Hey, while it may not have been a picture perfect twenty-eight inning set of baseball played over the past three nights at Camden Yards, any time you can take two out of three from a division opponent, especially the New York Yankees, that’s a win in my book.
After splitting the first four games of a ten-game stint at Camden Yards against the Chicago White Sox, the Orioles started off the series against the Yanks with a bang on Tuesday night as Chris Tillman pitched yet another gem. The O’s red-hot hurler allowed just one run on five hits over seven dominant innings with four walks and nine strikeouts, and bombs from Mark Trumbo in the 2nd and 5th inning made all the difference in the O’s 4-1 win.
The Yankees responded on Wednesday night with a decisive 7-0 drubbing of the Orioles as CC Sabathia (7.0 IP/6 H/0 ER/2 BB/6 K) turned back the clock and had his best start in years, probably, but a lights-out performance nonetheless, and Brian McCann (2-5, 3 RBI) and Jacoby Ellsbury (3-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 BB, 2 SB) paved the way on offense. It was just the second time that the O’s dynamic offense was held to zeroes on the scoreboard on the year.
The series finale was a tight and intense one the whole way through, but with the amazing displays from starters Kevin Gausman (8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and Masahiro Tanaka (8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), the game remained tied at 0-0 through regulation. The O’s didn’t waste time in sending the home fans away smiling however. Hyun-Soo Kim and the red-hot Jonathan Schoop led off the bottom of the tenth with back-to-back singles, Nolan Reimold came on as a pinch runner for Kim at third, and a Pedro Alvarez fly ball was all the O’s needed to walk out of Camden with a win and the series in hand.
The 16-11 Orioles remain 0.5 GB from the Red Sox (17-11) for first place in the AL East, and after taking two out of three against the Yankees, they are now 9-5 versus the AL East and an impressive 11-4 at Camden Yards.
The Yankees (9-17) remain in last place in the AL East, and find themselves seven games off the pace in the division.
Now, let’s take a look at some good (and some bad) takeaways:
– The starting trio of Chris Tillman, Tyler Wilson (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) and Kevin Gausman was absolutely phenomenal to say the least against the Bronx Bombers. In total, the O’s starters allowed just three runs on 12 hits over 21.0 innings with seven walks and 17 strikeouts, good for a stellar 1.29 ERA and a nasty 0.90 WHIP.
– Speaking of Tillman, the 28-year-old is now 3-1 with an impressive 2.81 ERA and 1.13 WHIP on the year and has been amazing over his last three starts, going 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP.
– Kevin Gausman has been stellar for the O’s since returning from the DL and along with Tillman, the O’s will hope the 25-year-old can continue his excellent run of form for as long as possible. The LSU alum is 0-1 with an outstanding 1.42 ERA and 0.68 WHIP in three starts on the year.
– The bullpen wasn’t at its best against the Yankees, allowing four runs on nine hits over seven innings with five strikeouts. But on the flip side, Zach Britton’s back…so we’ll check that in the win column for the Birds too.
On a not-so-good note, the Orioles hitting pulled a Houdini act (and not for the first time) against the Yankees, scoring just five runs in three games. And three of those runs came off of two swings of the bat from Mark Trumbo on Tuesday night. They also finished hitting just .204 (19-for-93) over the series while going a dreadful 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position and leaving 19 runners on base. I think it’s time to recharge those bats, gentleman. We’re only 7th in the AL in runs per game (4.2) and an unacceptable 3rd in homers (36)? Time to axe some dead weight, Duquette. (Insert sarcasm).
– Until going 0-for-4 on Wednesday, Manny Machado was on another six-game hitting streak. The O’s phenom still managed to go 3-for-11 with three doubles against the Yankees , and is hitting .392 (11-for-28) with four runs, five doubles, one home run and five RBI over the past seven games. The 23-year-old star is now hitting a stellar .342 on the year with 10 2B, 7 HR, 16 RBI and a .397 OBP.
– After falling into one of the worst slumps of his young career, Jonathan Schoop has bounced back vigorously and the red-hot 24-year-old is in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak. The O’s second baseman is hitting .321 (9-for-28) with four runs, two doubles, one home run and three RBI during that span and .237 with four homers and 11 RBI on the year.
– A series to forget for Chris Davis. After going a rock solid 6-for-16 against the White Sox, Davis followed it up by going 0-for-11 with six Ks over the three games against the Bronx Bombers. Time to take it out on the A’s, Crush.
– Hyun-Soo Kim went 1-for-3 with a walk on Wednesday night, and continues to attempt to force Buck Showalter’s hand into playing him regularly after another impressive performance. The 28-year-old rookie is now hitting .556 on the year (10-for-18) with one RBI and a .619 OBP, and is 8-for-13 over his last five games.
– After his two-HR display on Tuesday night, Mark Trumbo is now 2nd in the AL in HR (8), and tied for 4th in RBI (22) along with an outstanding .324 batting average and a .372 OBP. Is it too early to start talking about a long-term deal?!?
That’s it for now O’s country! Be sure to catch our take on the upcoming series against the A’s later today.
