While Welington Castillo has been a pleasant surprise, the O’s need more from Kevin Gausman. Press play or read below for more.
After a 1-6 road trip that saw the Orioles lose every game by one run, all the team needed was return to Camden Yards to get back to their winning ways. The O’s are now 14-3 at home this season after Welington Castillo’s game winning home run in the bottom of the 10th against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.
Speaking of Castillo, the catcher is now hitting .365 which easily leads the team. Castillo has always had the reputation of being a solid offensive hitter, but the start he has had this year has been better than expected. Even his defense has been strong which was considered a weakness for the 30-year-old throughout his career.
The O’s will look to continue to good vibes at home on Saturday when Kevin Gausman takes the mound. Gausman has struggled all season long and after a dominating performance against the Nationals, the right-hander reverted back to his old ways in his next start against the Royals.
His early season struggles could be blamed on not using his splitter enough and failing to get ahead of hitters, but that wasn’t the case against the Royals. It’s back to square one with the 26-year-old. The good news, like the team itself, Gausman is better at home as he sports a career 3.25 ERA at Camden Yards.
The bottom line is the O’s have to figure out why Gausman is struggling and fix him. Not only for this year as the team competes for a division title, but in future years when the rotation will most likely lose Chris Tillman, Ubaldo Jimenez and Wade Miley after this season.
Hopefully, that begins tonight.
