The Morning After - O's vs Astros, Game 2

Well this sucks. With a second consecutive one run loss in Houston, the Birds have dropped the series to a team whose record was 16-28 prior to this three game stretch versus the Orioles. Hopefully, the players have short memories and the O's win tonight to avo
id the sweep.

Not to overlook the impending Cleveland series, (not a political post, so don't read into it). but the Orioles' offense needs to right itself before a critical series at Oriole Park next week against Boston. To say that the Red Sox are on fire is like saying Donald Trump's having a bad hair day

Boston has pulled away from the O's to take sole possession of first place in the A.L. East by two games. While the Birds are 4-6 over the last 10 games, the Red Sox are 7-3 during that same clip.
I feel like each time I check the scores, those damn Red Sox are putting up double digits on their opponents. In 22 games in May, they've scored at least seven runs in 13 of those contests...ugh! On the season, they have a  run differential of +78...in comparison, the O's hold a +22 in that category.

I've made no secret about my disdain for that team, and it's annoying fans. I mean, how can you not want to smack a dude wearing a Pedroia jersey at
a July game...between the O's and Twins?!?  And do I really need to say anythng about David Ortiz?  Hopefully the O's bats take to some home-cooking and find the ball a lot in that series.

But I digress. Let's focus back on last night. Here are a few thoughts/observations/opinions:

1) Orioles have truck out 37 times in TWO games...ouch!

2) Birds' usually stellar defense committed four errors...the most since September 30, 2015

3) Three game losing streaks ties the team's longest such stretch of the season

4) Pedro Alvarez should NEVER touch a glove

6) Only Oriole to not strike out was Hyun Soo Kim. For a guy who rarely - and I mean rarely - plays, Kim had an impressive outing at the dish last night, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a single and a BB. He runs very well for a big guy. One of his doubles lead off an inning, but the Birds
stranded him at second. Kim's put in a lot of work with the coaches, and in adjusting to the game in the U.S.  I give him credit for preserving...it has to be challenging to be effective on such little playing time

5) Buck looked and sounded pissed in the postgame interview. He also announced that Kim will start in tonight's finale. To soon to panic, but Joey Rickard should be a little concerned about his every day role if Kim keeps contributing.

6) Did I mention that Pedro Alvarez should NEVER touch a glove...NEVER. Throw his glove in Lake Houston.

O's wrap up the Houston trip tonight at 8:10 p.m. Hopefully a solid Gausman shurts down teh Astros, especially Valbueno, and the bats give him run support.

Let's. Go. O's!

Morning After Opinions - O's vs Houston

The Birds dropped their second consecutive game in this current road trip as Houston’s Carlos Correa snapped an 0-15 slump with a single to center field with the bases loaded in the 13th inning to score the game winner.

O’s starter Chris Tillman continued a solid run by recording a career-high seventh consecutive quality start. He remains 6-1 (Bundy got the loss), with a 2.61 ERA over 10 starts.

On offense, Pedro Alvarez gave us a taste of what the O’s were hoping for when they signed him, homering off Doug Fister in the fifth, and Manny Machado continued his MVP caliber season with a bomb in the sixth.

All things considered, here’s a few of my thoughts about last night:

1) O's can't squander a great pitching performance like the one Tillman turned in - 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R

2) Has Manny Machado’s homer in the sixth landed yet? That blast is best summed up by a quote from the legendary Crash Davis of Bull Durham fame:

"...anything travels that far oughta have a damn stewardess on it, don’t you think?"

3) Matt Wieters stole a base. Matt Wieters legitimately stole a base…not one of those player indifference steals either. It included a slide and everything.

4) Dylan Bundy is struggling, and while I cringed watching him intentionally walk two guys to get to last year's Rookie of the Year, you need to set up a force at home. With no outs. It's a gamble

5) Sticking with Bundy, the 2011 first round pick (4^th overall) has a 6.75 ERA over his last seven games. During that time, he’s giving up 16 hits while allowing eight runs.  In his last three appearances, Bundy has given up seven runs on nine hits in just 4.1 innings of work. This is worrisome.

6) The 13 innings showed how much having Kim on the roster is a liability. Buck clearly has no confidence in him, so the team is weakened by not having a pinch hitter or pinch runner to turn to in needed situations. Bigger picture, it’s a guy who they won’t use taking up a roster spot. While his average is high, he can’t get the ball out of the infield. 

7) The aforementioned pinch hitting scenario reared its ugly head in the 13th when the O's themselves had bases loaded with two outs. Rickard needed to be pinch-hit for, but there was not a "Delmon Young-type” option on the bench, so Buck had to stick with Rickard…who is 8-for-41 in his last 10 games and was 0-for-5 last night before his 12th inning double. With his average plummeting to .259, it may be time to shake up the order and give Reimold more starts in LF.

Fortunately, baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. The Birds get a chance to get back on track tonight as Tyler Wilson (3.68) takes the mound for the O’s, with Collin McHugh (5.13) getting the start for Houston. First pitch is at 8:10 p.m.  (MASN and 105.7 The Fan).