With the All-Star break now upon us, your Baltimore Orioles are still soaring atop the AL East.
Can you ever get tired of saying that? Ever since their blistering start to the season back in April, the Orioles have proven to be the team to beat in the division.
And now, with less than half of a season remaining on the schedule, your Baltimore Orioles are 75 games away from playing in October.
It looks like the “experts” were wrong again.
After taking two of three from the visiting Angels, the Orioles (51-36) continue to cling on to their two-game lead over the Red Sox and Blue Jays for first place in the AL East heading into the Mid-Summer Classic.
The mood wasn’t cheerful all series however, as Ubaldo Jimenez (1.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K) and Mike Wright (4.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 HBP, 2 BB, 2 K) made a total mess of Friday’s contest early on.
Due to the woeful performances of those two, the Orioles were never in the game and found themselves down 8-1 going into the bottom of the fourth inning and 9-3 going into the seventh. Mark Trumbo’s two-run homer in the ninth made the score line look better, and that’s about it. Angels take the opener 9-5, and that’s all I have to say about that.
Thanks again, Ubaldo. And let’s hope Wright doesn’t break anybody else’s hand down in Norfolk…get well soon, C.J. Cron.
After Trumbo’s league-leading 28th home run of the season handed the O’s the lead in the second, Yovani Gallardo (5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) put in a valiant effort over the first five innings to keep the Halos off the board before Daniel Nava’s two-RBI single gave the visitors a 2-1 advantage going into the seventh.
But then a twist of fate occurred to flip the script in favor of the Orioles. When Joe Smith dropped the ball (literally) in the seventh inning, Jonathan Schoop scored the game-tying run on the unorthodox balk and then proceeded to drive in Manny Machado for the go-ahead run on an RBI single in the eighth.
And of course, Zach Britton retired the Halos in order in the ninth to record his 26th save of the season and force a series rubber match on Sunday.
With Chris Tillman (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 5 K) absolutely dealing in the finale, Chris Davis’s two-run shot in the fourth would almost make all the difference in the Orioles 4-2 victory on the final day of the first half. After J.J. Hardy added an insurance run with an RBI single in the sixth, he would deliver the knockout blow by way of a solo shot in the eighth inning to give Britton a 4-2 lead to work with in the ninth.
And we all know how that goes. Except for the fact that he actually allowed a hit (gasp) this time around.
The O’s star closer silenced the Angels in the ninth to finish the first half of the campaign a magnificent 27-for-27 in save situations. His ERA? 0.72.
The win also completed the series comeback after dropping the opener. Cheer’s to hitting the break on a high note!
Let’s take a look at the highlights from the first half finale at Camden Yards:
– Despite not being named an All-Star for what would have been the sixth time, Adam Jones showed his All-Star pedigree both on offense and defense versus Los Angeles. He finished the series 5-for-12 with one double, one homer and one RBI and boasts an eight-game hit streak as we hit the break. During that span, the O’s 30-year-old captain is hitting .307 with five runs, one home run and three RBI, and is hitting .353 with three bombs and nine RBI over his last 15 games.
– Although his six-game hit streak came to an end after succumbing to a hamstring injury in the first inning on Sunday, Hyun Soo Kim is still hitting .352 with two homers and seven RBI over his last 15 games. Here’s to Kim hopefully avoiding a trip to the DL!
– Mark Trumbo crushed his former club by going 4-for-10 with three runs, two home runs and four RBI versus the Angels and now owns an eight-game hit streak heading into the All-Star festivities this week. During that stretch, the 30-year-old is batting an incredible .387 with ten runs, five homers and eight RBI. Hail to the (current) home run king!
– Jonathan Schoop would’ve been a shoo-in for the All-Star squad if it wasn’t for so many elite infielders currently in the AL, but he clearly didn’t let the snub affect him as he went 5-for-11 with two runs, one homer and two RBI versus the Angels while extending his hit streak to nine games. Over his hitting streak, the 24-year-old rising star is hitting .351 with four runs, one home run and six RBI.
– If the All-Star break came at an inopportune time for anyone, it’s Hardy. After spending over a month on the DL earlier this season, the 33-year-old defensive maestro was finally heating up with the bat, and now he has to park it for a few days. Hardy will carry a seven-game hit streak into the O’s post-break clash versus Tampa and is hitting .407 with three runs, four doubles, one home run and seven RBI during that span.
– Even though he’s been in sparkling form all season long, Zach Britton has been more dominant as usual over his last seven games in which he’s allowed just four hits over six shutout innings while registering five saves in the process. Rock on, Mr.Britton.
– Not only did Britton stay perfect with his 27th save on Sunday, it also marked the 100th save of his career. The 28-year-old superstar is now officially past Stu Miller for fourth on the All-Time Orioles save list and is just six away from passing Tippy Martinez (105) for the third-most saves in Orioles history. Jim Johnson (122) and Gregg Olson (160) aren’t too far ahead, either.
– After clubbing six homers versus the Halos, the Orioles’ staggering grand total of 137 home runs on the year to-date is a franchise record for most team home runs pre-All-Star Break.
– Along with currently leading the league, Trumbo’s 28 home runs are the third-most an Oriole has ever had at the All-Star Break. Brady Anderson hit 30 before the break in 1996 and Chris Davis cranked out 37 long balls before the break in 2013.
So to recap, the Orioles closed out the first half with another series win, retained first place before hitting the Mid-Summer break, and are going to be represented by five O’s during this year’s All-Star festivities?
O, yeah!
Let the good times roll!
