Before this series, the Orioles had won four out of their last five against two of the biggest divisional rivals. They continued their impressive run against Kansas City, sweeping the slumping Royals in the final series of their latest ten game home stand at Camden Yards.
The three-game roasting of the Royals puts the O’s at a sparkling 24-11 at home on the year. Those 24 wins mark the most of any team in the majors.
The Orioles will cross the northern border into Ontario at a season-best 35-23 on the year after taking seven of their last eight games. They’re now riding a four-game win streak, a span during which they’ve scored 20 runs and allowed just three.
In the first game of the series, despite a tremendous effort from a motivated and dialed in Mike Wright (7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), the Orioles found themselves down 1-0 going into the bottom of the seventh.
But maybe we should just starting calling these guys “The Cardiac O’s.”
The Orioles responded to their 1-0 deficit with a solo blast from Mark Trumbo to level the score. Then, Matt Wieters would give the Orioles the lead with a go-ahead solo bomb. An add-on RBI double from Adam Jones made it 3-1 going into the eighth. This put Wright back in line for his much-deserved W.
Manny Machado launched his 15th homer of the year in the eighth to give the O’s a 4-1 lead which Zach Britton would wrap up in the ninth for his 18th save of the season.
In game 2 on Tuesday, the O’s picked up right where they left off. They clobbered a visibly rattled Yordano Ventura for four runs in the first inning. Manny Machado started the blitzkrieg with an RBI double before Mark Trumbo knocked in some more with a two-run double. To wrap up the first, Jonathan Schoop knocked in another on a single to make it 4-0.
And then…things happened. Let’s just get right to it.
After a few inside heaters and an exchange of words between the two in the second inning, you might as well have pulled out your boxing scorecard and made a call to Vegas the next time Machado walked up to the plate versus Ventura.
In the fifth inning, the Royals flamethrower blasted the O’s star slugger with a near-100 MPH fastball in the back, and the gloves (or in this case; helmets, caps, gloves, etc.) were off. A quick exchange of punches were unleashed before both players went to ground in the middle of the bench-clearing skirmish. and both players were sent off and off to the showers for the night.
I guess I’ll grade it- Machado 10, Ventura 9; Machado by unanimous decision.
The O’s used that raw adrenaline to put on a three-home run display immediately following the incident. Trumbo hit another jumbo, and Chris Davis followed with a home run of his own. Those back-to-back homers in the fifth propelled the lead to 8-1 before Adam Jones would add to the rout with a solo blast in the sixth. That 9-1 advantage would be the eventual final score.
On Wednesday in game 3, the Orioles were fueled to a decisive 4-0 victory by a stellar seven-inning, shutout performance from Chris Tillman (7.1 IP, 8 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K). A four-run flurry in the fifth inning were the Orioles’ only runs of the night. A go-ahead two-RBI double from Ryan Flaherty started it all, and Hyun Soo Kim drove in a couple more on an RBI single to give the O’s a 4-0 lead. Tillman continued to cruise following the four-run outburst. He handed the torch to Brad Brach after allowing a couple of baserunners in the top of the 8th. Brach would short the door with a five-out save, his second on the year.
After sweeping the defending champions, the Orioles’ morale will be at a high for the year. They hit the path to Toronto four a four-game clash with the Blue Jays.
Now, let’s take a look at the highlights from the excellent home stand finale versus KC:
– We all know how frustrating the O’s lineup can be when they are not quite at their best, but there’s no doubting how excellent they are when they are locked in. Over the three-game series versus KC, the Orioles posted a .252 average at the plate with 17 runs and 7 home runs.
– The O’s have now scored a staggering 57 runs over the last eight contests, good for a stellar 7.1 runs per game during that span.
– Despite hitting zero in the series finale on Wednesday, the O’s sluggers have racked up 18 homers in their past seven games and have registered 87 long balls on the year, good for 2nd in MLB.
– Talk about knowing how to open the floodgates! The Orioles have racked up three or more runs in an inning 12 times over their last eight games and have also racked up 15 multi-run innings in that span…Pretty good.
– Going into a seven-game road trip against Toronto and Boston, the Orioles pitching staff couldn’t have picked a better time to hit their best form of the season. Tillman and Wright both gave outstanding efforts, and Ubaldo gave a solid yet – as Buck called it – fortunate one. Combine those performances with stellar bullpen work (7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K), and you have an O’s staff that allowed just 2 runs (one earned) in three games against the Royals. That’s good for a ridiculous 0.33 ERA in total. The starting trio’s combined ERA was almost just as good, at a microscopic 0.47.
– Speaking of starting pitching, somebody must have told these guys that if they put zeros on the scoreboard, their ERA will go down and Dave Wallace will stop yelling at you about it. Over the last four games, the starting rotation has allowed just two earned runs over 25.1 innings (0.72 ERA) with 22 K’s. Guess what the O’s record is during that span? 4-0.
Now, let’s end with some notable hot streaks:
– Adam Jones went 0-for-3 in the series finale on Wednesday, but still finished the series 3-for-10 with one homer and three RBI. Over his last 13 games, the O’s star slugger is hitting .288 with three doubles, four homers and 13 RBI. On the year, the California native is hitting .239 with nine doubles, nine home runs and 32 RBI. I’ll take more of the last 13 games, please.
– Matt Wieters also went 0-for-3 on Wednesday, but is still hitting a stellar .347 at the dish with three doubles, four homers and 17 RBI in his last 20 games. On the year, the O’s 30-year-old backstop is hitting .286 with seven doubles, five home runs and 25 RBI.
– Hyun-Soo Kim has continued his excellent run after going 3-for-9 with an RBI and his first career stolen base versus the Royals. He has hit a spectacular .367 with four doubles, one homer and two RBI over his last 13 games and still boasts a sparkling .372 batting average on the season. The 29-year-old has proven himself time and time again, and I wouldn’t bet on Buck letting him ride the bench anytime soon.
– Another player who has stepped up as of late is Ryan Flaherty. After Tuesday, he has his second career Eutaw Street marker to show for his hot streak. Over his last ten games, ‘’Flash’’ is hitting an impressive .307 with seven runs, two doubles, one home run and seven RBI.
– Last but not least, Mark Trumbo. While he did get the golden sombrero in Wednesday’s 4-0 shutout triumph, the 30-year-old star slugger hit his 19th and 20th home run over the three-game beat down of the Royals. He has been incredible of late, hitting five long balls in his last seven contests, racking up 11 RBI over his last nine. On the year, Trumbo is hitting a rock-solid .299 at the plate with ten doubles, 48 RBI and a league-leading 20 home runs.
Despite a tiny fight marring an otherwise glittering display, the Orioles put together their first home sweep of the Royals in five years. They hit the road on a season-high note.
They’ll look to keep the good times rolling versus the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Here’s to the first place O’s flying high on the road!
