RBI double from Jonathan Schoop.
The red-hot Indians would not go down without a fight however, and clawed their way back against Mike Wright and the Orioles. Juan Uribe got the home team on the board with an RBI double in the second, followed by Mike Napoli launching a solo bomb in the fourth and Francisco Lindor equalizing with a sacrifice fly in the fifth in level the score at 3-3.
The Orioles refused the let the game slip away completely and finally got back on the offensive with an RBI double by Chris Davis and a two-run shot from Mark Trumbo in the seventh to give the O’s a 6-3 advantage. Despite Lindor depositing a solo shot into the bleachers in the eighth inning, Zach Britton would slam the door shut with a clean ninth inning to earn his 13th save of the season and hand the Orioles a 6-4 win in the series opener.
Saturday, well…Let’s just say it didn’t go as planned. After an early error from Pedro Alvarez at third base handed the Tribe an early 2-0 lead, Yan Gomes proceeded to double the Indians lead with a two-RBI single to put the O’s in a 4-0 hole before the second inning rolled around.
Ubaldo Jimenez’s horrid and dreadful display continued into the following frame, and Juan Uribe’s RBI single and Mike Napoli’s RBI double gave the Tribe a 6-0 lead. It would be 7-0 before the end of the inning, and Jimenez received the hook before the inning was over after allowing six runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings. It goes without saying; this implosion was brutal to watch unfold.
[Related: Ubaldo Has Orioles Between a Rock and a Hard Place]
The O’s would peg back three runs and cut the lead in half to 8-4 in the sixth inning after Matt Wieters and Adam Jones came through with RBI doubles before Machado added an extra run (albeit on a double play) but it wouldn’t nearly be enough. Cleveland would tack on three more runs following the Orioles sixth-inning surge and walk away with a decisive 11-4 victory.
Sunday was a beautiful but nerve-racking game of baseball to watch. The O’s again came out swinging to open the game and handed Chris Tillman an early three-run lead after Mark Trumbo’s double cleared the bases, but again the resilient Tribe would find a way to claw back against the Orioles ace.
Indians slugger Carlos Santana would commence the comeback with a solo homer before fellow slugger Napoli launched a two-run shot to make it 4-3 in the fourth inning. All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis would equalize with a solo home run in the sixth inning to level the score at 4-4 heading into the seventh inning.
And then, Hyun Soo Kim came through in the clutch in the biggest way possible with his first MLB home run in the seventh inning to put the visiting O’s up 5-4. But what followed was nothing but intense, and it called for the touch of a maestro.
Somebody must have injected ice into Darren O’Day’s veins before relieving Brad Brach. The veteran inherited a two runners in scoring position, no out situation in the eighth inning and pulled a total Houdini act by striking out Lonnie Chisenhall and Yan Gomes to silence the crowd at ‘’ The Jake’’ and preserve the O’s slim 5-4 advantage. Zach Britton, however, had to bail himself out in the ninth.
The O’s star closer allowed back-to-back singles to open the frame before slamming the door shut by striking out Kipnis and Lindor with the go-ahead run at the plate both times to clinch an intense 5-4 victory and to give the O’s a two-of-three series victory before heading back to Camden.
My hearts going crazy just writing about it…Here’s to you, Mr. O’Day and Mr. Britton. Or maybe we should just start calling them Batman and Robin?
Now, let’s take a look at a few takeaways from the O’s trip to the Rock & Roll Capital of the World:
– Hopefully for the Orioles sake, this was a sign of the power outage coming to an end. After hitting just .172 versus Seattle, .230 versus the Angels and .203 versus Houston along with scoring only 12 runs in the previous five games coming into Cleveland, the Orioles posted an impressive .289 average (31-107) with 16 runs versus the Tribe.
The biggest takeaway from this is that the trip to Cleveland saw the end of multiple individual slumps (Hopefully).
– Adam Jones was on a 3-for-37 skid in his previous nine games going into the series, and ended the third leg of the road trip by going 4-for-11 with three runs, one double and two RBI versus the Indians. The Orioles All-Star centerfielder is now hitting .232 with seven doubles, five homers and 21 RBI on the year.
– Chris Davis was 5-for-37 over his last ten games before heading to Ohio, and ended the three-game set by going 3-for-11 with two runs, two doubles and one RBI versus the Tribe. On the year, the O’s star slugger is hitting .232 with ten doubles, ten homers and 28 RBI.
– Mark Trumbo was also on a slump heading into the Forest City, going 7-for-42 over his last ten games. The Californian finished the road trip by going 6-for-12 with two runs, three doubles, one home run and five RBI against Cleveland. The 30-year-old is now hitting .293 with eight doubles, an AL-leading 15 home runs and a team-leading 37 RBI on the campaign.
– But perhaps the biggest slump that was halted was the one that superstar Manny Machado was riding as the O’s headed into Indian Territory. Machado was just 9-for-50 in his previous 13 games after departing Houston, and finished the Cleveland leg of the road trip by going 6-for-13 with three runs, three doubles, and one RBI versus the Tribe. The 23-year-old demigod is now hitting .320 with a team-leading 20 doubles, 13 homers and 29 RBI on the season. He’s also on a current six-game hitting streak, going 9-for-22 with five runs, four doubles, one homer and three RBI during that span.
There were also a couple of O’s sluggers that continued their excellent run of form in Rock and Roll City:
– Matt Wieters extended his hit streak to nine games after going 1-for-4 on Sunday, and has been absolutely phenomenal over his last 13 games. The 30-year-old backstop has gone 20-for-50 with five runs, five doubles, three homers and nine RBI during that span. On the year, Wieters is hitting .289 with seven doubles, four homers and 17 RBI.
– Jonathan Schoop continued his superb form versus the Tribe, going 4-for-12 with two runs, one double and two RBI and is now 19-for-60 with seven runs, three homers and 16 RBI over his last 16 games. On the year, the 24-year-old is hitting .270 with nine doubles, eight home runs and 28 RBI.
Lastly, a few closing tidbits:
– Chris Tillman added onto his early season Cy-Young credentials with a solid outing versus Cleveland in a winning effort. The 28-year-old ends the month with a perfect 5-0 record in May, and now boasts a sparkling 7-1 record with a stellar 2.92 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 11 starts.
– Finally, congrats to Hyun-Soo Kim on his first career MLB home run on Sunday! Don’t look now, but the 28-year-old is firmly staking his claim for a regular spot on the line-up card with several tremendous efforts as of late and has looked impressive so far on the year in limited opportunities. Kim boasts a .383 average with three doubles, one homer and three RBI in 48 at-bats and 17 games on the year. I’m all for a Rickard-Kim platoon in left field at this point.
– Britton watch: 14-for-14 in save situations (Tied for AL-lead) with a magnificent 1.29 ERA and ghostly 0.62 WHIP this season. Can we lock this guy up to a lifetime extension already?
That’s all for now, O’s fans!
Next, we’ll be taking a look at the upcoming four-game Baltimore-Boston clash at Camden Yards, where both teams will be looking to gain the sole early-season grip on the division. This one is going to be enthralling, folks. Stay tuned!
