While the Orioles may not have ended the home stand on a high note, they will hit the West Coast still in a two-way tie with the Red Sox for first place in the division. After dropping two out of three to the Seattle Mariners, that’s the key note as we approach the quarter mark of the 2016 campaign.
A two-run single from Nelson Cruz (3-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI) gave the visitors an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on Tuesday, and the Mariners didn’t look in the rear view mirror for the rest of the game. Seattle would strike with a lethal five-run, four-hit display in the fifth inning in which Robinson Cano (3-4, 3 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI) and Cruz would came through with RBI singles before Kyle Seager (2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI) launched a three-run shot to open the floodgates to seven-nil Seattle. The Mariners put the icing on the cake with a three-run, four-hit barrage in the sixth inning capped off by Cano picking up an RBI double before Cruz would crush a two-run homer to hammer the O’s into a 10-0 deficit and eventual defeat.
Chris Tillman (6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) would lead the charge in getting back in the win column on Wednesday night, and another impressive performance from the Californian earned him his fifth straight win. After Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters went back-to-back in the second inning to hand the O’s an early 2-0 lead, Leonys Martin would answer directly after with a solo shot in the third inning to cut the lead in half. The Mariners would equalize before Wieters smacked a go-ahead RBI double in the fourth to give the O’s a 3-2 advantage, and the Orioles added two insurance runs later on to clinch a 5-2 win.
But perhaps the O’s should thank Zach Britton for this W. Not only did he get out of the bases-loaded, one-out mess that Brad Brach got in to in the eighth inning with a clutch strikeout and groundout, he retired all three in the ninth to take home his first five-out save of the season. Sheer brilliance from number 53.
The Mariners would take the rubber match of the series on Thursday, however. After Cruz would again give Seattle the early lead with an RBI single in the first inning, Pedro Alvarez would soon level the score with an RBI double in the second. Seth Smith would come through with a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth before Adam Lind broke the game wide open with a three-run blast in the sixth to give the visiting Mariners a 5-1 lead. The O’s missed a big opportunity to get back into the game later on in the eighth inning, however, as they only managed to score one run on a sac fly from Adam Jones after having the bases loaded with one out. Leonys Martin would make that irrelevant with a two-run blast in the ninth to turn the lights out and give the Mariners a 7-2 advantage and eventual triumph.
Now, let’s take a glance at the notebook from Seattle’s visit to Birdland:
– Despite the much-improved starting pitching and lights-out bullpen, the O’s pitching staff, minus Chris Tillman and Zach Britton’s excellent work on Wednesday, struggled against the Mariners. The O’s allowed 19 runs and five home runs with a .266 batting average against (28-for-105) over the past three games. Tillman’s great outing notwithstanding, the starters; ERA versus Seattle was 7.21, and the bullpen’s ERA was 5.34.
– Regarding Tillman, the 28-year-old is a sparkling 5-0 with a 1.84 ERA over his last six starts, and owns a 6-1 record with a 2.61 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over nine starts on the year.
– The O’s offense was on a tear and scoring over six runs per game over the previous nine games coming into the Seattle series, but managed to hit just .172 (16-for-93) at the plate and 2-for-15 (.133) with runners in scoring position, along with only seven runs scored in three games with two home runs.
The Orioles have a few key players that are trending down at the moment. Breakout rookie Joey Rickard is just 7-for-36 at the dish (.194) with zero homers and zero RBI over his last nine games, while star 3B Manny Machado is 5-for-34 (.147) with one home run and two RBI over his last eight games. Even Adam Jones went 0-for-11 against Seattle, and he was in the best form that he’s been in all year going into the clash with his former club.
Slugger Chris Davis is 3-for-16 (.187) with zero bombs and zero RBI over his last six games, and has just two homers in his last 18 games and four in his last 28 games after hitting five in the first 11 games of the season. Right behind him, even Mark Trumbo was in a 2-for-17 (.117) slump in his previous five games prior to regaining his form in Wednesday’s victory.
There’s no reason to hit the panic button on these guys though – they’ll bounce back on the West Coast.
But one player that is starting to hit his stride before the O’s hit California is catcher Matt Wieters. Over his last six games, the 29-year-old is 8-for-19 (.421) with three runs, two doubles, two home runs and five RBI. On the year, Wieters is hitting .256 with four doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI.
On the other hand, hit the panic button on Brian Matusz. I’m usually not this blunt, but he’s been absolutely dreadful since coming off of the DL. Over seven outings, the 29-year-old southpaw has allowed eight runs on eleven hits over six innings with seven walks to just one strikeout on the year, good for a unfathomable 12.00 ERA and 3.00 WHIP.
In contrast, 28-year-old Vance Worley hasn’t allowed a single earned run in 13 innings out of the bullpen while 26-year-old flamethrower Mychal Givens has allowed one earned run over his last 14 innings and 23-year-old rookie Dylan Bundy has a rock-solid 2.76 ERA in 11 outings.
The reliable Darren O’Day has allowed zero earned runs in 15 of 17 appearances, while the outstanding Brad Brach (2-1, 1.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP) has allowed just three runs over 21 innings and stellar shutdown closer Zach Britton (2-1, 11 SV, 1.59 ERA, 0.59 WHIP) has allowed just three runs over 17 innings.
Matusz has allowed eight runs in six innings. Britton and Brach have allowed six in 38 innings. I’m not a squeamish person, but that’s cringe-worthy.
Finally, the Orioles bullpen still owns an AL-best 2.56 ERA but without Matusz, the O’s relievers would own a 2.10 ERA.
Here’s to the series notebook returning to a happier tone following the three games in Anaheim!
