The Orioles find themselves in an interesting spot right now. People now understand that they are the best story in baseball and have a chance to make the playoffs. This year the Orioles have been winning games in ways that aren’t expected or viewed as sustainable. They usually get good enough pitching from their starters, the offense does just enough to survive or get a big hit late, and the bullpen closes the door. While this script isn’t always the case, most of the games that the Orioles have won have followed it. They are clutch when it matters, which is good, but the offense has been pretty streaky this year. They can have good and big games like last night when they won 9-6, but they are not consistent.
In a playoff hunt and playing meaningful games deep into September and hopefully October, the offense has to step up and have more consistency, but how can they do this?
The first step is having better at-bats. Too many times this year, the Orioles have had bad at-bats where they flail around chasing pitches. Pitches outside the zone seem to give this team trouble, and the problem is that it isn’t just one guy; it is a problem throughout the lineup. We saw this Monday in the doubleheader, as they couldn’t get many runs across and were having horrible at-bats. Nowhere was this seen better than when they had the bases loaded in the second game with no outs and could only get one run across on a fielder’s choice.
Anthony Santander and Ryan Mountcastle then did nothing, and an opportunity to put some pressure on the Jays was gone in the blink of an eye. This can’t happen to a team in contention for a playoff spot, and they need to get better. One thing that will help some players is being more patient and not chasing.
The one who needs this the most is Austin Hays. Look, Hays was having a great year through June, but he has done nothing since his cycle against the Nationals. He just puts up some of the worst at-bats on the team every night. Whether it is striking out on breaking balls in the other batter’s box or popping up a hittable pitch, it is just so frustrating to watch.
Others like Rougned Odor and sometimes Jorge Mateo have also put up some ugly at-bats. The Orioles need some players to take a page out of the Adley and Gunnar playbook and show similar patience.
Next, I’d like to see Brandon Hyde make one crucial change in the lineup: replace Hays with Kyle Stowers. Hyde has made some weird decisions with the lineup, but none are weirder than not playing Stowers every day. Just..why? Why is he not an everyday starter?
If Hays is in for his defense alone, Santander should be the full-time DH with Stowers in right and Gunnar at Third with Odor and Ramon Urias platooning. This isn’t hard, yet the Orioles make it hard on themselves. Stowers has been hot since his game-tying home run against the White Sox, and it is like the Orioles don’t care and leave him on the bench.
Play your best players, and Stowers is better now than Hays. This might be harsh, but when every game is do or die, you must manage appropriately. Hyde did this last night with his pitching staff, so why not do it with the lineup? Please start Stowers consistently; I don’t care if Hays or Odor, who are bad right now, can’t play; Stowers needs to start. Make this change, and the lineup could be much better because Stowers also has the patience we are sorely lacking.
Third, is that the clutch hits need to come sooner. The O’s are good at getting them late, but please start to get them earlier in the game. Playoff teams have to put opponents away early on. If just one thing is going to change, this needs to be it. Too often, the Orioles left too much meat on the bone, and big offensive innings turn into one or two runs because they can’t get that one big hit. Treat every inning like it’s the eighth; the offense will be much better and help them get into the playoffs.
While the pitching still needs to do its part, the formidable lineups the Orioles will face will be a lot for these pitchers to keep up their pace. Not saying that the pitching can fall apart and give seven or eight runs a game, but you won’t be seeing 4-0 wins too often going forward.
When the going gets tough, teams need to find a way to win, and the Orioles need to fix this offense and go on a run. Have better at-bats, get Stowers into the lineup consistently, and get more clutch hits early on, and the offense can flourish with a decent pitching staff.
The Orioles starting pitching and bullpen have been terrific this year, but they showed some flaws in the doubleheader. The pitching may just be tired; if this is the case, the offense needs to be much better. If the offense can follow what I stated above, the Orioles can become America’s team and bless the hearts of everyone in Baltim0re and make the playoffs.
If they can’t, they will be where everyone thought they would be, sitting home in October.
