The time has come Orioles fans. It’s officially time to start scoreboard watching and not just because the Birds have only 41 games left in the 2013 season. The teams that their division foes have coming up just might allow the O’s to gain some serious ground.
Buck Showalter’s club has 29 games left within their division, 7 games against the second place Rays, and 9 to play versus Boston. If you’re eyeing the lesser playoff berth have no worries, the O’s still have 3 game sets left against both Oakland and Cleveland.
The Wild-Card is not where the Orioles want to finish out this season but with the way that Boston has been playing all season it’s far from ridiculous to think that may be the Orioles best shot.
So who are ankle biters in the Wild-Card race?
The Kansas City Royals are red hot since the All-Star break going 23-8 and just recently giving the Birds some help taking 3 of 4 from the Red Sox. As impressive as their post All-Star record may seem, 12 of those wins are against sub .500 clubs. The Royals don’t really strike fear into my heart mainly due to the fact that they still have 8 games left against the AL Central leading Tigers. Not to mention I just find it hard to believe that Bruce Chen can keep up his pace of a 1.62 ERA for the rest of the season.
The Cleveland Indians are 3-7 in their last 10 games and trending in the wrong direction. Cleveland just won a 3 game set with the Twins and are now in Oakland for a tough weekend series with the A’s. To close out August and to start September the Indians have 9 straight games in Atlanta and Detroit then a home series with the Orioles. Those 9 games could be disastrous for a struggling ball club.
The Wild-Card Leaders?
The 8th best ERA in the American League has been enough for the Oakland Athletics to hold the 2nd Wild-Card and for much of the year they trade blows for 1st place in the AL West with the Texas Rangers. Trailing just Kansas City and Detroit with a 3.55 team ERA, Bartolo Colon is leading the charge for the pitching staff posting a 14-5 record with a 2.97 earned run average. The A’s have been streaky all season, losing 6 of 7 at one point in the second half along with a few 4 and 5 game skids. On the reverse side of that they have put together win streaks of 9, 4(multiple times), 6, and 5. Almost 1/3 of their remaining games are against playoff teams as well as sets with the Indians and Baltimore. And yes folks, believe it or not, Bartolo Colon’s physique is that of a chemically enhanced athlete.
Tampa Bay has been battling through injuries of their starting pitchers all season. Alex Cobb made his first start since getting hit with a line drive in June, a good showing of 5 innings allowing just 3 hits and 1 earned run. David Price missed part of May and all of June but seems to be right back to his old form, winning 5 of his last 6 decisions. Matt Moore could be back for the Rays series with the O’s next week. Pitcher struggles and all the Rays are holding the 1st Wild-Card spot and 1 just game back of Boston with a 3 game series remaining against them.
AL East Leader
It’s about time we all start accepting the fact that they might just be that good this year. The Red Sox have the most runs scored in baseball and are top 3 in all of the major batting categories. Clay Buchholz is throwing bullpen sessions and will return for Boston at some point during their playoff push. They have 27 games remaining against teams with above .500 records and a lot of games left in the AL East. They can either pull away or come back to the crowd depending on their play down the stretch.
What does all this mean for the O’s?
The Orioles need the rest of the AL East to cannibalize each other and keep winning games in the division. The Birds need their 4 solid starters to pitch well enough to pick up a struggling bullpen and Scott Feldman. Wei-Yin Chen should be rested due to his injury (an injury which could end up being a blessing in disguise if he stays fresh for the stretch-run). This team is still in striking distance but needs to take advantage of their match-ups remaining in the AL East because they can close a lot of gaps if they can win these upcoming series.
- The Orioles record in the division: 24-23
- The Orioles record vs. +.500 teams: 37-31
- The Orioles record vs. -.500 teams: 28-25
