Hey, we knew this would happen. We knew we wouldn’t be like Arsenal in 2003-04 (or New England in 2007 if you prefer this side of the pond’s “football”). Nobody goes invincible in baseball after all, right? But look at what’s happened to us now! After dropping the first game of the season to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night, the O’s are on pace to go a measly 142-20. Unacceptable!
Captain, Captain! Our sails are ripping apart and we’re taking on water! Mayday, Mayday… she’s going to capsize, abandon ship!
After taking two out of three from the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, the O’s are still flying high going into the upcoming four-game stint in Arlington against the Texas Rangers. They sport an early 2.5-game cushion atop the AL East with a 7-1 record.
Chris Davis’s go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning on Monday propelled the O’s to a 9-7 defeat of the Red Sox in their home opener at Fenway, and J.J. Hardy stepped up to be the hero in Tuesday’s 9-5 victory with a 2 HR, 5 RBI display. Alas, the baseball gods didn’t have a third straight sweep in order for the Orioles, as on Wednesday night the Red Sox edged out their visitors by a score of 4-2.
But before the O’s take the field in Arlington tonight, let’s take a minute to review their impressive showing in their trip up to Boston:
– What firepower: After putting six homers into the bleachers at Fenway, the O’s now have a club-record fourteen home runs in their first eight games of 2016, which ties them for first in the AL in that category. They also go into Texas with a home run in seven straight games, and are currently on pace (yes, it’s early, I know, but humor me) to break the MLB single-season record with 283. The record is owned by the 1997 Seattle Mariners with 264.
– Talk about going on the offensive: The O’s are currently among the top five in the AL in almost every major offensive category with 40 RBI (T-3rd), 42 Runs (T-2nd), a .289 batting average (2nd) and a .355 OBP (2nd).
– You don’t have to look far to find out who the catalysts were in this series. Davis (2), Hardy (2) and Mark Trumbo (2) combined to hit all six of the homers for the O’s against the Red Sox while also knocking in 17 of the team’s 20 runs scored.
[Watch the homers on Eutaw Street TV!]
– After finishing 4-for-13 with 4 R, 2 HR and 7 RBI at Fenway, Davis now leads the team and is tied for second in the AL in both HR (4) and RBI (9).
– Trumbo stayed red-hot against Boston, going 4-for-13 with 4 R, 2 HR and 5 RBI over the three game series. The 30-year-old slugger has also posted a blistering .406 average (13-for-32) to begin the campaign, good for fifth-best in the AL.
– Hardy will be looking to stay hot after going 4-for-12 with two 2B, 2 HR, and 5 RBI against the Red Sox, along with making a few web gem worthy plays on defense. Welcome to the party, J.J! Please stay for a while.
– Manny Machado is just tearing the cover off the ball. After a 3-for-5 performance on Wednesday night, the 23-year-old star third baseman extended his hitting streak to eight games heading into the upcoming series against Texas. Overall in Boston he was 6-for-13 with a pair of doubles. Machado now boasts a sparkling .441 average (15-for-34) with 9 R, 3 HR, 4 RBI, and a .486 OBP on the year.
– The bullpen, led by Dylan Bundy (2.1 IP, 1 ER) on Tuesday and Tyler Wilson (3.0 IP, 0 ER) on Wednesday, was outstanding against the Red Sox, but what’s new? They allowed just three runs over eleven innings of work with seven strikeouts in the series, and just one run over seven innings in the past two outings.
– The Orioles are now 25-16 at Fenway Park since 2012, and 48-30 vs. the Red Sox overall in that time. (h/t Steve Melewski) Camden North!
– On the opposite side of the spectrum, I’m not hitting the panic button just yet, but thirteen runs on eighteen hits over fifteen innings between Yovani Gallardo (5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER), Mike Wright (5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER) and Ubaldo Jimenez (5 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 4 ER) won’t cut it in the AL East. That’s a combined 6.50 ERA if you were wondering. One quality start out of eight won’t cut it either, and we’re only fooling ourselves if we believe so.
But hey, the O’s just went on their longest winning streak in eleven years, so I’m not going to delve too much into the negatives at this point in time. For now, enjoy it Orioles nation! Your team is soaring high as the best team in the league!
